I picked that up from their website.

But I feel I know a bit more about them than their basic bio and that’s because I have their 2008 album Terre Del Sud Musiche E Balli Tradizionali. You can pick up the CD from Musicomania or do as I did and get the MP3s from Amazon.

I got it over the weekend and I love it already. Of all the Abruzzo folk or traditional music I’ve heard this collection is my favourite so far. It’s definitely the most accessible.

The album has 14 tracks with 10 from Abruzzo and the other 4 from Puglia, Campania, Sicilia and Calabria. You can listen to some samples here.

My Italian isn’t good enough to understand what they are singing about; but that doesn’t matter. The voices are clear, the tunes are catchy and there are quite a few stand-out tracks.

I particularly like tracks #4, Fronne d’autunne (Abruzzo) and #10 L’amore e’ ‘na pazzia (Abruzzo).

I’ve heard track #11 Vola vola vola (Abruzzo) before on the much more polished album Vola, Vola, Vola – e altri celebri canti d’Abruzzo by Associazione Corale Giuseppe Verdi. I do like the Associazione Corale Giuseppe Verdi collection which I’ve written about before, but I prefer Terre Del Sud. It just feels more natural.

If you aren’t familiar with music from Abruzzo, but would like an introduction this is where I’d start. I’ve listened to plenty of other CDs and although Terre Del Sud is not “from the archives”, I still think it is the album I’ll be recommending from now on.

From their website and their MySpace page, it looks like they have some concerts coming up in Roccamontepiano (CH) on 27th March, and later in the year in Lanciano (CH).

Here they are with an energetic rendition of Sott’a la casa me’ (Abruzzo) and it looks to me that the band and the crowd are having lots of fun.

I hope to get to see them as they sound lively and catchy. My foot has been tapping all through the album.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Traditional Music from Abruzzo by Terre Del Sud

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I suppose that means that the exercise wasn’t as successful as I hoped.

When I published the calendar first I thought that if I sold ten copies I’d feel it was well worth it. At the original price that would mean a contribution of €50 to the Italian Red Cross.

Well I didn’t get there.

But I’m upbeat about the attempt for a number of reasons:

• My wife and I had fun looking through our Abruzzo photo collection and selecting the candidates
• I had fun working with Lulu to create the final product
• The first email I received telling me a copy of the calendar had sold was a fantastic thrill
• The support I received from other bloggers promoting the calendar was very kind and unexpected
• And I sold one!!!

The timing of the publication was not ideal I admit.  Making a 2010 calendar available in December 2009 is a bit silly. I really should have had it ready by September.

But I decided to do it anyway and if I hadn’t published in December I’d have had to wait at least nine months for the chance of doing it again.

And somebody bought a copy. Thank you very much whoever you are. You are in possession of a very rare Abruzzo 2010 Calendar that I hope you’re enjoying. It’s no longer on sale so you have a collector’s item.

Every time I visit Abruzzo I love it. I’m both relaxed, following the Abruzzese maxim “piano, piano” and excited, like a kid in a sweet shop. That combination of being able to chill and be adventurous makes Abruzzo a wonderful place for me. I’ve made great friends that I look forward to seeing every time I visit.

Abruzzo has given me so much I think a little pretence about the final number is allowed.

I’ve decided to pretend that I sold ten copies and to contribute €50 to the Italian Red Cross.

So final update: 10 copies sold, €50 goes to the Italian Red Cross.

(Don’t tell anyone about the creative accounting!)

Post from: About Abruzzo

Abruzzo 2010 Charity Calendar Final Update

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The last time I was there I broke one of my rules of travel; never go anywhere without a camera.

I’d passed through Spoltore quite a few times. Whenever I’ve been based in Loreto Aprutino and had to make a trip to Pescara airport the best route is via Capelle Sul Tavo and Spoltore. On the occasion of the great rule breaking we were giving a friend a lift to the airport to get the flight to Stansted. We hadn’t planned to go or stop anywhere on our way back, but we fancied a coffee and something sweet and Spoltore was the answer.

