In this episode, hosts Sara and Jessica talk with Kathy McCabe and Rebecca Winke about their work on the upcoming PBS series, “Dream of Italy.”

Special Guests:

Kathy McCabe is the host and executive producer of the new PBS travel series, Dream of Italy, which is inspired by the award-winning subscription travel newsletter of the same name that Kathy founded 12 years ago. The show & newsletter introduce travelers to authentic experiences that put them in touch with locals and the history and culture of Italy. The newsletter has been recommended by National Geographic Traveler, USA TODAY, BusinessWeek, U.S. News + World Report and other media outlets.

Rebecca Winke moved to Italy from Chicago in 1993 and shortly thereafter opened an agriturismo in a renovated farmhouse at the foot of Mount Subasio near Assisi, Umbria. She spends her time taking care of guests at Brigolante, and writing about Umbria and Italy for a number of travel websites and print magazines. She also co-wrote the Umbria Slow app and was associate producer for the upcoming PBS travel series, Dream of Italy.

Links from the show:

• Dream of Italy – Kathy’s subscription travel newsletter
• Dream of Italy show schedule information
• Dream of Italy PBS series preview
• @dreamofitaly – Kathy on Twitter
• Brigolante – Rebecca’s guest apartments
• Rebecca Winke – Rebecca’s portfolio
• Umbria Slow App – Rebecca’s Umbria app
• @brigolante – Rebecca on Twitter

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating of the podcast on iTunes.

Did you know Sara and Jessica both have ebooks for sale on Amazon? Check out Sara’s book How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy, and Jessica’s book Italy Explained: Italian Trains.

In this episode, hosts Sara and Jessica talk with sommelier Hande Leimer about Italian wine.

Special Guest:

Hande Leimer is a certified sommelier & the founder of vino roma, a wine education business in Rome. She was born in Istanbul, and had lived in the USA, and Germany before settling in Italy, where she shifted her career from marketing and IT to wine. She became a member of the Italian Sommelier Association, where she gained her sommelier title, and opened vino roma.

Links from the show:

• vino roma – Hande’s wine education studio
• @vinoroma – Hande on Twitter
• Franciacorta Aperitivo at Vino Roma in Rome – From Sara’s blog
• Discovering Italian Wine in an Enoteca Regionale – From Sara’s blog

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating of the podcast on iTunes.

Did you know Sara and Jessica both have ebooks for sale on Amazon? Check out Sara’s book How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy, and Jessica’s book Italy Explained: Italian Trains.

In this episode, hosts Sara and Jessica talk with archaeologist Darius Arya about what lies underfoot in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.

Special Guest
Darius Arya, Ph. D, is an archaeologist and professor based in Rome. He co-founded & is the executive director of the American Institute for Roman Culture, and has appeared in several documentaries on the Discovery, History, and National Geographic Channels.

• American Institute for Roman Culture: romanculture.org
• Darius on Twitter: @saverome
• Darius on Instagram: @saverome
• AIRC on Twitter: @AIRomanCulture
• AIRC on Facebook: American Institute for Roman Culture

Links mentioned in the show:

• US tourists caught carving names into Rome’s Colosseum
• UNESCO extends Pompeii deadline

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating of the podcast on iTunes.

In this episode, hosts Sara and Jessica talk with historian and author John Dickie about organized crime in Italy.

Special Guest
John Dickie is a professor of Italian Studies at University College London, and an internationally recognized specialist on many aspects of Italian culture – including organized crime. He is an award-winning author whose books include “Cosa Nostra,” “Mafia Brotherhoods,” & his latest, “Mafia Republic.” (The latter two were released in the United States as one combined book called “Blood Brotherhoods.”)

• John’s website: John Dickie
• John Dickie on Twitter

Links Mentioned in the Show

• “Italy gasps as inquiry reveals mob’s long reach” – New York Times
• Addio Pizzo and Addio Pizzo Travel, for visitors to Sicily

In this episode, hosts Sara and Jessica talk with photographer Charles Christopher about his new book, “Dream of Venice.”

