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Lucy Gordan

Former editor at the American Academy in Rome and at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, with journalistic accreditation in Italy and the Vatican, I’m culture editor of the US monthly Inside the Vatican; European Bureau chief of Epicurean-Traveler.com, and regular contributor to KMT: a Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, German Life, and the Italian food and travel monthly La Madia Travelfood. At the age of 9, I, born and bred in Manhattan, spent my first day in Italy on the unforgettable SS Saturnia going to Naples. I’ve been married to my abruzzese husband Luciano for over 47 years and we have two daughters and three grandchildren. To quote Robert Browning: “Open my heart and you will see/Graved inside of it, Italy.”

Italian Hours

6_Raffaello_Madonna-Aldobrandini

Arts - 30 Ottobre

Commemorating Raphael’s Death: After 500 Years Vasari’s ‘Dio Mortale’ Lives on

One year after the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the great Leonardo’s death, comes Raphael’s turn. From the US to Italy, to Switzerland and beyond, the world celebrates Raphael’s genius and puts the spotlight on his major and minor works.

Antonio Canova: The Dancer

Arts - 16 Ottobre

Commemorating Sculptor Antonio Canova, His Legacy, and Its Place in History

In the late 18th century, Neo-Classical sculptor Antonio Canova was proclaimed the new Phidias, the new Praxiteles, and his studio was a “must-see” stop for travelers on the official Grand Tour. His many VIP patrons throughout Europe included Popes Pius VI and VII, as well as Napoleon and the Bonaparte family. Today his artistic legacy is being celebrated with this mega-exhibit in Rome. And to finish the day, you can enjoy tonnarelli cacio e pepe in his studio which is now a bar/restaurant/and museum.

icone fig 2

Arts - 20 Settembre

Historic Russian Icons on Display at the Pitti Palace For First Time in 2020

Starting in 1796, for only a few years they were stored in the Uffizi before the majority of them were moved to the Medici Villa di Castello with its magnificent gardens and grounds, where they remained until the beginning of the 20th century; then to the Accademia from 1958-1968, then to the Palazzo Pitti, back to the Accademia from 1984 to 2013 and then in 2014 to the Uffizi where they were displayed during the Christmas holidays.

Bulgari-Boutique-Facade

Arts - 8 Settembre

“BVLGARI: the Story, the Dream”, Three Generations of an Iconic Family of Jewelers

The decadence of “Hollywood on the Tiber” played a crucial part in transforming the image of Italy from that of a struggling country, into a glamorous industrial power. It also gave Rome new appeal, thanks also to its fashion houses and artisanry, and not least for the contributions of the Bulgari jewelers. Starting in the 1950s the Eternal City returned to being the cradle of art and history, but also the center of glamour—a resource for at least the next forty years.

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Food & Wine - 29 Luglio

Italy’s Aperitivi: A Guide to Their Origins and Popularity

Though conflicting stories obscure their origins, and many may claim to have invented them, aperitifs like Negroni, Aperol, Chinotto and Crodino are all extremely popular. They may be highly alcoholic, or barely so, they may be seasonal or not, but they are ubiquitous in Italy.

Title page

Arts - 9 Luglio

The Codex Purpureus: Calabria’s Unique Treasure

The Codex is famous for the reddish-purple (purpureus in Latin) color of its high-quality parchment pages and for its prefatory cycle of miniatures of subjects from the Life of Christ. The miniatures are arranged in two tiers on the page, sometimes with small Old Testament prophet portraits below holding scrolls of texts from the Psalms.

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Arts - 3 Maggio

How to Celebrate the Genius of Leonardo, 500 Years After His Death

It seems that in this year of celebrations for the 500th anniversary of his death, visiting Leonardo da Vinci exhibitions is like eating chocolate, popcorn, or peanuts: the more you see, the more you desire. At the end of my article “Celebrations for the 500th Anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci” published on January 16th, I […]

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Arts - 25 Marzo

Verrocchio, the Sculptor, the Painter and the Master of Leonardo

In spite of Vasari’s admiration and Verrocchio’s importance as a teacher, up-to-now there has never been an exhibition devoted to him. The event in the Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo Bargello aims to bring valuable insight into the early influence of Florence and of Verrocchio and his workshop on Leonardo’s oeuvre (seven on display here). The National Gallery in Washington D.C. will host a smaller, especially curated version, of the show from 29 September 2019 to 2 February 2020.

3 Cifarelli in front of forno

Food & Wine - 19 Marzo

Massimo Cifarelli: A Third-Generation Baker

The first baker of the family – Massimo tells us – was "My grandfather Antonio. He was the apprentice to a baker in the “Sassi” who didn’t have any children and so left his business to my grandfather".

