I first spotted My Local Guide to Venice in June 2009 when we were in town for the opening of the Venice Art Biennale. It was actually our last day of a weeklong stay at the lovely Novecento Hotel and we’d been using another excellent local guide produced by the hotel’s owners, the Romanelli family, … Read more
The trulli of Alberobello, the traditional white conical houses that sprawl across the hills of the town and surrounding countryside, offer a unique opportunity to live like locals in Puglia in Southern Italy. We were doing just that for a week during our month in Italy, so we wanted to learn more about the trulli. We … Read more
In Alberobello, self-sufficiency extends to everything from olive oil and cherry tomatoes to limoncello and cherry liqueur – from filling the fridge to supplying the liquor cabinet, everything is homegrown and homemade in Puglia. In Alberobello, there are only a couple of supermarkets and one market, and there’s no need for more because here it … Read more
Puglian pizza making is a two stage process over two days, we learn when I get lessons in making homemade pizzas in the wood-fired oven attached to our trullo just outside Alberobello in Italy’s southern region of Puglia. Maria, the caretaker of our traditional trullo, has quickly become my cooking instructor and our friend. When she came … Read more
Effervescent Anna Rosato knew the meaning of hospitality well before the 23 year-old graduated with her tourism degree from the University of Bari last year. The daughter of chef-restaurateurs, Anna has worked at her family pizzeria for as long as she can remember. Majoring in culture and languages – she speaks English, French and German … Read more