Special Guest
Charles Christopher works in Hollywood as a motion picture and TV still photographer for clients that include Universal Pictures, NBC, Lifetime, Hallmark and Syfy. His travel and cityscape photographs have been featured in exhibits up and down the West Coast. Charles’ first book of photography, DREAM OF VENICE, is a visual tribute to the strange floating city, accompanied by original texts from a diverse group of Venetophiles, including Julie Christie, Woody Allen, and Frances Mayes.

• Charles’ photography website: The Eyes of Charles Christopher
• “Dream of Venice” available on Amazon.com
• Dream of Venice on Twitter
• Dream of Venice on Facebook

Hosts Sara and Jessica talk about flooding in Italy, Berlusconi’s resignation and what’s next for the Italian government. Then we speak with special guest Tom Mueller about his upcoming book on the “sublime and scandalous world of olive oil.”

Eye on Italy News Stories:

• Changes to the Italian government
  • Berlusconi resigned [see videos of post-resignation celebrations on ItalyChronicles.com]
  • Mario Monti named interim Prime Minister [see What Will Mario Monti Do? and March of the Technocrats on ItalyChronicles.com to find out more about the interim government]
• Flooding & mudslides in Liguria, Tuscany [see story on the damage on the New York Times, Telegraph (with video), & an overview on WhyGo Italy]
  • “A Violent Rain Buries an Italian Friend,” by Rick Steves

Special Guest
Tom Mueller writes for The New Yorker and other publications. He lives in a medieval stone farmhouse surrounded by olive groves in the Ligurian countryside outside of Genoa, Italy. He’s the author of an upcoming book about extra virgin olive oil called Extra Virginity: The Sublime & Scandalous World of Olive Oil.

• Tom’s website: Extra Virginity
• Tom on Twitter as @extravirginity and Extra Virginity on Facebook
• New Yorker article from 2007, Slippery Business

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week:

• Sara:  My new book on Amazon Kindle, How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy 
  
• Jessica: Donating to the flood relief effort via The Florentine Press; made easy for those not in Italy

Video of the week: 

• A walk through Milan’s Central Station [by Jessica]

Hosts Sara and Jessica discuss the weekend riots in Rome, and George Clooney finally opens up about his evening with Silvio Berlusconi. Then we speak to filmmaker Sarah Marder about her documentary “The Genius of a Place” about the town of Cortona and the concept of sustainable development.

Eye on Italy News Stories:

• Global “Day of Rage” peaceful, except in Rome [Christian Science Monitor]; Peaceful Protest Dissolves into Riots in Rome [Italy Magazine]
• George Clooney on his “Astonishing Evening” with Silvio Berlusconi [TIME Magazine]

Special Guest
Sarah Marder grew up on a farm in Kansas, and she’s a corporate-manager-turned-filmmaker who has lived in Italy since 1988. Since 2008, she’s been working on the documentary about which we’re going to chat today – “The Genius of a Place,” about sustainable development as seen through the lens of Cortona in Tuscany.

• The Genius of a Place official website
• The Genius of a Place IndieGoGo Project
• The Genius of a Place on Facebook
• The Genius of a Place on YouTube
• Sarah Marder on Twitter

Eye on Italy Angolo d’Italiano:

• moderno/moderna
  modern – una citta’ moderna

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week:

• Sara: Earworm learning language apps
• Jessica: “In season” chart for fruits & veggies in Italy (via Christine of WhyGo France)
• Deal of the Week:
  • New York-Milan from $659 round-trip in November
  • See the WhyGo Italy travel deals page for the latest travel deals

Video of the week:
George Clooney’s interview with TIME Magazine

Hosts Sara, Jessica, & Michelle talk about the Italian economy being downgraded, Wikipedia Italia’s blackout, & an award-winning Italian chef working for McDonald’s. Then we speak with special guest Mike Duncan, the host of the History of Rome podcast, about his podcast & his love of Roman history.

Eye on Italy News Stories:

• Spain and Italy Hit by Downgrades
• Wikipedia Italia Blackout in Protest of Proposed Wiretapping Law; EOI podcast with Livia Iacolare about freedom of the press in Italy
• Italy’s Top Chef Lands a Job at McDonald’s
• Permanent Museum to Open at Rome’s Airport

Special Guest

Mike Duncan was born and raised outside of Seattle and has a degree in Political Science and Philosophy from Western Washington University. He is married with two pets and began writing the History of Rome podcast on a whim in July of 2007. He has been chained to his computer ever since.