Vitantonio Lombardo 1

Food & Wine - 28 Gennaio

Vitantonio Lombardo: the First Michelin-Starred Chef in Matera

The aspect of your work that you like the most? The constant changes, which depend on the seasons, the products, people, and situations. This constant challenge inspires me to improve constantly”, Lombardo told me.

leonardo-da-vinci-40396-2-raw

Arts - 12 Gennaio

Celebrations for 500th Anniversary of Leonardo’s Death

As I wrote in my August 27th La Voce article, “Leonardo Da Vinci Still Making Headlines” Leonardo was born in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci on April 15, 1452, the oldest illegitimate son of a promiscuous wealthy notary and a peasant. He died at 67 on May 2, 1519 near Amboise in France where […]

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Lifestyles - 31 Dicembre 2018

Lucky Foods: New Year’s Dishes to Celebrate with Taste

The night of St. Sylvester offers an opportunity to forget the past and make a clean start. Instead of leaving everything up to fate, why not enjoy a special meal to increase your next year’s good fortune? Traditions vary from culture to culture, but there are several internationally auspicious foods...

tiramisù vincitore TWC 2017_logo

Food & Wine - 14 Dicembre 2018

Tiramisù or “Pick-Me-Up”: the “Mamma’s Dessert” Italians Love the Most

On December 15 and 16 Treviso will host a Tiramisù World Cup with 100 contestants between the ages of 8 and 13. The godmother of this first-time competition will be Elisabetta Dami, who is the author of the Geronimo Stilton books. They are currently translated into 49 languages with more than 150 million copies sold

Ritual Book of Ordination

Arts - 6 Novembre 2018

Armenia at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and in Venice

Since 1717 St. Lazarus Island in the Venetian lagoon has been a foremost and deeply revered center of Armenian culture in the world. Visitors to the exhibition, “Armenia!”, on at the Met until January 13, will want to make a pilgrimage to this shrine and sacred place too. For without the foresight of the first Abbot Mekhitar most of Armenia’s cultural history would have been lost forever

2 CAT

Arts - 12 Ottobre 2018

Jacopo Comin: Probably the Last Great Painter of the Italian Renaissance

During the 20th century, probably on account of the enormous size of many of his works, very few monographic exhibitions were dedicated to Tintoretto. His birthplace is celebrating with two major exhibitions from September 7, 2018 to January 6, 2019.

cannoli

Travel - 3 Ottobre 2018

Piana degli Albanesi: for its Albanian Heritage and the World’s Best Cannoli

Yes, believe or not “Hora e Arbëreshëvet”, in spite of its unpronounceable name is in Sicily, on a plateau at 2,600 feet above sea level surrounded by mountains some 15 miles due south of Palermo. It’s a unique place because of its history, its post-World-War-II politics, its artisanry, and its gastronomy

Pontormo's self-portrait

Arts - 17 Settembre 2018

Pontormo’s Masterpieces at the Morgan Library & Museum

In addition to his famous Visitation, exhibition highlights include the Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap and the Portrait (c.1530) of a Halberdier (only at the Getty) for, besides his religious subjects, Pontormo was a much-admired portraitist (only 15 survive today, 13 being in Italy).

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Arts - 24 Agosto 2018

Leonardo Da Vinci Still Making Headlines

The first chronologically took place on June 21st at the Stampa Estera or Foreign Press Association in Rome, when Professor Ernesto Solari and handwriting expert Ivana Rosa Bonfantino announced that they had authenticated the earliest known artwork by Leonardo, also his first self-portrait. And not even a month later, on July 9th the Uffizi unveiled a new Leonardo room

Flynn McGarry x Miu Miu : Dinner

Food & Wine - 19 Agosto 2018

Flynn McGarry, the 19-Year-Old Chef Who Is Conquering New York

On March 1, 2018, after short internships and jobs at several American and European restaurants, he opened his own permanent restaurant at 116 Forsyth Street in New York’s East Village. On May 23rd my husband and I savored the evening’s ten-course tasting menu. A week later I returned in the morning to interview McGarry exclusively for La Voce di New York

San Sabino

Travel - 17 Luglio 2018

Art, History, Culture and Food: The Best of Bari, a Treasure of Puglia

In the spotlight after Pope Francis' visit, Bari is not only southern Italy’s most important commercial center after Naples: it is getting more press and tourists thanks to its incredible and thousand-year-old history, its culture, its art, and its way of living

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