All but abstinent

Bitter sweet symphony The Italian word amaro translates as bitter. As a drink, served at the end of a meal, it pretends helping to digest. Unlike wine it is not a daily served product. Restaurants may offer it. Or make you pay for one. Heavy eating in general calls for amaro. Christmas, Easter, birthdays, dinner parties, …

Setting This is the time of the year Italy goes on holidays. Shops, banks, administration, all are closed. The doctor and the plumber are at the beach, the mechanic and the lawyer in the country side. Some foreign based supermarkets keep open and people working there do not try hard to hide their sorrow. Instead …

Setting Today was a particularly hot day. The people who remained in the city cursed the heat and panted. Waiting for the traffic light to turn green, the sun actually hurt my hands. On such days shade and cold water are simply priceless. The buzzing of air-conditioning fills the city. After a spectacular sunset a …

Setting It started raining a couple of days ago, officially ending the summer. Three months of torrid days and yet we feel a little sorry, now we got almost used to them. The song ‘Aguas de marco’, the waters of March’ talks about this, a Brazilian way of saying goodbye to the summer. Daniele arrived …