| Meet the Family |
 Here is a picture of our Italian family taken in 1919 in the countryside near Vicenza. To me it represents the idyllic Italian lifestyle and the pleasures of "villegiatura", leaving the life of the city for a villa in the countryside. Even though our Italian family was not traveling to their villa along the Brenta Canal they still enjoyed picnics in the countryside. Traveling in Italy and staying with our Italian family and friends has led me to believe that they seem to know how to balance work and relaxation. They travel through the work day with a midday break, surrounding themselves with beauty and art in their homes and businesses, eating fresh and vibrant food at meals that are the culmination of a day well spent. I want to imitate this but can I. Can Italy be duplicated? Unfortunately no! Italy is unique with a historical landscape that colors all that has come before and will come after. But for those of us for have visited this remarkable land we yearn to bring a part of Italy home. Read about what I do to try to Bring Italy Home . . .
The arrows point to the parents of cousin Lidia and the man to the right with the "funny hair" is great cousin Gino who looks like he knows how to relax and have fun. For more information about my family's favorite sites to visit in Italy including Vicenza and the Brenta Canal . . . Walk into a Postcard |
| Your Private Italy |
 Thinking about taking a trip to Italy? Whether you travel to Italy to discover memories of your Italian family or travel to Italy to create your own family memories, Italy will gently guide you along. Along Roman roads, past castles and Etruscan ruins through medieval walled villages, around alpine lakes with mountain vistas, visiting Renaissance chapels and Gothic cathedrals on foot, horseback or barge. By train, car, bus or plane to experience the culture, history, art, food, wine and remarkable landscape - Italy remains for me to be my journey into "a mother's dream" that has now become my own. Read more about planning your own trip to Italy |
I thought it might be a good time for you to "meet the family".
It was a mother's dream to travel to the Italy of our grandmother (Nonna in Italian)) who after arriving in the United States in 1920 kept the connection between her family in Northern Italy and her family in Northwest Indiana alive. The oral traditions of her life in the Veneto region of Italy were kept alive through letters and postcards sent and received, through wars and liberations, marriages, family beginnings and endings. Many of Nonna's recipes along with other Italian food traditions can be found At The Table . . 
