The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things . . .
How much we’ve learned since we started running these tours back in 2004 (unofficially) and then, more officially, in 2009. It all started with a trip to Florence with some friends in 2000, and I was hooked on Italy.
Over the years, Tim and I have taken small groups of curious travelers to marvelous places. We’ve introduced some of you to great wines you’ve never heard of, brought you to the plains they call Little Tibet, cooked with you in Le Marche and Lombardia and Puglia, became educated about art and history, laughed uncontrollably with locals, made fun of ourselves and our lousy Italian, driven on death-defying hairpin turns to see castles in the sky, relaxed on the most beautiful terrace in all of Venice, gotten hopelessly behind schedule in Sicily, stayed in gorgeous cave hotels, driven down roads we shouldn’t have, seen ancient ruins and felt like ruins ourselves at the end of a long day, and discovered the world’s largest frying pan (in Liguria) together. And that’s just for starters.
In that time, we’ve gotten older. I don’t know how that happened. But we’ve decided to step back a little and reassess our offerings.
Nothing will stop us from going to Italy (we now own apartments in two marvelous regions of Italy) and we plan to spend more time there, enjoying said food and wine and removing ourselves for a time from the craziness that is America right now. But we will pivot.
Starting in 2023, we will be putting together two tours annually for you — one to the beautiful, crazy wild, and very down-to-earth region of Abruzzo. And one almost to the tip of the heel of the boot, on the sunny and surprising Salento Peninsula of Puglia. We hope you’ll want to join us.
Why Abruzzo? The easy answer would be to refer you to Abruzzissimo Magazine, created by my friend and colleague Anna Lebedeva, who came to me two years ago and asked that I help her bring an online English-language magazine about Abruzzo to life. And so I did. The more thorough answer is that we fell in love with a small city (pop. 24,000) called Sulmona about a dozen years ago, claimed it as our own, and have been exploring Abruzzo’s treasures ever since.
What can I say? It’s the greenest region of Europe, boasting three national parks and a regional park. It has good skiing and 14 Blue Flag beaches. The wine is affordable and fantastic. The food is simple and delicious cucina povera. (I doubt you’ll find better cheese anywhere.) The traditions and festivals — a little bit Christian, a little bit pagan — are year-round and moving. Even the serpent festival in Cocullo, apparently.
The hilltop towns provide relief from the summer heat as well as gorgeous views. There are churches and museums for those who want that. There is an opera house in Sulmona and a 3-Michelin star restaurant in nearby Castel del Sangro, which also has some fine fly fishing. It made its wealth from the wool trade and the transhumanza – the moving of the flocks from Abruzzo down to Puglia for better grazing every winter — is still a thing. Scanno is a fine place for filigree jewelry and Sulmona is the best place for all manner of confetti candy. Come to Sulmona in July and you’ll experience a medieval joust; come at Easter and you’ll see the processions and La Madonna che Scappa in the big piazza. Just come.
The heel of the boot has a completely different feel. With the longest coastline of any region in mainland Italy, Puglia, by virtue of its situation, often feels more Greek than Italian. It has experienced invasions from the Normans, the Swabians, and the Spanish (who left an incredible baroque style of architecture). The cucina povera is still there — here, with more fish — and the wines are phenomenal, even though you probably haven’t heard of most of them before. The city of Lecce, which stole our hearts, is called “The Florence of the South” because of its amazing architecture and sophisticated feel. With a Roman amphitheatre, a Roman theatre, and about a gazillion restaurants, this is the city to see. There’s an extremely well done museum that explores the Jewish presence on the peninsula, as well. And the churches are incredible.
Papier mache is big here, as is olive oil (in spite of the blight that scientists are trying feverishly to arrest). Towns like Galatina (with its incredible school of Giotto frescoes), coastal Gallipoli, Trani with its fort and cathedral, Alberobello with its trulli . . . there’s no lack of places to go. It will absolutely charm you. And a foray into nearby Basilicata for a stay in Matera (which was the European Capital of Cultural a few years ago) is a must-do. We are 15 minutes from either the Ionian Sea or the Adriatic — this is a summer paradise.
So . . . that’s where we’ll be going. We hope you will join us. We’ll be posting particulars by year-end, but welcome your questions and comments any time.
As Mary Shelley once wrote, The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables. We hope you’ll come and share some of the magic we’ve found.
Buon viaggio! 
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
