Category: Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Ten Things Tourists Need to Know

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events, Practical Matters - Living Abroad, Travel Comments

In the spring, summer and fall of 2024 our house in the hills was rocking with out of towners. For ten years, we asked, cajoled, begged and pleaded family and friends to please come and visit us in Pontelandolfo. Hardly anyone did. As years passed, no one did. This past year everyone did. We were so booked that we had a paper calendar on the kitchen wall with days blocked off and names scribbled in, scribbled out and new ones scribbled in. I felt like our door was not just revolving but always open.

Shut the door you’re letting the flies in. Shut the door you’re letting the cold in.

That said, we were happy to have a full house. We saw people we hadn’t seen in years. Catching up is always fun. I hope this summer we get just as many guests.

What an enormous bugia! Most days I was happy to have a full house. Other days, I took my computer and hid in a bar.

Come on Midge, every experience no matter how frustrating is an opportunity to learn. I learned that there is a lot to learn. Having all these folks passing through and me shaking my head like an insane Auntie M, I realized that there were things that guests, retreat participants, culinary tourists and everyone who visits us needed to know.

One of Jack’s cousins suggested I was doing my readers a disservice by not sharing my incredible knowledge of random and useless facts about traveling. She encouraged me to come up with a list of Ten Things Tourists and Guests coming to Pontelandolfo need to know. This suggestion was given after I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and said, you don’t have a debit card? How could you come to Europe and not have a debit card? Gulp, I need to work on may people skills.

Deciding to take the task seriously, and with her input, I riffed on things I noticed people having a problem with. Ta, da – Here is my arbitrary and lightly sarcastic list of Ten Things Tourists Need to Know:

  1. No one here wants your American dollars. Even the local banks don’t want to exchange your dollars for euros. Unless you are washing your cash, why would you bring a sack of dollars? Bring a sack of euros. Stuff them in your bra. That’s what I do. When in Italy use euros. The 1950s ugly American idea that the entire world craves “American Money” is over. About 25 years ago, my father joined us on an excursion to Pontelandolfo. He knew that the kids in our extended family were in college so he brought a stack of $50 bills to give as gifts. Every single kid said thank you, looked at the bill, looked at me and raised an eyebrow. Unless you were in a big city there was no way to change the dollars.

2. Make sure you have a working debit card. With a debit card you can go to any automatic teller machine and get the best exchange rates on the currency of the country you are visiting. I take that back. Only go to bank automatic teller machines not the ones named after someone’s pet cat. When you get a debit card or if you have one but haven’t used it out of the country, call your bank and make sure it works abroad. I had a panicked cousin who had just gotten a debit card and discovered it would’t work anywhere but at her bank. An irate call to the bank unearthed that the card didn’t work because it wasn’t a debit/credit card. She ended up borrowing euros.

3. Beware of the seemingly friendly offer to charge you for your purchase on line, in a store and/or at an automatic teller machine in US dollars. You will be screwed on the exchange rate. Make sure you click euros. Your bank will do the exchange at a better rate.

4. Use your credit card not your debit card to buy stuff. Credit cards in a store or restaurant provide a more secure way to shop. Credit card companies will usually refund, cancel and harness the creeps who steal your info. This advice does not come from me. I can barely add. It comes from my banker and numerous articles I’ve read from credible sources. And, some cretin did steal my credit card number and used the card/number to buy breakfast everyday at the same bar in Campobasso. Yes, they were caught and yes, my bank handled everything.

5. Please don’t be a creepy traveler (especially in Pontelandolfo where I know everyone) and use a credit card in a small local caffe or shop for a cup of coffee and a biscotti. My personal guideline is if it is less than €25 I pay in cash.

6. Double check all the adapters for your electronic devices. Not every country abroad has the same plug configuration. “What, I used this in Germany, why the @$#% doesn’t it work in Italy.” Because you are in Italy not Germany. Depending on where you are, it might be difficult to get the correct adapter.

