Most Recent Blog Posts:
- Postcards from IrelandOn their way back from Pienza to Seattle, Carol and Roger stopped over in Ireland for 10 days of sightseeing. Dublin…with a quarter the population of Ireland…was quaint but was like any other big city. One pleasant surprise was the pub scene. Irish pubs are… Read more: Postcards from Ireland
- A Weekend with the EtruscansAbout 70 km southwest of Pienza lies the town of Sovana in a landscape of deep gorges and steep cliffs. The scenery is stunning, but that’s not the reason most people come to visit. At one set of cliffs lies an archeological park called the… Read more: A Weekend with the Etruscans
- Sodoma’s RevengeOur story begins here, at the abbey Monte Oliveto Maggiore, about 34 km northwest of PIenza. The abbey was founded in 1313 by the son of a prominent Siena banker. He was looking for the “most desolate place around” to prove that God would provide… Read more: Sodoma’s Revenge
- Un Bel Tramonto (A Beautiful Sunset)This year’s Tuscan olive harvest is in full swing. From the orchard where Roger is helping with the harvest, there is a spectacular view of the historic abbey of Santa Anna in Comprena…the setting where the 1996 Oscar-winning movie The English Patient was filmed. (The… Read more: Un Bel Tramonto (A Beautiful Sunset)
- A Living LegendA year ago, we went to visit Rosa Moretti and her husband Francesco Iovino in Calabria (the toe of the Italian boot). This year, it was their turn to return the favor. We spent a day in and around Montalcino (in this photo, they are… Read more: A Living Legend
- Pienza Opera ReduxFor the twelfth year in a row, the opera competition returned to Pienza. (For the description of how the competition works see last year’s post: https://rbergson.org/the-opera-festival/) The two women below participated in last year’s competition. Arianna Giuffrida returned to compete this year…and the woman on… Read more: Pienza Opera Redux
- The Fiat 500When you think of small cars…really small cars, what comes to mind in Italy is the Fiat 500…or Cinquecento. The car was first produced by Fiat in 1936 and was soon nicknamed “Topolino”…”Little Mouse”…because of it’s diminutive size. Immediately after World War II, the car… Read more: The Fiat 500
- Monte AmiataWhen you look across the Val d’Orcia from Pienza, the skyline is dominated by Monte Amiata. Monte Amiata is Italy’s second tallest volcano, though unlike its bigger cousin, Mt Etna, it hasn’t erupted for the last 180,000 years. The summit of Monte Amiata stands at… Read more: Monte Amiata
- The End of an ERAIn the heart of Pienza lies Piazza Pio. The piazza is dominated by the Duomo (cathedral) and is flanked by two palaces: Palazzo Pio and Palazzo Borgia. Across from the Duomo, in what is probably the least conspicuous building on the piazza, sits a bar… Read more: The End of an ERA
- Palazzo Medici and the Oldest Building in FirenzeCarol and Roger don’t get into Firenze as often as they would like (it’s five hours each way by bus and train), so when we do get to go, we try to make the most of it. Our goal this trip was the Palazzo Medici.… Read more: Palazzo Medici and the Oldest Building in Firenze