Since we were there it made sense to explore and once we climbed up we were stunned by the views of the mountains and sea. But I can’t show you what we saw because I didn’t bring my camera!

I’m not going to describe Spoltore in this post. I’ll wait couple of weeks when I hope to be able to show some pictures as well. But if you are passing through and have the time, find a place to park and follow the streets up as high as you can go, the views are well worth it.

But there is a second reason for going back, one that isn’t normally associated with Abruzzo or Italy.

It’s beer!

Spoltore has a microbrewery.

I’ve tried a few different main stream Italian beers. The usual suspects are Moretti and Peroni. I really like La Rossa by Moretti and I have to admit that although Montepulciano d’Abruzzo would be my typical tipple in Abruzzo sometimes a glass of beer is the perfect drink.

Today I discovered Almond ‘22, a micro-brewery in Spoltore. “Discovered” may be a bit strong, as I haven’t had a chance to visit the brewery or sample its produce yet. But I will. And there are lots to choose from; take a look at their beer list.

I’m not sure I’m going to be able for their Torbata which has a barley wine style and I’ve seen described as a bottle-conditioned ‘smoked ale’ that’s … flavoured with chestnut honey. But maybe I should give it a go purely for research purposes.

Right now I don’t know if the public can visit the brewery and buy directly from them, but the idea of exploring Spoltore, taking photographs of the town and its views and then rounding it off with a Blanche de Valerie or an Irie really appeals.

If it turns out I can’t buy directly, Almond ‘22 have kindly provided a list of places where I buy their beer so it looks like I have a viable Plan B.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Spoltore: Wonderful Views And A Microbrewery Too

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Later I found out that these movies had an Abruzzo connection:

• The Name Of The Rose
• Ladyhawke
• My Name Is Trinity
• Trinity Is Still My Name

I’d seen these movies years ago at a time when I’d never heard of Abruzzo. I think The Name Of The Rose is by far the best of them, but I enjoyed them all.

Curious, I recently did an IMDB search it appears there are 86 entries for works filmed in Abruzzo, here they all are. Although most are in Italian there are quite a few in English too.

When I saw the list I spotted a few surprises. I remember watching Krull and La Strada and sure enough the fact that some of the scenes I saw were filmed in L’Aquila (Campo Imperatore, Ovindoli, Rocca di Mezzo) would have had no impact on me at the time.

But things are different now. Since I’ve had a chance to spend time in Abruzzo I keep an eye out for the region. I don’t live there, I just wish I did. I travel there as often as possible, which is never enough.

So I think I’m going to have to go back and look at some of these films again, and although they may not be regarded as classics, except perhaps The Name Of The Rose, I’m going to have fun looking out for Abruzzo as I watch.

Looking through the IMDB list I learned a few more nuggets of information:

• There is a movie of the novel Fontemara by Ignazio Silone (I didn’t know that.)
• The American, filmed in Castel del Monte and Sulmona will be released this year (and it stars somebody called George Clooney) (OK, I knew that.)
• Pane e Tulipani (Bread and Tulips) an Italian film I’ve wanted to see and have read good things about, has scenes filmed in Pescara (A nice surprise.)

So while I’m waiting for my next trip to Abruzzo (not too long now, nearly there, nearly there) I can crank up the DVD player see if I can spot familiar scenes while watching Sean Connery and Christian Slater in The Name Of The Rose, Anthony Quinn in La Strada, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick in Ladyhawke, a whole list of actors I’ve ever heard of  in My Name Is Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name.

I think I’ll skip Krull.

Update 27 February 2010:

It’s amazing what you’l find on YouTube. In September 2008 HouseAbruzzo posted this photo video of movies filmed in Abruzzo.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Filmed In Abruzzo

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The main visual changes are:

• more space for main content
• more space for sidebars
• moved the navigation controls so that they’re horizontal across the top (no longer taking up sidebar space)
• cleaned up sidebar content
• cleaned up some static pages

Under the hood I’ve gained greater flexibility for visual and layout control.

