Fourth of July fireworks out of Apocalypse Now, Jewel on WTF, Presidential immunity and a sense of doom, the Tour de France and Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy.’
Italy
Upper Michigan travel guide: Hunts Guide to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
We just got back from a few days visiting Amy's sister in Pembine, Wisconsin, near Iron Mountain, Michigan. Before we went, I did some Googling and came across a fantastic little Web resource: Hunts' Guide to Michigan's Upper...
Excellent Tuscan chicken and beans recipe
After a couple of days near 70°F. last week, cold weather is back in southeastern Wisconsin this weekend, so we're turning to hearty, savory dinners. Beef is on the menu tonight, and Friday there was a veal meat loaf, so I wanted something...
Tenuta’s Delicatessen & Liquors: Italian deli in Kenosha, WI
Tenuta's Delicatessen & Liquors 3203 52nd St Kenosha, WI 53144 (262) 657-9001 Tenuta's (TenutasDeli.com) is the best thing in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I say this as someone who lived in K-Town for 43 years. It's the number one...
Piazza del Popolo and town hall, Montalcino, Italy
Montalcino (Siena), Italy — The day winds down at the Piazza del Popolo, Montalcino's main square. At left is the town hall, built in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. [includeme...
Chiesa della Madonna del Soccorso, Montalcino, Italy
Montalcino (Siena), Italy — The Chiesa della Madonna del Soccorso (Church of Our Lady of Help) on Viale Pietro Strozzi, at the northwest edge of the city. [includeme...
Via Spagni, Montalcino (Siena), Italy
Montalcino (Siena), Italy — Doorways along Via Spagni, looking south toward the Duomo (Montalcino Cathedral).
Castello di Nipozzano wine tasting flight, Pelago
Pelago (Florence), Italy — Amy, Dan Falato, and Elizabeth at a table set for a wine-tasting flight and luncheon at the Castello di Nipozzano in the Chianti Rufina area. Built in the year 1000 as a defensive fortress, the...
Westin Excelsior hotel, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — The bright lights of the Westin Excelsior hotel are reflected in the River Arno at night. The slightly larger section on the right originated as the Casa Rucellai in 1504 and later became the Hotel Italie....
Italian gold jewelry, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — Italian gold jewelry, including gold chains, bracelets, gold earrings, necklaces, and rings, is displayed for sale by one of the many jewelers' shops on the Ponte Vecchio, a famous hot spot for merchants...
Ponte Vecchio view of Arno River at dusk, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — The Arno River, seen looking east from the Ponte Vecchio at dusk. The Ponte alle Grazie crosses the river in the distance, and the south end of the Uffizi Gallery's courtyard is at left.[includeme...
Piazza della Repubblica: Arcone, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — The triumphal Arcone ("arch") on the west side of the Piazza della Repubblica, the city's ancient center, the site of its original Roman Forum, its former Mercato Vecchio ("old market") and former Jewish...
Giotto’s Campanile at dusk, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — The west side of Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) is seen at dusk from street level on the Via de' Pecori. Obscured at left is the Battistero di San Giovanni, and behind that is the dome of Florence...
Campanile di Giotto from Duomo, Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy — The east side of Giotto's Campanile (bell tower) is seen from atop the dome of Florence Cathedral (the Duomo — or Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore). Designed by the early Italian Renaissance painter and...
Florence, Italy: Duomo view to Santa Croce, Bargello
Florence, Italy — View from the cupola atop Florence's Duomo toward the southeast. The church at left is the Basilica of Santa Croce. The tower near the lower right edge is the Bargello. Running along the foot of the hills...
Florence, Italy: Duomo view to Bargello, Palazzo Vecchio
Florence, Italy — View from the cupola atop Florence's Duomo over rooftops toward the southeast. Running along the foot of the hills in the distance is the River Arno. Just across the river near the photo's left edge is the...
Michelangelo’s tomb, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence
Florence, Italy — The tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Basilica of Santa Croce, designed by Giorgio Vasari. Above the tomb are three sculptures representing the personifications of Painting, Sculpture, and...
Dante Alighieri cenotaph, Santa Croce, Florence
Florence, Italy — The cenotaph (empty tomb) for Dante Alighieri in the Basilica of Santa Croce, erected in 1829. The Italian poet was exiled from Florence (that sentence was rescinded in 2008) and residing in Ravenna when he...
Siena, Italy: Four young women singing
Siena, Italy — An older couple listens to the beautiful harmonies of a quartet of young women singing for donations on the west entrance ramp into Piazza del Campo from Via dei Pellegrini....
Antichita Mazzoni antique store, Siena, Italy
Siena, Italy — Antichita Mazzoni SNC, an antique dealer at 8 Piazza San Giovanni, just off the back steps of Siena Cathedral, the marble of which is visible in the upper left corner. You can step inside the store on Google...
Siena Cathedral with bell tower, Siena, Italy
Siena, Tuscany, Italy — Siena Cathedral, designed and completed between 1215 and 1263, with its façade and the bell tower of black and white marble.
Fruit baskets, wine shop in Siena, Italy
Siena, Italy — Baskets of fresh fruit displayed in front of the old food shop at Via di Città 158 (Antica Bottega Di Marchetti Massimo E Khalimova Galina): Fresh grapes, apples, peaches, plums, oranges, and melons in baskets...
Torre del Mangia and Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy
Siena, Italy — The Torre del Mangia ("Tower of the Eater," left) and the Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) on the Piazza del Campo. Built between 1338 and 1348, the 289-foot tower was designed to be of equal height to Siena...
Panzano in Chianti, Italy: View of Tuscany’s hills
Panzano in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy — A man views the Tuscan countryside from a park bench in the small hilltop town of Panzano in Chianti, about 5 kilometers south of Greve in Chianti....
San Gimignano towers from agriturismo in Tuscany
Gambassi Terme, Tuscany, Italy — The towers of San Gimignano, on the horizon at top left, seen looking south-southwest from the vineyards and olive groves of Agriturismo Renai e Monte, a working farm in the Chianti hills of...
Colle di Val d-Elsa: Via San Sebastiano
Colle di Val d'Elsa, Italy — Two people walk up Via San Sebastiano. which connects “Colle Bassa,” the lower, more modern portion of Colle di Val d'Elsa, with “Colle Alta,” the ancient town up on the hill. Colle di Val d'Elsa...
Colle di Val d’Elsa: Piazza Canonica
Colle di Val d'Elsa, Italy — Outdoor cafe in Piazza Canonica, up on the hill in the older, "colle alta" part of Colle di Val d'Elsa, a town of 20,000 in Tuscany southeast of San Gimignano....
Tuscany: View from San Gimignano’s Rocca di Montestaffoli castle
San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy — Rooftops of San Gimignano, viewed from the Rocca di Montestaffoli, the town's ruined hilltop castle. At the center of the photo is Sant'Agostino Church....
Agriturismo in Tuscany near San Gimignano, Italy
Gambassi Terme, Tuscany, Italy — The swimming pool and Monte houses at Agriturismo Renai e Monte, about 20 kilometers northwest of San Gimignano. Centered among vineyards and olive groves in the Tuscan hills of Val d’Elsa,...