7. Make sure your bags make it directly to your final destination. Airline and airport blues make the beginning of your trip a nightmare. Guests have told me that they missed flights to Naples because they had to get their checked bags in another European country and go through control again before boarding their flight to Naples. I then ask the same question. Were you flying on two different airlines? Don’t. For example, we would fly Lufthansa from Newark, New Jersey to Naples, Italy. We changed planes in Frankfurt. Our bags came all the way through to Naples. If we had flown airline A from the USA to the EU and then a different airline to our final destination, the odds are we would have had to get our bags and schlepp them to the second airline. Double check when booking your flight. I always ask, ”the bags go all the way through, correct.” Yes, I book flights on line but being anal, I also call the airlines.

8. Pack less not more. Jack just asked, how do you know what you need until you get there. Jack also said, if you forget something you can buy it. Sigh. I tend to overpack or rather over pile stuff on the bed and then toss out half. Packing cubes are incredible. I’ve got both compression and regular cubes. Sorting your clothes can be particularly useful if you are moving from city to city. I sort, because my type A personality likes clothes organized by type. Ladies, gulp, maybe it is because I am in my third act, but I discovered that sanitary napkins are a life saver on many counts. I am able to wear a pair of trousers more days using sanitary napkins. (Shhhh, that is a secret.)

9. Make sure you have a working phone. Don’t cheap out and think you can just keep your phone in airplane mode and/or just use wi-fi. We have had folks stranded at the train station with no way to contact us. When you are in a Wi-Fi zone it is easy to use free services – like Apple to Apple texting and FaceTime. Many Italians, us included, use WhatsApp. WhatsApp is even used by doctors and businesses here. For clarity of sound, I’ve discovered that Facebook messenger is incredible for calling pals in the USA. Again, don’t only rely on Wi-Fi as your only means of communication. Pay the fee to have international access or buy a SIM card wherever you are. A digital warrior who lives here has another hack. She bought a rechargeable portable hotspot. Hence, WiFi everywhere she goes.

10. This is a biggy. Make sure your passport is up to date and doesn’t expire within a three month window of your trip. I have no idea why that rule exists. Could someone explain it to all of us? It seems to me, something expires when it expires but who am I to have an opinion. A young relative of mine slated to visit us last year, discovered his passport would be in the unusable two month window. He had to fly to another state to go to an in-person passport center and get his new passport in one day. Yikes! Though, thinking about it, not being able to get home might start a new adventure.

NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT COMING TO PONTELANDOLFO THIS YEAR!

Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo is a magical experience that started in 2016. Last year we even won an award. We have a session in May and another in September.

Click here and get started on a Culinary adventure


2025 Writers’ Refuge in the Sannio Hills is our second writer’s retreat. Last year Pontelandolfo hosted playwrights who raved about the experience. This June, creative writers are encouraged to spend time with us.

Click here and create in a nurturing sanctuary

Hope to see you this summer in Pontelandolfo.

Ci vediamo a presto.

Midge

Culture Shock

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Oh no, has it really been more than a month since I shared my adventures with you? Were you thinking “she must be off doing something magical.” “Maybe she is checking out the new murals in Pompeii.”

Sigh, I am staring blankly out the window clutching my wallet to my chest. We flew back to New Jersey at the end of January and ran smack into the big bad brick wall of culture shock.

cul·ture shock (Definition from Oxford Languages)

  1. the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.

WHAT! WHAT! NOOOOO!

How much???? NO! NOT THAT MUCH! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLP!

HOW LONG? Where am I?????

“Jack,” I queried, “Did I become mean looking or just old and nasty? Unless I say good morning first, everyone passing us is ignoring us.” The ever logical Jack replied, ” No one in Ewing knows your name. Most people are just getting on with their lives. Not everything is about you. We aren’t in Pontelandolfo anymore.”

I really miss the cultural and personal connection that comes from a bunch of people knowing my name and hearing “ciao Midge.” Even if everyone in the pharmacy is a stranger they’ll say Buon giorno to each other. Simple welcoming phrases can put on smile on a lonely person’s face and pull me out of my doldrums.

