The New Gastronomes

Being one of the only two Italians in our group is not easy: you are a reference point, a translator/interpreter, an assistant, the key to understanding this country and its people with their peculiar, weird, sometimes frustrating culture, traditions, habits, and bureaucracy (eg. “Stop mixing carbohydrates!” “No pizza for lunch!” “Shops? Open? On [...]

Like most of my UNISG peers, I’ve had the great fortune to travel over as long a break as I will ever have until retirement. At this point I suspect I have stepped foot in approximately 153 overpriced and unmemorable ristorantes (Italy), restaurantes (Spain), res-trahnts (Boston), restauraces (Czech Republic), restorans (Croatia), and pubs (Ireland), as [...]

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After a countryside lunch in a Tuscan forest, with pecorino cheese to please my usual caprices and a high-quality prosciutto sold by an arrogant butcher–its flavor of course completely justified his pride–we walked up the hill to the Camaldoli Monastery. Even though the local pharmacy elegantly displayed a collection of homemade products, the only thought [...]

As a gastronome, I am thrilled by the opportunity to consume the buffet of courses offered in the UNISG curriculum in the homeland of Slow Food. A less discussed but wonderful side benefit of the master program is the chance to travel the European continent for nearly seven weeks during the summer holidays. Some of [...]

One of my favorite things about our year so far at UNISG is that after class, thought-provoking or not, we all talk about it. With 25 students and three hours per class, we don’t always have a chance to speak and share our opinions, but I know each of us have different ideas, experiences, thoughts, questions, and [...]

Ancient olive tree
Twisting with the earth’s turning
Middle falls away

 
My friend Limor visited the beautiful city of Colorno on a sunny Sunday. She took this picture of the snail. My roommate Shauna posted it on her blog and my classmate Natalie displayed the picture on her computer desktop. Even the local photography shop, where I print most of my pictures every month, used the [...]

Good, clean, and fair, bien sûr

To all the friends who envy us, I offer some consolation: being a UNISG student in Parma/Colorno can be as hazardous as it is joyful. Premature signs of aging, funny belly, hangovers, anxiety—long is the list of injuries that slaughter us on the battlefield.

But we cannot have that, [...]

Walking through the Palazzo Ducale di Colorno garden and watching it grow has become a daily ritual for me following the hungry hurricane that can be considered lunchtime at ALMA. I often ponder the many similarities between my wonderful classmates and the garden, taking pride in knowing that together, we are changing and growing alongside [...]