Shopping
Autumn in Italy 2022
I knew I had mostly been keeping up with my newsletter to my clients, but I had not realized just how long it has been since posting to this blog. I apologize. It always surprises me that I get monthly requests for information about availability of Mauro Berardi’s World Famous Spices when I so rarely post here. Mauro’s notoriety is well deserved. And, for those of you worrying, he has weathered the shut down, the horrible weather of last year and is still daily in Campo dei Fiori with his fabulous mixes. My recent trip in early October was getting back to a more normal traveling, thank goodness.
Every trip seems to bring it’s own challenges, adventures and joy with lots of exertion. My flight to Rome did not seem to bode well for my time in Italy. They revised my seat at check in from a window seat to an aisle in the middle of a row. The rest of the row was occupied by a mother with an 8 month old baby, and her three other children with one more in the row behind. For some reason they had changed her husband’s seat to the side aisle on the row behind. When I expressed concern about my seat change we discovered that the husband and I could exchange seats so their family could be together and I was away from them. Nice family and an 8 month old who never cried or slept for the 12 hour flight. Maybe it really did bode well for my trip.
Arriving in Rome, I discovered that the olives were not yet ready for harvest. Fortunately, they would be ready to process shortly before I was to return home. My supplier of Sardinian honey who is based in Milan was very kind and shipped me the honey and soap that is so popular with clients so I did not make the trip to Milan.
It gave me time to visit the Van Gogh exhibition at the Palazzo Bonaparte. The Palazzo, considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Rome in 1677 when it was finished, was bought in 1818 by Napoleon’s mother and she lived there till the end of her life over looking Piazza Venezia, It is an exquisite building now used for temporary exhibitions. Their presentations are exceptional and the Van Gogh exhibit in coordination with the Kröller-Müller Museum of Amsterdam is definitely first rate. If you have the opportunity to visit before February of 2023, it is quite a different look at Van Gogh and definitely worth your time.
Seeing Mauro Berardi in Campo dei Fiori is always an important stop in my travels. He is always happy to be sure I am supplied with his spice mixes. He and Fabrizio make sure I get all those popular mixes in the quantities I need. They also always make sure I am aware of any different or new items they have. I get only the best available with their supervision.. Mauro’s son Marco still has the bancarella next to Mauro’s. With covid, the weather and time of year, he’s specializing in truffles, flavored oils and balsamic vinegars.
Every trip is unique. It is seven years that I have been able to do two trips a year. Hopefully I can continue for a long time yet.
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Good Riddance and Buon Anno Nuovo 2021
Finally, we can say goodbye to 2020. While it seems 2021 will be a challenging year I at least can start the new year believing I will be able to return to Italy in 2021. I have missed all my purveyors – Mauro Berardi with his magnificent and irreplaceable spice mixes (from Famose Spezie nel Mondo), all the talented ragazzi at Il Saporito di Farfa, I miss their olive oil so much. There are not many olive oils available in the U.S. with comparable quality and freshness of the Il Saporito EVO. Stefano, who brings me his honey from the bees in Sardinia and of course those fabulous naturally dried porcini from Vetralla. And, so much more. It has been more than a year since I have been able to stock up on all things Italian that I bring back from my forays into shopping Italian. I realize even more how much I personally depend on all the associates and friends I see in Italy. They are gems in my life.
This devastating year with its many disasters brought the gifts of appreciation for the health and well being for all those I care about. The reality of how fragile our lives are both in health and how we live is now fact. The unimaginable changes that would have never been considered in the past have become “normal” and hopefully they will give us new hope and determination to begin this new year. My wish is that we all become more kind, considerate and thoughtful. Whether it is in Italy or elsewhere we are connected. I found it really impressive that Italians (well known for hating rules, government and dictators) followed the guidelines much better than others. Of course, they were also fined for not adhering to the rules of between $500 and $1,000 for an infraction. Still their cooperation is impressive . . . .
I hope you have found ways to keep yourselves healthy and occupied this year and are ready for the challenges of the new year. It looks to be a long spring and I hope a few images from the past will inspire us all to plan for the future. I cannot wait to travel again. Trenitalia was nice enough to extend my credit from the trip planned for last spring until February of 2022. I plan on using the credit long before then.
Tuscany 
Rome’s Rose Garden 
Ponte Milvio
I wish all of you a very safe and happy new year. Just know that I will be ready to shop for you once again as soon as I can. Be kind to yourselves and celebrate your Cappodanno (New Year’s Eve) quietly with Le Befana and she will arrive with gifts for the kids. (Le Befana is the witch who was too busy cleaning to go with the three Wise Men to visit the Baby Jesus. She rushed after them so quickly so flew on her broom and drops gifts on all the children hoping to find the Baby Jesus) on the eve of the Epiphany. The Epiphany, on January 6th is the finish of the long holiday season in Italy.