We love to eat out and don’t need an occasion. Just the joy of – what BS – OK, at this point in my life I’d rather be creating and writing than cooking. So we do eat out a lot. Lunch every day In Pontelandolfo, home cooked with love at Bar Elimar or Ponte Simone cost me about $20 for the two of us. Often less. Out to lunch in NJ my hand trembled when I signed the credit card for a cheap two roll lunch with miso soup at a substandard sushi restaurant that cost $50 for two people. Don’t get me started about the cost of bad coffee in a cookie cutter coffee place.

I miss starting my day with a trip to Cafè Style, chatting with the owner and having him make a perfect super hot, low on foam cappuccino.

“Un euro per favore.” Yup, one euro for a perfect coffee. Since the euro and dollar are almost par you can see why I shudder at the $3.50 to $5.00 almost OK tasting cappuccinos to be found near our condo. Stop, asking If I want whipped cream! Ugggg.

And what is this “there is a 3.5% surcharge if you use a credit card?” Talk about declassè. Dear restaurant and store owner, It is the cost of doing business, raise your prices to cover the cost. Or, as the evil kid in my brain thought, are they just doing the surcharge thing to grow their profit margin and the prices already cover the surcharge. Seriously, is this just a New Jersey thing or is it happening everywhere?

I will admit if the amount I’m spending in Pontelandolfo is less than 40 or 50 euro, I pay in cash. They don’t do the up-charge but I am guessing that a fee must be there.

Don’t get me started on medical issues. Knowing the early bird gets the appointment, I started calling the doctors we wanted to see in early December. My thought was we would be able to see the doctors we have loved for years the first week we were back. Not! Calling in early December meant seeing specialists at the end of February. And all of these frustrating gate-keepers! I had a million questions about Jack’s new Italian pacemaker that obviously wouldn’t get answered until we were in the office. Using WhatsApp, I am able to communicate directly with our Italian specialists. Doctors who actually respond themselves within a day. Sigh… We are only here for a few months so I will suck it up.

“Your co-pay maam for the anticoagulant that your exceptional cardiologists in two countries feel is important to keep you from stroking out is only $500 a month.” You laugh! That is true. Being an inquisitive patient advocate, before we left Italy, I had called my New Jersey pharmacy and my medicare part D insurance provider asking what the anticoagulant pills would cost me a month. After laughing out loud and then cursing out loud, I went to my Italian pharmacy and bought retail the three months worth of pills I needed for my stay in NJ for – drum roll please – 96 euros a month or about 100 dollars a month. Other brands that our USA chums were prescribed would still cost me over $200 a month. In Italy, my universal healthcare system knows not taking the drug could kill me, therefore, like Jack’s diabetes medicine, it has no co-pay.

YES I WILL STOP WHINING! There I feel so much better just getting that last whine out of my system. You all, my delightful readers, are like extended family. And as you know, only our family ever sees us whine. (Ha ha ha.) Thank you. Grazie.

All that bitching out of my system, it is important that you know that we reallydo like being back in New Jersey. I get to see people I adore, eat food from lots of different cultures, ramble through our lovely condo building for instantaneous cocktail hours and easily enjoy lots of urban culture.

Speaking of culture – who is ready to visit Pontelandolfo in 2025?

Click here to find about both our Cooking and WRiting Programs.

Thanks for listening. I promise no more whining. Talk again soon.

Ci Vediamo

Midge

Epiphany Musings

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Duh! How could I forget. Bam! I did forget. Yesterday, January 6th I was in Piazza Roma trying to get to the doctor’s office first thing. He was closed. WHAT – the farmacia was closed. What is going on?

I walked into our house at about 9:30 AM and there on an end table near the “Jack chair” sat a bright read sack filled with candy. Turning, nestled in the chair I always curl up in, I spied a second red sack. More candy! Then it hit me – La Befana was here. We must have both been very good. Besides candy, both our bags included a bottle of an adult beverage.