I’ve stuck with whitespace as the background, and a central main content area with two sidebars – nothing new there.

I like it, I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think.

I’m pretty sure I’ve ironed out all the wrinkles and normal service has now resumed.

But if you spot anything that isn’t working quite right I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me know.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Things Change, Things Remain The Same

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I selected the candidate last week and I could’ve just gone for it, but I held back. I wanted to test a few features first.

I’m pretty sure everything should work, perhaps with a few tweaks, but as you can see, I’m still holding back.

The reason is probably that whenever a software developer ever told me that some code change “should just work” it never quite worked out that way! OK, this isn’t software development, but I still don’t want to mess up.

My current plan (emphasis on “current”) is to do it tomorrow. I’ve a few hours free and if disaster strikes I can always roll-back. But I won’t need to as nothing will go wrong.

With that in mind please recognise that About Abruzzo could be in a state of flux for a little while.

I have made one small change already. It’s trivial, but I think it’s important from a content point of view.

I’ve added a page that lists a collection of online newspaper and magazine articles that I’ve come across relating to Abruzzo. Articles that appeared in The Times, The Guardian, The New York Times and BBC News are featured and they cover many aspects of Abruzzo life. The oldest article I’ve listed goes back to 2004 and the most recent appeared yesterday. They cover many aspects of tourism, Abruzzo culture and last year’s earthquake in the province of L’Aquila.

My plan is to update the list as more articles appear and if any of you know of any others that I should reference please pass them on. The criteria are that the article should be about Abruzzo and it should have appeared in an online newspaper or magazine, not a personal blog.

When I started this blog I never anticipated I’d get anything close to the number of readers I have now. Since I’m about to make a “sweeping changes” I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my readers, all those who have commented and all those who have helped and encouraged me  for the  last year and a half.

I’d also like to thank all Abruzzo bloggers out there. Thank you!

Everyone sees things and experiences events in different ways. When I write my blog I’m naturally biased and emphasise those things that I think are important. I’m grateful to all other bloggers who write about Abruzzo from their own point of view as I’ve learned so much about the region from reading your posts.

All the best to all of you and please keep reading and writing about Abruzzo.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Time for a change and thank you very much

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What has a Bob Dylan song got to do with the weather in Abruzzo?

Well take a look at this service that mashes up Google Maps and up to the minute weather data, here it is for Pescara.

Considering the temperatures can vary significantly throughout the region (that mountains V sea contrast) I think it’s a great tool to help plan your journeys.

OK, I admit this post is a bit of a cheat. This service can be used anywhere in the world so it isn’t strictly speaking an Abruzzo story. But it’s new and I think it’s perfect for Abruzzo and you don’t need a degree in meteorology to use it.

It’s called Full Screen Weather and it is brought to you by Weather Underground. The settings can be adjusted to change the units, Celcius (centigrade) v Fahrenheit, show or hide wind data and select a different weather station. And since it’s based around Google Maps, you can change the type of map that best suits your needs.

And here’s Bob Dylan singing the acerbic Subterranean Homesick Blues, which has very little to do with Abruzzo either!

Post from: About Abruzzo

Abruzzo Weather: Bringing it all back home!

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From looking at their website it looks like the ages of the musicians and singers range from 7 to 14 years. At least it did when the site was created which I think was in 2008.

I have no idea what they are singing about but I’m really enjoying it. I’d prefer if I was in a village in Abruzzo enjoying a glass of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and listening to them live, but I’ll have to wait a little for that.

This is the third Abruzzo folk or Abruzzo traditional music CD I’ve bought. The first, Chilla Stilluccia Mia – Canti tradizionali in Abruzzo was a complete “blind” buy and I didn’t really like it. The second Vola, Vola, Vola by the Asssociazione Corale Giuseppe Verdi is beautiful, but not truly traditional as it delivers the music in an operatic or choral style.