The History of Rome lives at thehistoryofrome.typepad.com and The Official History of Rome Roman History Tour lives at historyofrometour.com.

Fans of the podcast have created their own Facebook fan page: The History Of Rome Podcast Listeners.

Eye on Italy Angolo d’Italiano:

• storia
  • both history & story (love story)

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week:

• Michelle: Past guest and friend of the podcast Mark Leslie, author of Beyond the Pasta‘s Pumpkin Ricotta Pie – also congrats for appearance on Today Show (video below) for Columbus Day.
• Jessica: iPhone/iPad app, Umbria Slow: Food, Culture & Travel [by EOI alums Rebecca Winke & Alex Leviton]
• Deal of the Week:
  • New York-Rome from $640 round-trip starting in November
  • See the WhyGo Italy travel deals page for the latest travel deals

Video of the week: 

• Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Hosts Sara and Michelle update you on the Amanda Knox trial, Berlusconi, earthquake prosecutions and speak with author Pamela Sheldon Johns about her new cookbook Cucina Povera and the influence of post-war Tuscany on its cuisine.

Eye on Italy News Stories:

• Italy’s Troubling Earthquake Prosecutions
• Italy’s Sole Calls on Berlusconi to Quit for Good of Country
• Italian Lawyer Calls Amanda Knox She-Devil (update on case); live tweeting: Stephen Robert Morse @morsels for The Daily Caller & Barbie Latza Nadeau with The Daily Beast @BLNadeau

Special Guest

Pamela Sheldon Johns is the author of sixteen cookbooks specializing in Italian traditional and regional ingredients. Originally from California, Johns has lived full-time in Tuscany for over 10 years at Poggio Etrusco, her organic farm/Bed & Breakfast in southern Tuscany, where she teaches cooking and produces an extra-virgin olive oil called “Pace da Poggio Etrusco.” Pamela has coordinated wine and food workshops in various regions of Italy for twenty years through Food Artisans.

Eye on Italy Angolo d’Italiano:

• Poggio
  • knoll, outlook, hilltop

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week:

• Sara: Sergio Bonelli, creator of Tex, an Italian comic, died September 26th.
• Michelle: Review of Cucina Povera by Pamela Sheldon Johns at Bleeding Espresso
• Deal of the Week:
  • See the WhyGo Italy travel deals page for the latest travel deals

Video of the week:

• Dustin Hoffman & Caffè Vergnano TV commercials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSlaEUDnfeI via Valerie Fortney-Schneider

Hosts Sara & Jessica are back with a couple announcements, news of Berlusconi’s true feelings about Italy, an Italian town declaring independence, & a drop in the number of weddings in the country. Then we speak with special guest Megan McCaffrey-Guerrera about traveling in the Cinque Terre & Liguria.

Eye on Italy News Stories:

• Berlusconi vows to leave “crappy” Italy in conversation recorded by police
• Italian town declares independence
• Weddings in Italy take sharp decrease in last two years

Special Guest
Megan McCaffrey-Guerrera, @bellavitaitalia on Twitter is a southern California native and has been living in Italy for the past 8 years. She runs Bella Vita Italia, a customized tour company out of Lerici, on the Italian Riviera. She loves to travel, yoga, music and spending time with her two Lu’s, her husband Luigi and 13-year old lab, Lucy.

• Megan’s website: BellaVitaItalia.com

Eye on Italy Angolo d’Italiano:

• Rientro
  • the re-entry – usually after a long absence, and coming back from vacation

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week:

• Sara:  Food Writing Workshop in Tuscany – 23-28 April 2012
• Jessica: Food Shopping Tips in Italy[video, below]
• Megan: www.cinqueterre.it for Cinque Terre information and ferry site: www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it
• Deal of the Week:
  • New York-Milan or New York-Rome from $708 round-trip in October
  • See the WhyGo Italy travel deals page for the latest travel deals

Video of the week: 

• Food Shopping Tips in Italy

Food shopping tips in Italy from Cross-Pollinate Travel on Vimeo.