September 2024 News from Elizabeth

Mortadella, Tomatinis & Tours to Puglia & Sicily

This story about an entire village that has been turned into a hotel has been filling my FaceBook feed for the last couple of days. Mostly accompanied by rants about how this type of tourism is killing off small towns in Italy. Granted, it’s Facebook, which in mostly filled with people of a certain age telling other people what to think. But whatever. The article - and the rants - caught my eye.

Here is very short synopsis of the original article: Castelalfi is a resort located in Tuscany that has as its base a small borgo, or village. The rant was very much against this type of restoration project. The arguments from Facebook when something like this: That picturesque villages in out of the way locations should remain in the hands of locals and not be turned into a resorts that incorporate the charm of the village into a 5 star resort.

I beg to differ. I mean yes, in an ideal world, it would be nice if small villages could survive and thrive. But many of them have been abandoned since the 1950’s and ’60’s as the result of agrarian land reform. And the result is that many of them are not only abandoned, but completely crumbling to pieces. Who is supposed to be taking care of them?

Fast forward to 2024, when over-tourism in Italy is a real problem, and hoards of travelers descend upon cities like Florence, Venice and Rome or areas like the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre. With this in mind, I am THRILLED when someone decides to invest in the restoration of an abandoned property in the middle of the countryside. I firmly believe that this kind of tourism, which encourages travelers to explore locations they would have previously ignored through the thoughtful restoration of existing structures. This type of investment is not only sustainable (they are reusing formerly abandoned buildings) it is also in many cases regenerative since they are not only hiring locals to work for them, but often farming - or supporting the farming - of traditional crops in the surrounding landscape.

There are abandoned villages all over Italy, and many of you have asked about the programs to buy homes for 1€. This is one approach about how to breath life back into villages in regions like Sicily and Calabria where the population is dwindling. But what happens when an entire town has been abandoned decades ago? No one is going to buy a home in a ghost town, even for 1€. To bring an entire borgo back to life takes huge investment, not only in the structure itself but also in the surrounding infrastructure.

I’m certainly not saying I want big companies to come and buy up old villages and turn them into Disney-like recreations of typical Italian villages. But when there is a chance to turn one of these structures into something productive again, then I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. I also firmly believe that the national and local governments should help the small villages that are in danger of dying before they too become completely abandoned. It’s a difficult balance to achieve, but one I think is definitely worth working towards. (A couple of hotels that have succeeded in doing something similar include Monteverdi and Sextantio).

Of one thing I am certain: Italy needs to invest in places that do not have an over tourism problem already.

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If you go to Sicily in March the markets are FULL of artichokes!

WHAT’S NEW

It’s back to work time and Sophie and I are on the road leading tours. I’m off to Eastern Sicily and Parma in September. Sophie is headed to Puglia twice in September: first to Salento and then for a week during our Bari-based tour. (Make sure you’re following me and Sophie on Instagram to tag along virtually)

We also have a few tours coming up this fall with guest hosts. Radio host Evan Kleiman is hosting a group in Puglia, Dr. Annie Fenn (Brain Health Kitchen) is hosting 2 retreats in Sicily and cookbook author Odette Williams is also in Sicily in September. We’ve got lots more fun collaborations coming up in 2025 so stay tuned.

Speaking of 2025, we have slowly been rolling out our schedule for next year. Here are some of the highlights:

Sophie will be hosting a tour in the off season of March to Puglia and Basilicata. We love this time of year in the south because first of all it’s not hot and secondly we usually have the place to ourselves. I know this will eventually change as the ‘off’ season in Italy gets shorter and shorter, but for now March is officially Minchilli month. Sophie’s tour explores the central part of Puglia (Salento) and the seaside from our base in Bari. Your seaside room has a balcony overlooking the lungomare (boardwalk) which was designed by 2 of Sophie’s great grandfathers. In fact, Bari is where Sophie spent much of her childhood visiting nonna and she can’t wait to show you around. The last two nights are based in the magical town of Matera at the completely unique (and one our favorite places in the world ) hotel Sextantio. Click below to download the brochure.