I think this CD, by La Voce del Gran Sasso, is super. I either got it in Gong or Discover in Pescara. I know it wouldn’t be everyone’s favourite type of music, and if it was vinyl I don’t think I’d wear out the grooves, but I do like it.

From other posts you may realise that I visit Gong or Discover every few months and try to pick up something by a modern Abruzzese artist and something traditional from the region. The CD I’ve looked for, but not found yet is Italian Treasury: Abruzzo compiled by Alan Lomax. It is for sale on Amazon UK for over £90! Way too much for me.

But then I had an epiphany, a musical road to Damascus experience; don’t buy the CDs, try the iTunes store and buy the MP3s! It’s so obvious I’ve no idea why I never thought of it before. It actually opens up a whole new collection of albums and sure enough the Italian Treasury: Abruzzo compiled by Alan Lomax is there for €8.99.

But that’s not all. Do a power search with “abruzzo” in the album title and you get all of these (go on, click on the picture):

Now to change the style a little bit I’d like to recommend a Jazz album by one of Abruzzo’s own, Tony Pancella. I’m pretty sure I got this CD, Different Like Two Drops Of Water by Tony Pancella and Uri Bracha in Gong as I know I got Alter Ego by Larry Willis and Tony Pancella there. I think Tony Pancella might be a favourite of the owner.

I’m more in my element here. Tony Pancella on piano and Uri Bracha on guitar have created an album I really love. This is one whose grooves would be in danger if it was an old LP.

I’d like to provide a link to track samples, a YouTube clip or at the very least a link to where you can buy the record, but I can’t. I’ve searched online, including the iTunes music store, but it isn’t available anywhere! I don’t get it. If I find anything in the future I’ll post it. But for now if you think you’d like a classical/jazz CD that’s really, really mellow, then get over to Gong in Pescara and ask for it.

Update 15/02/2010: See the comment from Tony Pancella indicating how you can get a copy of his album and where he is playing in 2010.

OK, I’m nearly done. There is a band venue in Loreto Aprutino that puts on gigs by a wide range of artists and styles. It’s The Coffee Shop Pub, Contrada Cartiera in Loreto Aprutino. Whenever I’ve been staying in Loreto the bands they had on didn’t suit my taste. I think they were mainly heavy metal or some variant. But I came across a YouTube clip that clearly shows that they’re very happy to put on more jazzy artists.

A band called Fast ‘n’ Bulbous is playing and old Frank Zappa track called Zoot Allures. For the anoraks out there I think the Zoot Allures album was the last one Zappa made with The Mothers back in 1976. I think they must be a Zappa tribute band and I’m all in favour of that. Enjoy!

Post from: About Abruzzo

A Musical Miscellany from Abruzzo

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Football, loved and watched by many, bores the pants off many rugby fans I know. Golf, a sport I’d happily watch on television, is the closest thing to watching paint dry for those with little or no interest. Cricket - the idea of sunny days in the open air politely clapping a glorious stroke has an appeal, but live televised test cricket, I just don’t get it.

If you don’t understand the subtleties and rules governing a sport then the chances are you’ll never understand why its on TV.

That brings me to cycling and the 2010 Giro d’Italia. I understand a little about cycling. I used to cycle a fair bit but in recent years I’ve  been lazy. This year I’ve started cycling again, no more than an hour at time, but I admit I’m finding it tough.

I don’t really consider cycling to be a TV friendly sport but whenever I’ve been in Italy when a major race is televised, especially the Giro, the bars are full of cheering fans. I was surprised the first time I realised that it was cycling and not football that was on the television. From the roars I thought somebody had just scored.

I’m full of admiration for the strength and levels of fitness that are required to compete in a major race day after day. Next to the Tour de France the Giro d’Italia must be one of the toughest races for any professional cyclist. They seem to go at speeds that God never intended.

