Umbrian Spring: Following St. Francis and then some - Assisi to Spello hike

Looking back at Spello Spring in Rome always makes us take to the hills. The itinerary described here is a wonderful round trip from Rome vi...

Tutti Al Mare, or Why Don't Italians Love their Mountains More?

 "I am a Med man," he wrote.   Tutti al mare!  Everyone to the sea!  It's a commonplace that Italians--Romans, anyway--l...

Genzano: Bread, Flowers and War

Genzano is one of several delightful hill towns along the via Appia, on the western edge of the Alban Hills ( Colli Albani).   On one side o...

Help in the right places: The little Marys of Italy

Italy is full of "madonnelle" - little madonnas that grace the sides of buildings and to whom various passersby pray for something...

For the flower lovers among you

This post is for the flower lovers among us. We waded through fields of wildflowers in Rome’s Decima-Malafede Reserve, just south of Rome (...

Holiday, Roman style

We struck out for a hike on June 2, Rome’s Republic Day. Unlike patriotic - should I say it - zealots on July 4 in the US, the Romans aren’t...

Lions and Tigers and Bears: Animal Encounters on Lazio's Yellow Brick Roads

"Lions and Tigers and Bears! Lions and Tigers and Bears!" That famous refrain from The Wizard of Oz ran through our heads as we t...

Hiking outside Rome - the pleasures of Lazio's hills

Central Italy offers wonderful hikes, full of history and flora and fauna - wild and not so wild. Because Lazio's hiking pleasures seem ...

Roman Junkyards

How do you dispose of an old scooter (moto, or scooter) or car (macchina) that has seen its better days? We faced that problem not so long a...