Grazie La Befana (or bestie pal Nicola who tiptoed in with the stash). Growing up in rural agrarian Somerset County, New Jersey, LaBefana was not part of the landscape. The first time I heard about this sprightly old woman who brings candy to those who are good and carbone to the wicked was about 20 years ago. I saw, in an Italian book store, what I thought were kitchen witches. Or simply strega, like the witches of Benevento. Picking one up and glancing through the accompanying book I realized that La Befana was as important a part of the Christmas story as the three kings. She never did find the baby Jesus but every Epiphany she searches for and finds Italian children all over the world.

Her determination, working against the odds of her life, great choice of tattered togs and fearless nature has endeared her to me. It has been an interesting journey following the Epiphany celebrations. In Venice a cotillion of gondolas float by, each piloted by La Befana. In Alghero, Sardegna we saw La Befana effigies hung on very light post. In Rome’s Piazza Navona, one can find La Befana making appearances. Urbania, in the region of Marche, purports to be the official home of La Befana. (I think the woods behind our house in Flagtown, NJ were really her home. Just kidding.) Every year folks come to Urbania and watch La Befana fly down from the town’s bell tower.

Morcone, my other favorite paese in the Sannio Hills, had an incredible calendar this January. La Befana, on stilts, paraded down the street followed by musicians sporting traditional instruments. There was a marvelous mercatino.

Did I mention the elves?

The most astounding thing that happens in Morcone is a living nativity – Presepe Vivente. It is the best community involved theater I have ever seen. After wandering through the historic center redone as Bethlehem, one walked down to a huge field to see Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus find shelter. The three kings are there but La Befana never made it. I made the following video in 2018. Every year the spectacular gets better and better.

I was so taken with the fable that one year I put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and – if I do say so myself- a charming contemporary play featuring this feisty character leaped into the page.

Mamma Mia – La Befana?! weaves the ancient Italian Epiphany tale, La Befana, into a contemporary American setting. Could the fun loving sixty-something Nonna from Florida really be the thousands of years old scruffy old woman who on January 5th delivers gifts to the good children and coal to the bad? The answer becomes evident as Nonna/Befana uses her holiday magic to find her lost and injured granddaughter, Mary. 

Shazam- the magic continues- Mamma Mia La Befana?! Was published by Next Stage Press. It is a perfect piece for a theater’s or school’s holiday season. Just as La Befana zaps around the world, I would be thrilled to see this play zoom to a theater near you.

Share this play with a pal.

Auguri! May 2025 be a happy, healthy and creative year. I know La Befana will never leave you coal.

Ci vediamo prossima volta!

Midge

Speaking of Creativity –
Now is the time to register for our Creative Writing Retreat and/or our Culinary Adventure!

Click Here for all our EVENTS!

Happy Holidays from the Sannio Hills

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

This year we are celebrating the holidays in the Sannio Hills of Southern Italy. The house is ablaze with lights. Thanks to our talented landlord, there is even a 20 foot tall Italian flag that seems to billow in the breeze. Inside, with the pellet fire roaring and a single malt to sip, I’ve been ensconced in a comfy chair binge reading a series by Carlen O’Connor. The books set in a small Irish village made me realize that village life, wherever your village is, has a similarity. People taking care of each other. Holiday events filling calendars. Decorations making every village even more beautiful. Scents of baking, prepping and bubbling fill kitchens. The shops are stocked with “must have” new goods and their instagram feeds are bursting with photos. We are blessed to live in such a village.

Is everything perfect? Nah. That charming roaring pellet fire is our boiler. That means freezing or filling the pellet stove with 30 pound bags of pellets, cleaning the pellet stove and dragging the ash vacuum outside to empty; cursing at the error 12 on the freakin’ pellet stove; searching for that wool sweater that we (Jack) swore he left here; and of course seeing mountains of baccalà in every market and enough delectable sweets to keep me lying on the couch binging holiday movies for weeks. Sounds terrible – not! Yes, there is snow on the mountain peaks. Yes, the wind is whipping in the Sannio Hills. Yes, our cheeks are rosy. AND YES this little village is full of happiness, good cheer and enriching our lives.

