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Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

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By Margaret Nigro
November 6th 2007

Halloween and Karly Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Sarah's pumpkin
If only we could find pumpkin to make pie with . . .

Welcome to my self-indulgent ramblings that often exceed eight hundred words. :) This last week it was really nice to just be back in Perugia. Shannon and I didn't go out celebrating Halloween, instead we stayed in the apartment and watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It was very cozy. I have a hard time celebrating Halloween if I haven't had some time in advance to think about a costume. Next year, maybe. This weekend Karly came to visit. It was so much fun having her here. I really liked showing her around Perugia. We had gelato, and [View Full Entry]

By MURPHY32
November 4th 2007

Best Brushcetta in the world Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto

Day 13 wednesday Today Lissa and I where on our own as the kids where to tired to keep up with old guys, likely story. we headed out early for Bagno Vagoria to look around and catch the bus to Civita.This old hill top town is one of Rick Steves highly reccomended secrets and Lissa can find them all. The bus took us 2 miles to a bridge that takes you 1 mile across a foot bridge 800 feet above the valley and its very steep on the other side. When we got to the other side Lissa noticed an old [View Full Entry]

By farfalla
November 1st 2007

La Feria de Morti Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Italian Candy

So the weekend after Halloween there is a fair of the dead. It was down by the stadium and it was fun to see. The rides and games were way over priced, but I guess that is a similarity between fairs in the States and ones here in Italy. There was one ride that spun in a circle and they had some random guy stand in the middle with out any restraints! He was just trying to keep his balance. Oh man these Italians are crazy...after seeing that I had little desire to go on any of the other rides. There [View Full Entry]

By TheSchlossers
October 31st 2007

Assisi & Tuscany Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

Saint Claire

Hi everyone,We are in Tuscany now, it has been really hard to find an internet cafe. So we need to catch up, I hope I don't forget stuff. It's Oct 31 (Happy Halloween!!) and we left Assisi last Saturday. Just to touch on Assisi, Dan & I really enjoy this town. It is absolutely gorgeous. On our last day in Assisi we went to one of the most moving churches, San Domineco. This is where Saint Clare spent her days. She devoted her life to God. It was a very charming place and very moving. The church is runned by the [View Full Entry]

By farfalla
October 30th 2007

An Italian Halloween Feast! Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Hanna and I

Saddly there is no real Halloween in Italy....How dare them it is my favorite holiday! So instead I had a class field trip to the private home of an Italian family who taught me to cook a traditional Umbrian meal, with fresh seasonal ingredients. The mother Daniela was extremely nice and smart. She speaks Italian, English, German, Spanish, and a little French, and works with a program to keep the traditional Umbran traditions alive. Our main course was a risotto with pumpkin, Perugian sausage (my favorite), and onions. There were baked seasonal vegetables, amazing cake, cookies, and fruit dous [View Full Entry]

Almond cake, and honey and walnut bruschetta

By Margaret Nigro
October 30th 2007

It's raining for real Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Today is the first time I've walked through the rain and been soaked. Thank goodness. I miss rains like that, even in Minnesota it's not quite the same. I've been doing this internship the past few weeks at a library that is part of a private foundation here in Perugia. Basically what I'm supposed to do is write short summaries of the 95 children's books they have. Most of the books are from the turn of the last century. Today I read parts of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, and Peter and Wendy, as well as a couple of [View Full Entry]

By Margaret Nigro
October 29th 2007

It's good to be back Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

The Alhambra

Getting back into Perugia yesterday was such a relief. Today we started classes back up. My Italian disappeared startlingly quickly over the break. I almost started speaking in Spanish, and nearly threw out a "merci" when Francesco handed out a worksheet. Pathetic. It's nice to just be relaxing. I thought I'd put an entry up and just add some photos that I didn't put up before. My midterms went okay, so far. I have a feeling the political science midterm didn't go too well, just like Renaissance Art, but the two psychology midterms and Italian went well. That's all the news [View Full Entry]

By tlh001
October 27th 2007

Fall Break Europe » Italy » Umbria » Perugia

Rome

Well it was about time for fall break to show up. After a busy week filled with finals, which all went well-I think- I finally got to see my Mom. This has been the longest I've gone with out seeing someone in my family and it was really nice to see someone especially my Mom. Plans changed at the last minute and Jackie ended up not leaving until the day after Mom arrived so Mom and I crammed into my narrow twin bed. Mom got to experience our paper thin walls and found out we weren’t lying when we said it [View Full Entry]

By MURPHY32
October 26th 2007

Beautiful Asissi Europe » Italy » Umbria

Day 7 As soon as we walked out our door this morning I was reminded why Lissa and I had fallen in love with Asissi. The town is a maze of small streets going nowhere but still leading you to the next beautiful street. First I must tell you about our room, nice cozy and with beautiful views. The bathroom is 3 1/2 feet deep by 10 wide. Picture walking in the door and facing the sink to left is the baudet,toilet and on the wall the shower which is just a little in front of the toilet Just a drain [View Full Entry]

By TheSchlossers
October 25th 2007

San Marino & Assisi Europe » Italy » Umbria » Assisi

Rooftop Garden
A roof top garden in San Marino.

We drove from Ravenna to San Marino, a hill top town overlooking the Umbria valley. Normally the town is very scenic and full of tourists, but today the weather was raining and the clouds hung low. We didn't see any views and most places were closed. However, we did manage to walk around and find a great place for lunch. After lunch and another bottle of wine, we decided to head out for the beautiful town of Assisi. After an hour drive we arrived in Assisi. This is a famous town due to Saint Francis of Assisi and the church he [View Full Entry]

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