Writing Residencies in Italy

Lake Garda region

Firenze

Firenze

This is a cross-over post that pulls together my love of Italy and writing. While I'm recently back from the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, I'm always plotting of ways to return to Italy, particularly
to write. In fact, Bread Loaf has a program in Sicily.

To search for writers' residencies abroad, you might start with a search on the Alliance of Artists Communities. For other useful resources, see the links under "Conferences, Residencies & More" on my writing coach blog.

Here (and listed below on the right side of the blog) are some amazing looking programs in Italy:

Civitella Ranieri

American Academy in Rome

The Bellagio Center

MIRA

Have you attended a program (writing or otherwise) in Italy? What did you think of it? I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Before You Leave for Italy: Emergencies

No one likes to think about emergencies, but we have to think about them a little in order to prepare for them. (Sorry, friends.)

A few quick and easy things to think about before you leave:

Health

Does your health insurance cover you abroad/if you need to be sent home? Contact them directly and ask. 

Wondering if your vaccinations are up to date? Check with the CDC.

Bring all of your medicine with you in its original containers.

If you might need a specialist, look for English speaking specialists/clinics ahead of time. Hospitals in major cities should have translators. Read more here about the medical system in Italy. 

Emergencies

Register with the U.S. Embassy in Rome for regular security updates.

Leave a copy of your travel plans, passports, credit cards, etc., with a trusted friend at home. 

What did I forget?

Andiamo!: Preparing For Your Trip to Italia! (Politics & Prose Bookstore)

I’m looking forward to teaching Andiamo!: Preparing For Your Trip to Italia! at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., on May 21^st.  Register and purchase the books through the bookstore.

Andiamo!: Preparing For Your Trip to Italia!

In this class, we will cover everything you need to plan your trip to Italy: travel tips, restaurant / market etiquette, basic phrases, and more. Come with questions and a notepad. A resource list with suggested books, websites and more will be shared---as well some Italian cookies and coffee.

Monday, May 21

1 – 3 PM

Price: $40/35 members

Recommended (but not required) books:

Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, Fred Plotkin

Italianissimo: The Quintessential Guide to What Italians Do Best, Louise Fili and Lise Apatoff

Books are discounted 20% for class participants.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Chloe Yelena Miller fell in love with Italy and the Italian language after spending her junior year abroad in Florence through Smith College. She later returned to Florence for three years to work for New York University’s campus abroad. Bilingual, she teaches Italian language and cooking. Her family emigrated from the town of Sala Consilina (SA) to New Jersey in the 1800’s and now she happily returns to Italy as often as she can. She blogs regularly about Italian language and cooking here: http://farelascarpetta.blogspot.com/

Please let me know if you have any questions (chloemiller(at)gmail(dot)com.)

Tuscany in Photographs: Photographer Melabee Miller's new book, "Tuscany June 2011"

Congratulations to my mother, photographer Melabee Miller, on her new book Tuscany June 2011!

This book is a collection of what she saw through her camera’s lens this summer in Tuscany. She took a watercolor class in the countryside and traveled around the region.  In total, she documents four towns: Radda in Chianti, San Gimignano, Siena and Florence. (Yes, I'm as jealous as you are.)

Preview the book to see a sample of the pages. There are classic images, like those of the Florentine duomo’s dome, and more intimate, original views that you’ve likely never seen before, such as  carved, architectural details.

This book is the next best thing to traveling to Tuscany yourself. That is, traveling with a curious guide who reveals beauty even in the texture of the cobblestones.

Purchase the book here. 

Web Find: Moving to Italy?

If you've thought about moving to Italy, you'll enjoy this article by Karen Mills in The Wall Street Journal: Moving to Italy: How a Tennessee native - after toiling in piles of paperwork - found a new life in the city of Florence. She kindly shares details, from her visa application process to some specific costs in her new city. I think you'll find it quite insightful!

If you are are a writer currently living abroad, in Florence or elsewhere, you might be interested in the editor's note:

Thinking about living—or just traveling— abroad? This is part of a series of travel stories in which we ask Americans living overseas, full time or part time, to profile their adopted locales and guide would-be visitors through the best the areas have to offer. Send us your suggestions at next@wsj.com.