Village life and Pontelandolfese have warmed my soul. Nicola makes sure the too heavy for me to even drag bags of pellets are near our door. Lina arrived with enough homemade pasta for me to freeze for Christmas Day. Adele dropped everything when I had a WHOA was that an earthquake vertigo attack and quickly got me into see a specialist. Our car was in the shop for 7 days – don’t ask. Alessio has turned his free time into “drive Midge wherever she needs to go time.” Other people hearing through the village network that our car was on the fritz, offered to drag our butts wherever we needed to be.

Starting with the December 8th lighting of the Christmas lights in Piazza Roma, we have been out and about enjoying the season. Pontelandolfo, as I’ve bellowed from the rooftops before, is full of creative and energetic folks who produce events, art, and cultural happenings. Check out the calendar –

This holiday season enjoy your village, wherever you are. Spread the good cheer, love and peace that warms the hearts of others. Buon Natale! Buona Feste!

Midge

PS. La Befana arrives during epiphany bringing candy or coal to Italian Children throughout the world. Take a peek at the play I wrote. It is available through Next Stage Press. Mamma Mia, La Befana??!!

PPS. Did I mention the lights? Enjoy –

Lessons Learned at the Theatre

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

One blustery Saturday night, the theater in Pontelandolfo was full. Men and women of all ages braved the cold to see a production developed by two amazing women, Michela Delli Veneri and Fiorella De Michele. Posters for Conto su di Me – Libere e Vivere had been zapping around social media and tacked up everywhere. I had no idea what to expect. The one thing I did know, was that Michela and Fiorella, both powerful women, would present something professional and relevant. Nestling into my seat, I looked around and noticed the hand made signs surrounding the space – My Body My Choice”, “Non Una di Meno”, “no è no” “Girl Power “.

Women Can Do Anything

Reading the signs triggered a response this 75 year old woman didn’t anticipate – sadness. Silently, tears dribbled down under my glasses. Didn’t we march for these same thoughts and rights when I was a girl? How many generations of women need to be treated like chattel? How long will society allow the minimization of women? Suddenly, I realized I was going to be in for a roller coaster ride of a production.

The multi media event was well developed and staged. This wasn’t a pound the idea on your head lecture but a thought provoking presentation that coupled actresses with real psychologists. The theme – Economic Abuse of Women. When I heard that, I thought equal pay for equal work or how to crack the glass ceiling. After seeing the performance I realized, economic abuse by one’s partner is horrific on both an emotional and physical level. Frankly, I was embarrassed that I had never realized holding back and controlling money was a form of abuse. I should have realized it. Having grown up in house full of tears, shouts and begging for love. Money, or the lack of it, was an embarrassing topic. My parents separated when I was about 11. Dad was caught “in the cookie jar” and mom was – well not very stable. Being the obnoxious child in our family, it was my job to go and “ask” my father for money. Mom, my sister and I were often just making do. My lack of patience and pushiness may be learned behavior. I learned how to be tenacious. One event that crushed me was my eight grade dance. After my asking dad for the money for a new dress and getting turned down, I was decimated when my younger sister came home from school crying and told me that a boy in her class whose mom was a ‘good pal’ of my dad’s just got an expensive train set from our father. I didn’t call it economic abuse – I was 14 – but after seeing this show, I realized that causing that kind of pain is indeed a form of abuse.

The staging was interesting. An actress would enter the set and tell their story. Then, the psychologists would either interact with the actress or talk about the case. The psychologists were wonderful performers in their own rights. I felt as though I was part of a group session and was throughly engaged. One scene that obviously tugged on my heart opened with a mom and son going to see a therapist. As the little boy was in his session, the mom shared her grief at not being allowed to use any money – money her husband earned – to pay for the boy to participate in a traditional dance company. Obviously the mom didn’t have money of her own. The arguments that the boy witnessed included screaming, pushing and threats. The husband would not give up a penny for this child to join the other children in the village and dance. Yes, they could afford it. He controlled the money – period. That seems like such a small thing but the impact on both the mom and the child was incredible. The dad was so controlling. The money was being withheld as a method of controlling and punishment. Damn, I had been there.

