Look at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records in Sangro River War Cemetery, Moro River, just over the border at Monte Cassino or at any of its graves across Italy and you can see the high number of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim Indian & Nepalese soldiers that signed up to be part of the Ally forces in dismantling Mussolini’s fascist regime and restore freedom within Italy. Recorded Indian & Nepalese Graves in Abruzzo Sangro River Cremation Memo…
…als and events run throughout the year and provide a superb opportunity to sample local food and drink, culture and if you are lucky a bit of history. Their size depends on the village or town that is hosting them but some have been going on for centuries, and act as a wonderful way to bring the community together. Many will re-enact a historical event or a pagan festival whilst the smaller villages will often celebrate a local harvest that they l…
What’s your association with Abruzzo? i.e. where do you live and why, for how long? Where did your family come from and when/ where did they emigrate to? My grandparents are from Collefracido and Sant’Andrea, both near L’Aquila, Abruzzo. My father and his brothers spent their summers there as children (they grew up in Rome). I grew up in America but visited my great aunts there every summer until they passed away. In my family, we were taught th…
10 years after the L’Aquila Earthquake, the city and the surrounding small towns and villages within L’Aquila and Teramo mourn 309 victims, the loss of their family homes, their neighbourhood, for many their ancestral church and a future different from one they had ever imagined before that fateful clash of the African and Eurasian plates on the 6th April 2009. This extract is taken from Pietre di pane, an anthropology of remaining by Vito Teti,…
The characteristics historically used to define the Abruzzesi are ‘forte e gentile’ (strong & kind), a description first penned by the C19th Italian journalist Primo Levi. But this defining blend of strength & kindness exists to this day, and the reach of its charm exceeds well beyond the borders of Abruzzo, a testament to how far & wide the people of Abruzzo have travelled the world to provide for their families. We take a look at the Nonni (gr…
…where a slight chill in the air gives the perfect excuse to browse whilst sampling seasonal pastries that burst with the final Autumn harvest; caggionetti, those fried ravioli-like parcels stuffed with chestnuts and chocolate, orange zest and rum or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Mostaccioli cookies. Try taking the mountain train, the Transiberiana d’Italia in the weeks that leading up to Christmas that will take you on a picturesque journey up into the…
We invited the author behind ‘Abruzzo in Festa’, Omerita Ranalli to answer some questions on the history of community celebrations in Abruzzo posted by our readers on social media Which is Abruzzo’s oldest festival? It is impossible to establish which is the oldest festival in Abruzzo without extensive in-depth analysis, but they do have a long genesis and this festival heritage was vital in the context of the region and the the function of bein…
…become a treasured part of her life…then the earthquake hits… Suggested by Sam Dunham, read her review on LifeinAbruzzo | Buy Online On the Spine of Italy: A Year in the Abruzzi by Harry Clifton (1999) A raw account by the Irish poet Harry Clifton of his year in a village in high Abruzzo in an abandoned parish house. “The book really captures the melancholic mood of a remote mountain village in the Abruzzo.” Peter Austin “This book offers the…
…he Holy Spirit in thanks to the i Sandandonijre (actors, musicians and beggars) for their performance of the passions of San Antonio Abate on his feast day. Sam Dunham, LifeInAbruzzo Read – Uccelletti- – The Sweet History of San Antonio’s Birds…
…ewsletter with 1044 subscribers Who is LifeinAbruzzo? LifeinAbruzzo is Sam Dunham who maks frequent visits to Italy to make use of her family’s little holiday home in Abruzzo’s mountains, with additional guest posts written by Abruzzesi or Abruzzo-based individuals with a specialist area of knowledge be it location, cuisine and wine or activity based. Sam works full-time as a freelance web content manager and copywriter and travel blogger. Past li…