Osteria I'Tozzo di Pane's Recipes

I have many wonderful memories of eating at wooden tables in Osteria I’ Tozzo di Pane’s garden in Florence, Italy. My favorite entrée salad to have on a summer day was the Toscana: lettuce, fresh tomatoes, white beans, sliced wild boar salami and onion dressed with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. It was the first place I tried pecorino (sheep milk’s cheese) with sunflower honey. I think of their Tuscan approach to cooking – simple and fresh ingredients that highlight each other’s flavors – while cooking in my own kitchen.

Looking for a special recipe to prepare for my husband returning from a business trip, I discovered the restaurant’s online recipes. I chose the risotto with clams, asparagus, leeks and saffron. I knew it would be a proper “welcome home.”

The recipe requires a little creativity since they don't offer all of their secrets: there are no specifc measurements. Saffron can be expensive, but you only need a pinch.  Serving grated cheese on fish dishes is never allowed in Italy; we did sprinkle a few red hot pepper flakes on top.

With a glass of white wine, we ate slowly and enjoyed the dish. I don’t remember tasting this particular risotto at the restaurant, but the flavors brought back the country that I still call home.

The recipes on the website are written in Italian. This is a perfect opportunity to practice your language skills without paying for a plane ticket. When you do find yourself traveling to Florence, you can salutare the owners who are always there, Andrea and Antonio.

The name of their restaurant means, “crust of bread,” which is not to be missed dipped in their dark green olive oil. Be sure to serve some on the side in your own home.

Pallotte Cacio e Uovo by Guest Blogger Rebecca Galante

Thank you to Rebecca Galante from Vasto, Italy, in the Abruzzo region, for today’s Italian recipe. Rebecca offers guided tours and visits to the Abruzzo region to tourists interested in the culinary and cultural history. Famous for its chefs and coastline, Abruzzo is beautiful and less crowded than Tuscany or other well-traveled areas in Italy. I hope you’ll visit her website to learn more about what she offers.

Cheese and egg balls cooked in tomato and capsicum (chili) sauce

“Pallotte cacio e uovo” is the original name of a genuine and tasty recipe typical of Abruzzo, an Italian middle south region located on the Adriatic coast. Because this is a typical dish, is possible to find many version of it. Mine is referred to my town called Vasto. Cacio e Uovo represents a good main course and usually three balls each are enough considering that you can’t start eating Cacio e Uovo without a couple of fresh bread’s slices on the table.

Ingredients (serves four)

Cheese and egg balls

4 eggs

Pecorino/Parmigiano cheese ca. 150 gr

Bread Crumbs on request

Crumb (the inside of the bread) on request

Ricotta cheese 100 gr

Sauce:

500 gr fresh tomatoes cut into small pieces

1 sliced capsicum (chili)

1 onion

Olive oil: 2 spoon for each person
Take a large base medium to high pan (a clay pan is the best choice) and add the olive oil, the onion and the capsicum. Once the onion starts to yellow, please add your tomato. Over a medium to low fire, let it cooked slowly. Once the tomato will be cooked, add one and a half glass of water and wait until water boils.

In the meanwhile, put the eggs, the pecorino cheese (starting with 100 gr), the bread crumbs, the crumb and the ricotta into a terrine. You need to mix all these ingredients together with a fork until they will be compact and ready to make balls. It will take a little bit, so don’t give up. You should add bread crumbs, crumbs and the rest of the cheese as it is required. In this way they will be more and more dry and sticky and they will be ready to make balls.

We left the tomato with the water. Soon it will start boiling. This is the moment to put on it our egg and cheese balls. Before to make mistakes please make one ball (medium size) and put it on the sauce. Only now you will see if the ball is compact enough: wait 5 min. Is the ball still one piece? Or it is melted? In the first case you know that you can go on, please finish all of them and put them in the pan with the tomato. Cover it and let them cook 20 minutes. After this term please turn them in the other side and let them finish cook another 20 min. Remember Medium Low fire

If the ball will melt means that you need to add in the terrine more breadcrumbs and crumb or cheese!! And go on like before.