Always having worked and maintaining my own bank accounts, it took a while for me to understand the stories of women who were totally dependent upon their partners. Stranded at home without cars, driver’s licenses or any form of recreation that wasn’t blessed by the king of the house put women in dangerous positions. The psychologists brought the truth of this battering home for me.

Media, music, monologues and scenes seamlessly worked together to further the theme. I hope the young women I saw in the audience realized, they are in control of their destiny. I hope the young men in the audience learned that men who promulgate any kind of physical, emotional or economic violence against women are cretins. ( I wanted to use really bad words here about abusive men – FFFFFFbomb ASSSSSSh#$#^$.)

Grazie a Tutti!!!!

Ci vediamo,

Midge Guerrea

Visti Pontelandolfo in 2025! We are now organizing Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo and a Writer’s Retreat. Message me for more information. We have very few spots!

Tawā Sushi Comes to Pontelandolfo

by midgeguerrera, posted in Food - Eating In and Out!, Local Businesses

When Jack and I started this Italian life-style journey 10 years ago there were three things we missed about living in New Jersey – our family and friends, Jersey sweet corn and SUSHI. By our second year in Pontelandolfo, we were – ok I was – so jonesing for sushi that I insisted we search near and far for a restaurant. That year the only sushi joint we found was in Avallino and the sushi was not anything we would eat again. Thing sugar rice -yuck. I sighed. I cried and I wished on every star.

The stars came through! Giuseppe Sforza, an exceptional restaurateur, opened a world class sushi restaurant in – wait for it – hear me exploding with joy – in my home town!

Joy!!!!

Tawā, which means tower, sits under Pontelandolfo’s iconic tower and offers a world class experience. We knew it would. Giuseppe had been the proprietor of Landulphi a Latin themed pub. Latin like the language of our Italian ancestors. The menu was in Latin (with pictures), the waitstaff wore appropriate costumes, I mean uniforms, only beer was served and the food was fantastic. It was incredibly successful. A new version is being built in our historic center. But back to sushi. Tawā has been about a year in the making. Giuseppe is a stickler for detain and, even though I begged and pleaded and texted and shouted, he wouldn’t open until every detail was perfect.

Signage to guide you!
LA Style
Opening night a grand piano appears in the piazza.

Giuseppe, bless his heart, invited us to the prova. The night the chef and staff practice and get all the kinks out. It was a night to remember. What a gift of goodness. We learned that night that Tawā has a fixed price menu. No, not that plebeian all you can eat kind of fixed price but an opportunity to explore the delectable treats the chef is making daily based on the market and his muse.

We have been gastronomically entranced by the Percorso Tradizionale. Our first tasting was at the prova. We loved it so much we went back one day after Tawā opened to feast again. There were more courses than I could count and I was to busy groaning with happiness to take pictures of everything.

Follow for Sushi!

The wee bowl of white soup was magical. Fish broth with a hint of salsa di soia melded with a whipped egg and steamed, looked like the smoothest of flans. When the spoon pierced the cream, broth oozed up giving my tastebuds a smooth yet soupy feel. It was delightfully decadent. The salad, in the adjacent photo was celery, carrots and seaweed. Whoever sliced the celery into long thin lettuce like strips is a king with a knife. The sesame dressing rocked it.I loved every morsel.

Yes, of course there was sashimi and sushi nigiri. I particularly was impressed with the raw scallops served in the shell and topped with a frothy essence of the sea.

I better stop talking about the food, I am getting hungry and I am not close enough to Pontelandolfo to zip in, sit at the sushi bar, order a glass of wine and the apertivo. But domani!