…tales of their beloved Bascianella neighbours, Italia & Domenico De Felice. This Abruzzo website has now become something of a portal shrine to an area and its people that they have grown to love and admire for such a variety of reasons. “Life In Abruzzo” is edited by Sam Dunham, a freelance copywriter and web content manager & Roddy Newlands, a freelance web designer and Modern First Editions Consultant for Bloomsbury Auctions, with wonderful gu…
…sea… Rustic Zolle Picnic Pie Recipe Type: Dinner Cuisine: Italian Author: Sam Dunham Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 50 mins Serves: 8 Ingredients 200 g cubed Cooked Ham 100 g grated Pecorino Primo Sale cheese 100 g grated Parmesan 6 large Eggs 6 tbsp Milk 200 g Zolle (Garlic scapes) Salt & Pepper Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 sheets of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry Egg to Brush your Pasty Instructions Cut your zolle in half and finely ch…
…te and brush up on your social media skills or engage a specialist such as Sam Dunham to manage it all for you at a reasonable cost. 10. Online Travel Agents (OTA’s), such as Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, Trip Advisor etc., are a means to an end, but beware of being trapped into their marketing and the cost to you in the commissions you have to pay. Our goal is to get all of our bookings to be made directly with us and to achieve a high return rat…
…uffle & White Ragu Cannelloni Recipe Type: Dinner Cuisine: Italian Author: Sam Dunham Prep time: 25 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 1 hour 5 mins Serves: 4 A heavenly white ragu & black truffle cannelloni dish served at the Campovalano Truffle Sagra, a small town’s dedication to the fact that Abruzzo provides 40% of Italy’s truffles Ingredients Filling 6 Tbs Olive Oil 1 Celery Stalk finely chopped 2 Cloves of Garlic 1 White Onion finely choppe…
…Grande. Salsiccia di Fegato Recipe Type: Dinner Cuisine: Italian Author: Sam Dunham Ingredients Proportions per kilo of meat to be ground together 1/3 Liver & pig heart, tongue too is also good to add in if your butcher has some 2/3 pork which includes a very healthy amount of guanciale (pig cheek) and pancetta Flavourings 25 g Salt 5 g Black Pepper 3 Cloves of Garlic The zest from 2 Oranges (this can be increased according to personal taste) 4…
…tepulciano d’Abruzzo Granita Recipe Type: Dessert Cuisine: Italian Author: Sam Dunham Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins Serves: 4 Those favourite berries of childhood, blackberries come together with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo to create a cooling granita Ingredients Ingredients 600 g Freshly Picked Blackberries 180 ml Water 120 g Honey 120 ml Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 1 tbs Lemon Juice 1/2 Cinnamon Stick Instructions Wash thorou…
…hiest. Bocconotti Montoriesi Recipe Type: Dessert Cuisine: Italian Author: Sam Dunham Prep time: 12 hours Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 12 hours 20 mins Serves: 14 Ingredients [b]For the Dough[/b][br] 110 g Whole Eggs 85 g Egg Yolks 150 g Caster Sugar (I used unbleached Muscovado sugar as I prefer the flavour) 125 g Extra Virgin Olive Oil 365g 00 Flour Seeds from 1/2 Vanilla Pod Zest 1/2 Unwaxed Lemon And last but not least … 5ml liqueur, Banana,…
…es selection with plenty of Abruzzese canapes to accompany great wines. MW Sam Caporn (www.mistressofwine.com) will be providing masterclasses in Abruzzo wine. Tickets for the evening £12. Participating Wineries Tenuta Torretta| Il Feuduccio | Ettore Galasso | Nicodemo | Cantina Frentana | Cantina Villamagna | Ciavolich | Zappcosta | Colle Moro | Tenuta I Fauri | Contesa | Talamonti | Speranza Edoardo | Pasetti | Nicola Di Sipio | Zaccagnini | Can…
…a joy to listen to albeit in our case not completely understand… The wine sampled consisted of a vino bianco, Sam’s favourite of the eve, alas the exact details are unknown! I think it was called Le scuderie del cielo. However, this wine was something of a revelation; delicate floral nose, with a fine long-continuing taste. This was followed by two varieties of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, one a recent variety, the other, if memory serves, an old…
…a . Ciambella di S. Biagio Recipe Type: Dessert Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 20 mins Serves: Lots! Abruzzo’s traditional biscuits to ward off February fevers Ingredients 5 Eggs 5 heaped tablespoons Olive Oil 5 heaped tablespoons Caster Sugar 2 heaped teaspoons of crushed fenugreek seeds Flour – add until you have a stiff dough that resembles that for pasta Instructions Mix the eggs, oil…