This year the Giro d’Italia has two stages passing through Abruzzo. The 256km stage 11  on Wednesday 19th May from Lucera in Foggia to L’Aquila in Abruzzo looks like a tough one. That’s followed by the 191km stage 20 on Thursday 20th May along the Adriatic coast from Città Sant’Angelo in Abruzzo to Porto Recanati in Le Marche. I expect that the bars of Abruzzo will be full of excitement during these stages. That’s assuming that the Abruzzese haven’t closed up to go see the leaders and the peloton as it passes near to their homes.

But cycling isn’t without controversy. Today I read in the Guardian online “Italian Danilo Di Luca has been banned for two years for testing positive for illegal blood booster CERA during last May’s Giro d’Italia, the Italian Olympic Committee’s (CONI) anti-doping tribunal ruled on Monday”.

This is sad news. I remember the Giro of 2009 and how Di Luca, who is from Spoltore in Abruzzo, came so close to winning overall, only losing out by 41 seconds to Denis Menchov of Russia. It was a very exciting Giro for Abruzzese who were still coming to terms with the earthquake of 6th April. I wrote about it at the time and was hoping for Di Luca to do well. Unfortunately it now looks as though my excitement, and that of many Abruzzese was  unwarranted.

So for 2010 I hope the Giro d’Italia is as exciting but without any of the negatives that have plagued this sport in recent years. I hope that those cyclists and teams who bend the rules and cheat do not profit by their efforts. I’d like to think that the 2010 Giro will be drug free but I don’t believe that will be the case. The most I feel I can hope for is that the major players, the stage winners and the overall winner earn their positions by honest means.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Giro d’Italia 2010 stages in Abruzzo

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I’m looking for a book. It is called Belloccia: A Hill Village in the Abruzzo by Gimi Jordan. I’ve never seen it. I can’t find it for sale online and I have failed to find it after trawling though several library databases. I’m now hoping that readers of this blog, its Facebook fans and Twitter followers might help me find it.

I’m certain it exists. I’ve seen many references to it. Unfortunately the reference is usually “currently unavailable”, “we don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” or “out of print”.

I can’t find much of a description of the book, certainly no detailed reviews. I did find a reference on the Books about Abruzzo page of A House in Pennewebsite which says that it is set north of Pescara, and is more about the village and the characters of the village than the author’s experiences there. That’s enough for me, I want to read it!

I’ve tried the standard sites like Amazon, the sites more focused on out of print books like Abe Books and the entire online catalogue of the Irish public library system – no joy. If somebody’s selling this book, they’re not shouting about it.

Last night I sent an email to a Norwegian online book seller that may have it. The email was in English to a seller that may only speak Norwegian about a book set in Italy that they probably don’t have!

This may take some time, but I’m not going to give up on finding it just yet. So if you have a copy and want to sell it, if you see it somewhere or if you have any suggestions that may help me find it, please get in touch by leaving a comment.

Why do I want it? I love reading and there are very few books in English that are either set in Abruzzo or are about Abruzzo.

To date I’ve read the following:

• The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss
• On the Spine of Italy: A Year in the Abbruzzi by Harry Clifton
• Fontamara, Bread and Wine from The Abruzzo Trilogy: v. 1-3by Ignazio Silone

and I have cooked using recipes from

• Food and Memories of Abruzzo: Italy’s Pastoral Landby Anna Teresa Callen

I spend a lot of time in Abruzzo. But I don’t spend anywhere near as much time there as I’d like to. So while I’m based in a differently beautiful and certainly colder European country I like to dip into those things that can transport me back to the Majella and the Gran Sasso.

Writing this blog, buying the odd bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and cooking with peperoncino all help. But reading another book set in the region would be an absolute treat.

Post from: About Abruzzo

Set in Abruzzo – please help me find this book

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