El Marsam Studio - Acknowledgements

Why Italy

ROOMS WITH A VIEW - ITALY | ROOMS WITH A VIEW and BEYOND...

Often I am asked why we chose to live in Umbria, of all the beautiful regions of Italy. In a few words - for its beauty, for its rich cultural and artistic offerings, for a quality of life that is slower, richer, and still steeped in the traditional values of home, land and family - a perfect balance of elements that makes the choice right for us. Umbria is a region of supreme natural beauty, with vistas of fields and mountains and hilltop villages, where daily life follows a rhythm that is elemental and eternal. We find that this “Green Heart of Italy” sustains and satisfies us, both physically and spiritually. Life here requires that we bend and toil, and care for our land, as the local farmers have for millennia. The fruits of our labors, we bring to our table.

My artist’s eye is ever pleased, charmed, challenged. It is no accident that Umbrian painters, then as now, imbued their work with light – such is the muted splendor of the Umbrian landscape. This is the land of painters and saints, and one can follow the paths they traveled. Home to St. Francis, beloved saint of Assisi, Umbria has a deep spiritual heritage, not just carved into the stones of her churches but embedded in the hearts of the people. The land and the people, both gentle and kind, awaken a dormant spirit as surely as the birds that twitter at first light.

So, the answer is:

We have just not bought a house in Italy – we have chosen a way of life!

But Umbria is only part of the whole. And the whole of Italy appeals to me – to my longing to learn from its past as well as its present, to my need to discover the world that surrounds me as well as the world within. I love Italia’s foods and her festas, her music and her traditions. Like the hound that hunts the truffles, I follow my instincts until I unearth yet another prize to add to my basket of memories! Oh, what a banquet they will make!

So, join me, as I savor Italy. The following are some stories I have written as I discover and delight in the pleasures of my new home country.

A Winter's Harvest at El Marsam

Cooking in Calabria

Bagno Vignoni - Ancient Baths, Renewed Spirits

Monte S. Maria Tiberina

Cruising the Brenta Canal from Venice to Padova

La Notte Bianca - The White Night in Rome

Visiting Vesuvius

Italy's World Cup & the Verona Opera

Copyright

Ginda Simpson

All rights reserved. No part of these stories may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author. If you wish to copy or quote any portion of my stories, please contact me by e-mail: itsmeginda@yahoo.com.