…WikiPedia can offer. I cannot remember when I first stumbled across Sammy Dunham’s “Life in Abruzzo” website, but as we began our study of Abruzzo, no matter what the topic, it seemed that I would soon find something relevant there, presented by Sammy in the most delightful fashion. As we have proceeded through the regions (so far we have been through five in addition to Abruzzo — Apulia (Puglia), Basilicata, Calabria, Campania and Emilia-Romagna…
…’Abruzzo Mostaccioli Cookies Recipe Type: Dessert Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 8 mins Total time: 28 mins Serves: 50 Ingredients 500 g 00 Flour 1 Egg 300 g Soft Brown Sugar 150 g Ground Almonds 75 g Cocoa Powder 75 g Melted Butter 470 ml Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2 teaspoons Bicarbonate Soda Zest 1 Unwaxed Organic Lemon Zest from 1 Organic Orange (or two Clementines) Half Cinnamon Stick or 1.5 teaspoons of Grou…
…ried Cheese, Capers and Mint Recipe Type: Starter Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 5 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 2 Taking up the food challenge from Nonna Next-Door of my favourite summer dish, deep fried stuffed zucchini flowers Ingredients 6 Zucchini Flowers For the Batter 80g sifted 00 flour 1 egg 180 ml carbonated water 30 ml Extra Virgin Olive oil Groundnut oil for frying Salt (The batter is enough for…
…ti, Calgionetti, Caggiunitt Recipe Type: Biscuits Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 24 hours Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 24 hours 30 mins Serves: 40 Ingredients [u]For the Dough[/u][br] 500 g 00 Flour 2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil 200 ml Dry White Wine 1 Pinch of Salt[br] [u]For the Filling[/u] 40 g Honey 150g Toasted Finely Chopped Almonds 350 g Chestnuts 100 ml Mosto Cotto 30 g Candied Peel 100 g Grated Dark Chocolate 2 freshly…
…a’s Stuffed Mussels Recipe Type: Shellfish Dinner Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham c/o Trabocco Punta Tufano Prep time: 45 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 2 Ingredients 12 large fresh Mussels 1 large Egg 2 Slices of Stale Bread 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan 4 tablespoons of finely chopped Flat Leaf Parsley 2 Cloves Garlic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tomatoes Salt according to taste Instructions Prepare the stuffing…
…many. Ventricina Teramana Recipe Type: Antipasti Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 20 mins Total time: 20 mins Serves: 700g The scrummiest squishy salami that cheers a winter day when spread on toast Ingredients 1 kg ground pork shoulder (free-range, the taste and texture is better) 20 g Salt 25 g Black Pepper 100 ml White Wine 4 cloves Garlic, minced 3 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped Zest of 2 Oranges Peperoncini & Fennel Se…
…tic Pasta Tomato Sauce (Sugo) Recipe Type: Dinner Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 40 mins Serves: 2 Stuck with dreary tomatoes instead of a jar of sun-drenched Pera d’Abruzzo tomatoes, here’s Annamaria’s aromatic pasta sauce recipe to give them life Ingredients [u]Aromatic Sugo[/u][br] 750ml of Chopped Tomatoes 3 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Sage leaves 1 small sprig of Tarragon 1 sm…
…– Italian Green Walnut Liqueur Recipe Type: Drink Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 5 mins Total time: 35 mins Italy’s famous green walnut liqueur Nocino needs to mellow, no tasting before the 3rd November! Ingredients 23 Green Walnuts Zest from 2 Unwaxed Organic Lemons 2 Cloves 2 All Spice Berries 12 Coffee Beans 2 Vanilla Pods 2 Cinnamon Sticks 2 litres of Vodka or 96% proof Alcohol 500 g Light Brown Sugar 500 m…
…Rosemary & Raisin Fritters Recipe Type: Desserts Cuisine: Italian Author: Sammy Dunham Prep time: 1 hour 30 mins Cook time: 2 mins Total time: 1 hour 32 mins Serves: 18 Ingredients 650 g Pumpkin or Squash Salt 1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast 180 g 00 Flour 5 tablespoons Mixed Raisins & Sultanas 1 large sprig of Rosemary chopped 1 1/2 litres (6 cups) mild Extra-Virgin Olive Oil for frying 55 g Sugar (a mix of icing and caster sugar for crunch) 1 teasp…
