Trying to Beat the Heat in Italy
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Whew! it is H-O-T here and we are really feeling it. Here are a couple of the things that we’re doing to try to beat the heat in our little town of Soriano nel Cimino.
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An Old Friend Visits Our Little Corner of Italy
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An old friend came to visit, and has been with us the last couple of days. We went to summer music camp together when I was 14, and the next time I saw her was about 30 years later when she happened to be in Nashville on the night of our final concert in our symphony gigs before we quit and moved to Italy.
She did a little sightseeing on her own when we were working, and then we took her to see (and eat at) some places we love in our area. Ferento, the ancient Roman theater, set out in the countryside; and Celleno, the “borgo fantasma” (ghost town), which is like a little Civita di Bagnoregio — accessible only by footbridge. These places are evocative of more famous sites in Italy, but really off the beaten path; so, no big crowds, and no selfie sticks!
Read MoreAn Overnight in Chianti
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A couple of weekends ago, we headed up to Chianti, to play a wedding at a vineyard there. We’re very lucky to have such a beautiful workplace! And we’re going back in two days to play there again. Here are a few images from that last trip.
Read MoreInterview with Matt & Zen - Italo-Americano magazine
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The oldest Italian-American newspaper in the US recently published an interview with us, in the wake of the recent publication of our book “I Can’t Believe We Live Here.” It’s all about the logistics of our move to Soriano nel Cimino Italy (including documents for three cats!) , our balcony concerts during the lockdowns, our Little Roads Europe itinerary business, our performing and concert organizing, and our new lives in this place that we call home.
Read MoreMoving to Italy - Tips from Zeneba and Matt
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Especially now that we’ve released our memoir detailing our lives in the course of moving and working here in Italy, we get a lot of inquiries about how we did it. It was an insanely complicated process, of course - which is why we wrote a whole book about it!
Take a look around at all your belongings, and get ready to sell or donate most of it. Unless you are George Clooney, you will not be able to afford (logistically, financially, or mentally) to move overseas with most of the things in your house. That sounds scary, but the “letting go” of material items is one of the most liberating and exhilarating aspects of a major move like this.
Animals in Art: The Museo Nazionale in Lucca
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We recently visited the fantastic and expansive (but not expensive) Museo Nazionale di Villa Giungi in Lucca, Tuscany. Hint: You can go for free on the first Sunday of each month, but normally it’s only 4 euro!
Something we noticed throughout the was how frequently animals - real or mythical - played into the art. Here are a handful of them - dogs, cats, lions, serpents, mythical creatures - sculpted, painted, inlaid in wood, carved into marble.