I’m crazy about Italy.
I love the food, the art, the architecture. Did I mention the food?
I love how artisans can still make a living. Their workmanship and the history of their crafts are still respected. You can find people hand-carving frames. Gilders restoring churches. Glass blowers continue to work at the furnaces on Murano. Little shops of cameo carvers. Some of them are world famous and living treasures like Mario Talarico, who caries on the family tradition of making umbrellas by hand. But most of them you will find in small workshops tucked away on some tiny alley doing what they love. Seeking out these men and women during my travels is pure inspiration.
I love Vespas! Wandering the streets, whether dodging the crazy traffic of Rome or meandering a country road in Puglia, there are Vespas! I think we all fell in love with the scooter when Gregory Peck took Audrey Hepburn for a spin around town in Roman Holiday. Well I’m happy to report I am now one of the devoted. I have my own little piece of Italy in San Francisco.
