Sampling truffles in Alba
October and November are truffle (tartufo) season in Piemonte in northwestern Italia. I was studying Italian in Torino in early October and joined a few classmates one weekend. We took […]
Elena Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend”
Elena Ferrante – My Brilliant Friend Naples-born author Elena Ferrante has swept through the literary world like a whirlwind. If you’ve read her novels, you’ll understand why she’s so popular. Neapolitan Series […]
Armistice Day 100th Anniversary
“The Lamps are going out all over Europe . . . we shall not see them again in our lifetime,” wrote Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary on August 3, […]
Cremona – Violin Museum
Violin Museum – Cremona When I visit Italy, I balance my time with research, travel, studying Italian, and learning about Italy’s many contribution to art, culture, science, and history. One […]
Prologue: “No One Sleeps” The Egyptian Imam
PROLOGUE The Egyptian Imam Milan February 17, 2003 Shortly before noon on a bitterly cold February day, a plainclothes maresciallo (marshal) of the Carabinieri military police shouted “Polizia!” and stopped […]
No One Sleeps
NO ONE SLEEPS I’m excited to announce the publication of No One Sleeps, the sequel to Thirteen Days in Milan. I’ve been working on No One Sleeps for more than two years, […]
Etruscan Tombs
Etruria – the Etruscan people of central Italy Before Rome became an empire, central Italy was dominated by the Etruscan people who lived in present day Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. […]
Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
Oxford Oxford in the Thames River Valley is just two hours from London. The town draws more than 9 million visitors a year, and for good reasons. Who wouldn’t be […]
Bloody Mary Confession
The ‘Story’ behind “The Story” Bloody Mary Confession is really two stories. One is a novel of a contemporary American mystery, a Boston Red Sox star infielder and his glamorous […]
Otzi the Iceman
Otzi the Sudtirol Iceman A startling discover In September, 1991, a German couple from Nuremberg were hiking across the Otzal alps on the border between Austria and Italy. Hiking at […]
Travel with us for a Year and a Day 