Tawā is an asset to Piazza Roma. Giuseppe is great at marketing and people will visit our village from afar. I am so thankful to him for providing me with one of the things I miss most about New Jersey.

Ci vediamo prossima volta.

Midge

Literally Italy LLC
Stay tuned for our latest venture. Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo is more than just cooking. Playwrights Retreat is happening now and a Writer’s Retreat is on the schedule for June 2025! Visual artists may be next!

Riohana – Morcone’s Cocktail House

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Food - Eating In and Out!

It was hard to imagine we were in the medieval village next door to Pontelandolfo. Riohana Cocktail House, is a hip bar with a Manhatten vibe. What exactly makes this a cool place? Could it be the drink menu designed by an ace mixologist; the laid back jungle atmosphere replete with couches, cozy tables both indoors and out; an outrageous bar menu; and gastropub fare that goes way beyond the mundane? With two out of town guests, Jack and I put on our party clothes and drove to Morcone to find out.

Ever curious, we wondered what the two story building balancing on a mountain ledge had been. A blacksmith’s shop was the answer. Hmm, I thought, a walled in outdoor terrace with a metal gate to the street – corral? Did horses head to a watering trough neighing about their new shoes? We never did find the answer. We did find an adult watering trough that made us whinny with delight.

Mattia Cioccia is the bartender/manager and creative force behind the Riohana Cocktail House. He is also the reason we went. I first met Mattia years ago when he was a bartender at Pontelandolfo’s Landulphi pub and restaurant. We bonded when I made him laugh by reminding him in barely there Italian that I was an American woman and could handle a double pour of vodka, gin, scotch etc. Mattia is a first rate mixologist and has a delightful personality. His bar menu at Riohana had enticing names like –

Since gin is one of my go to beverages, I felt compelled to try “Ant-Ree.” Floating on top was a toasted mini mandarin slice. I could picture the ants marching along carrying their citrus find. It was delicious. So delicious that – no I will not reveal how many adult beverages I can consume and still wend my way home on mountain goat paths. Each of us had a different drink. Each drink was unique and perfectly blended. Mattia knows his stuff.

The kitchen didn’t disappoint us either. We started with the €3 each “Tagliere/aperitivo.” Snacks to accompany our cocktails that were interesting. Don’t tell Jack that the open faced tramezzini he gulped down was made with pickled eggplant. After another drink or three we realized that ordering something heartier might be appropriate. They have essentially a hot sandwich, panini, menu.

The green beverage you see in the background is a gin and basil drink. I’ve had it before and think I also had one that night. Gulp. Back to the sandwiches. We each got a sandwich cut in four parts. Swapping and tasting was the idea, my Alpi e Appennini was so scrumptious that I cried when I shared. Great tasting, fresh ingredients made each one exceptional.

The best news? Jack and I after an enjoyable night out in Morcone spent only €36. Are you all starting to understand why we love spending time in the Sannio Hills? Great stuff and prices we can afford. We will return to Riohana Cocktail House.

Ci Vediamo!

Midge

FOODIES TAKE NOTICE

The time is now to organize your pals to come and Cook in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo! We are setting up 2025 spring and summer’s programs now.
Email me at info@nonnamulberrytree.com

thre is no better way to start cooking than with a bar crawl! Cook, Eat, Laugh!

Is it Mountain Air or Genetic?

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

I know, I know you have heard it before but it is true -seriously – it is true. Something here in Pontelandolfo activates creative woo woo and the arts – especially literary arts burst forth with abandon. Yes, of course I have another case in point – Carlo Perugini.

I first met Carlo at a Club di Libro di Pontelandolfo meeting. The book club members were part of the villages intelligenza. For me, reading the books and listening to the discussion was like an Italian language seminar. Carlo was not only an articulate participant but he also threw great parties – literary themed of course.

Discovering that Carlo was an author, I ordered one of his books. Scarpittopoli: Pontelandolfo: persone, personaggi e storie del tempo che fu a collection of short stories/fables located in my favorite village.