Puglia & Matera Sophie Minchilli Brochure

1.16MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Sophie is also heading to Palermo in March, to host our Western Sicily tour. I LOVE the delicious itinerary that Sophie and I have created there. It includes dinner in a private palace; lunch in a ceramic museum; cous cous lesson by the sea and ricotta filled cannoli so fresh they make you want to cry. Click below for the brochure:

Western Sicily with Sophie Minchilli Brochure

1.11MB ∙ PDF file

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Download

I am also going to Sicily, but to the Eastern coast. Winery visit on Etna, biscotti lessons on an almond farm and a visits to baroque towns of Ortigia and Noto are just a few of the things we’ll be doing.

Sicily East Algil Elizabeth Minchilli Brochure

1.1MB ∙ PDF file

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Download

Remember that we announce our tours first through our Premium newsletter, so make sure you are signed up if you want to make sure you grab a spot.

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I will miss my daily swims and where I did most of my summer reading

WHAT I’M READING

I 100% support the Italian tradition of bringing your entire kitchen to the beach for lunch.

With so so many other beautiful places to visit in Italy why on earth would you wait in line, with crowds, to walk on one specific path? I just don't get it.

My niece was reading Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult this summer and said she liked it so I immediately downloaded it. I am a big Jodi Picoult fan and even though this one was a bit different (she co-authored with writer Jennifer Finnley Borland) it was an immensely readable crime mystery, while addressing really difficult topics like domestic violence, LGBTQIA+ violence; suicide and child abuse.

I really tried with The Bee Sting but I hated it. Is it me, or are so many of the Booker Prize nominations just really depressing, difficult and not much fun in any sense of the word? It felt like homework.

Stephen King’s You Like it Darker because summer isn’t summer without at least one Stephen King book.

I got totally sucked in to Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series and so have decided to embark on her Throne of Glass series. It’s definitely a very specific genre and you either love it or hate it. I find it the perfect escape, especially when I’m on planes and trains this time of year.

Congratulations to some of our guest hosts on their brand new books!!! Can’t wait for my copy of Jenny Rosenstach’s new Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple to arrive since this is definitely how I am eating and cooking these days. And Happy Pub Day to Zoë Francois on her new book Zoë Bakes Cookies which will (I’m sure) turn into everyone’s cookie bible.

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WHERE I’VE BEEN

I’ve pretty much been here in Umbria since mid-May, with one big exception (our trip to Iceland). But then it was right back to Umbria. One of the highlights of August was that my sisters came to visit. We always think we are going to take day trips and do lots of things, but in the end it was deathly hot and we were kind of lazy. We did make it out to lunch one day, to one of my favorite truck stop type places in Umbria: Faliero. If you feel like making your own Torta al Testo (the griddle bread they are famous for) here is a recipe and here is a video I made while we were there to inspire you. You just have to pick your favorite filling.

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WHAT I’M EATING

If I could have my way my diet would consist of caviar and vodka, with potato chips as the vegetable component. Last week I was able to indulge this fantasy because my friend Eugenia brought up a huge jar of salmon caviar from Rome. Paired with Tomatinis it was heaven.

The recipe for the caviar canapés is super simple: Open a bag of the best plain potato chips you can get, place a dollop of sour cream on a chip and then top with a generous spoonful of caviar. Repeat. Maybe this should be the theme of my next book: Entertaining with potato chips?

Here is a video I made of my complete and utter happiness coming up with this combo, plus the recipe, below) for a Tomatini.

Tomatini

(makes 1)

• 3 cherry tomatoes

• pinch salt

• 2 oz Vodka

• 1/4 oz dry white vermouth

• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon dill pickle brine

• 1 spear dill pickle

• 2-3 dashes of Tabasco

• 1/2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

Muddle the tomatoes in a cocktail shaker with the salt and vodka. Add the vermouth, vinegar, and brine along with 2 ice cubes. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled martini glasses. Top with tabasco and olive oil, and garnish with pickle.

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AND FINALLY…

I shared my thoughts on following food rules in Italy with Huffpost.

I chatted about restaurant lighting in Italy with Airmail.

I hope you have a good month and are not too sad about summer’s end. After experiencing a few days of the September Scaries, I’m now energized and running into the season full steam.

x,Elizabeth

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In case you missed them, here are the newsletters that went out to Premium Subscribers last month

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