HAPPY 2021 TO ALL!
Artistry in Olive Wood
As often happens a client is the catalyst for new discoveries. This time a client requested olive wood utensils. Having seen many I assumed it would be a quick easy request. As usual, it became something much more. While there are obviously thousands upon thousands of olive trees in Italy, there are not so many available to make olive wood good from. And, while there are commercially made spoons, cutting boards and rolling pins, there are not so many crafted bowls, boards and utensils (that are actually made in Italy).
With the internet it seems easy to find online anything you want. However, like many products, there is often a large difference between the lovely photos and catalogs you find and the quality of the finished pieces. And, the location of manufacturing can be far from where olive trees are grown.
Olives have been cultivated throughout the Mediterranean throughout history. The Romans cultivated olives throughout Italy and olive oil became so valuable they even used it as collected taxes. Ancient olive wood is beautiful and a real sustainable source. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, olives produce for hundreds of years, but eventually they stop producing and are classed as ancient. Usually it is this wood that is gathered and used for crafting the larger pieces of olive wood you see. The large cutting or carving boards, the table tops or large salad bowls. Every tree has its own unique pattern in the grain. You will never see two pieces created of olive wood that look exactly the same.
Olive wood is very hard, strong, durable and has natural anti-bacterial properties which make it ideal for production of items used for food. If cared for properly, olive wood items will last hundreds of years. So an ancient piece of wood becomes an antique long after it is harvested. Olive wood bowls, and utensils of the highest craftsmanship are not as ubiquitous as you might think given how many trees there are here.
Because the olives are a most important crop healthy trees are never felled for use of the wood. The limited availability is part of the reason for the high cost of quality olive wood articles. Although there are artisans in almost every region with high olive oil production, there are not as many craftsmen who work with olive wood. In Tuscany, I understand there are only a handful of artisans who work with olive wood. And, they tend to specialize in the types of pieces they like to make. There is one craftsman in a small town near Sienna that makes only small to large pots with lids, another near Florence that works only bowls. It seems that each artisan has their specialty. That is why I tried to find someone who has worked with these artists and could inform me how to determine the best pieces.
Luckily I found Ricardo Amoruso. He is from Tuscany and has resources throughout the region for artisans in a number of categories (his wife is a ceramicist) including the few who specialize in olive wood. Ricardo explained to me that there is always a shortage of olive wood. If the spring weather is below normal for too many days I believe he said 15) in a row the tree can be damaged and not just lose the crop of olives, the tree can be damaged beyond survival, but the wood also can be unusable from the stress of the cold. He explained that there are numerous makers of kitchen utensils because those do not require the whole tree to be used. In spring when they must prune the branches, they are collected and many are thick enough to be able to form spoons, spatulas and rolling pins. They are the most affordable of pieces in olive wood.
Once I saw some of the fine works he handles I knew that this quality was superiorto most of the other pieces I have seen. The prices will always be high so it is important to get the best quality wood that is formed by the best artisans.
His advice on how to make 
your wood pieces last forever… Do not soak them, or put in a dishwasher. Use only water to clean them. About once every month or so, brush or wipe on a light oil like coconut or sunflower oil and let it sit on some newsapers several hours or overnight. Afterward wipe any left oil with a paper towel.It is important to keep the wood from over drying. This prevents cracking or warping.
There are some really spectacular pieces that I am now sure I must have. The bowl below is from the works I purchased for another client.
This totally unique flat salad bowl is so stunning I start to drool every time I look at it.
Every trip to Italy introduces me to new places, people and products. It seems a never-ending journey. I have introduced my Sardinia honey source to olio nuovo from Farfa, I have been able to learn about the different grades of cashmere from my scarf vendor in Florence (who uses only Italian materials and workers and produces all she sells right outside of Florence). There are so many fine olive oils available from every region but my clients are spoiled by the consistently fabulous taste of Il Saporito’s olive oil from Farfa.
It is always a challenge to get everything done in the short time I have in Italy (a month is hardly enough time to get your breathing slowed down). And, I always end the trip with my stop at Campo dei Fiori to fill up on the “Spezie Famose nel Mondo” and meet up with Mauro Berardi for his amazing spice mixes that have people all over the world addicted.
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There is never enough time here, never enough space to bring all I would like and always too much weight. But I love it and hope to continue to introduce products and people from Italy to as many as I can.
Expressly Italian 