What fun, laugh out loud fun, at the antics of long ago villagers. Those of you who follow me, know that I’ve been studying Italian for a pazillion years. Carlo’s book was the perfect companion to those studies. The stories were interesting, pulled me in and written in such a way that even I could enjoy every – well almost – every word. After that, I was hooked on the canon of Carlo Perugini. HEY Italian teachers – consider his books!

Carlo’s love for Pontelandolfo’s past is evident in his first book, “AUGUST 1861 MEMORIES OF THOSE DAYS.” You have heard me prattle on before about the rape, pillage and burning of our village by the Italian army. Genocide is not fun.

Carlo’s work personalizes that horrific event. During those dark days, someone kept a graphic diary and hid it in the ceiling . A contractor pal renovating that ancient house found the diary and gave it to Carlo. The book first published in 1989 was a resounding success. It is in its third edition today and liberally quoted, mentioned and listed in the bibliographies of other books about the conquering of Southern Italy.

Nessun altro si salverà!: L’affondamento del cacciatorpediere Scirocco nel ricordo del Sergente Nocchiere Michele Perugini – a long title but a gripping memoiresque book. (“No One Else will be Saved.”) It is the tale of Carlo’s father, Michele, who joined the Italian Navy during World War II and was the only survivor of a horrific loss of a ship. The opening chapters – so reminiscent of the stories my nonna told – were so gripping I poured two fingers of scotch and settled down to finish the book in a marathon sitting.

La Ruzzola del Formaggio e altri Racconti is another collection of short stories. I am a sucker for these tales and giggled out loud while reading some of them. The title story reveals the passion Pontelandolfese have for “rolling the cheese.” Everyone who comes to Pontelandolfo and has a chance to see this sport can’t believe that enormous wheels of cheese – big enough to break your leg if it hits you – are careening down our streets amid cheers and curses. Our last group of Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo participants had a fun filled afternoon rolling the cheese with our local Ruzzola champion.

His list of published works goes on but Carlo Perugini is more than a collection of books. He is also an environmentalist/activist member of Italia Nostra. He is committed to environmental protection. I’ve written about how the Sannio Hills are being inundated with wind turbines while windless Tuscany has none. Carlo is part of the group leading the charge to protect the hills around Pontelandolfo.

He is also a director of the World Wildlife Fund Oasi Di Campolatara and can been seen with school children explaining the pollination process and need for bees. I asked if he kept bees. Of course he does! He is a beekeeper and makes honey. In the spirit of transparency I must tell you he gave me a jar. It was scrumptious.

Besides bees, at Carlos home one can find miniature goats. He actually raises miniature goats. I haven’t asked if he makes goat cheese – that would be too pushy. Though I do love fresh goat cheese.

He has been lobbying for the inclusion of Pontelandolfo and Morcone in the Parco Nazionale del Matese. That inclusion would provide a plethora of benefits for our community. .

Protecting the environment requires understanding the media and how to make a voice heard. Carlo is also a contributor to the newspaper, La Cittadella. The articles are often reprinted and posted.

This incredible author, activist and genuinely nice guy spent his working years as a nuclear engineer. He worked all over the world. India, China, South Korea are just a few of the stops. Clocks in his office have times set for Roma and Seoul. (No he doesn’t glow from nuclear waste only from environmental passion and creativity.)

According to Carl, ” I have been an engineer for all my life and I had the opportunity, for work, to travel all over the world. I have always regarded this as a fantastic experience. Living away from the house where I was born for long periods, I suffered from nostalgia for my small native village in the Matese mountains. So I started writing stories of my village to feel closer to my people.”

We are so glad he did. Carlo Perugini is an incredible example of how the mountain air or our Pontelandolfese DNA has developed an avalanche of artistic citizens.

Ci Vediamo

Midge Guerrera

You too can breathe in our mountain air! Our team is setting up writing and cooking programs now for 2025. Email me at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com for exciting information.