You're traveling around rural Italy and suddenly it's noon. Time for lunch! But every restaurant, trattoria and osteria are closed! In small towns, even pizzerias will be closed. The same goes for car rentals, post offices, pharmacies and possibly the local police station! The signs say they are closed from 12 - 3 pm. These towns appear to be ghost towns during the early afternoon, and sometimes even later!

You're about to learn about the Italian cultural phenomena call riposo (also called la pausa--the pause). This is the period that shop keepers close up and take a long lunch and perhaps a nap, for over three hours!  The word riposo literally translates as "the rest".

So, how did this riposo thing get started in Italy (and other Mediterranean countries (called siesta in Spain)? Many attribute it to the heat and humidity in the middle of the day--which can get extreme in summer--combined with the typically heavy meals eaten as lunch in the Mediterranean diet. Lunch, or pranzo, is pretty much the main meal for Italians, along with taking a three hour lunch. If they live close to their workplace, they will go to la casa di famiglia where Mamma or Nonna has a great meal waiting. Then a short nap before heading back to work at 3:30 or 4, where they might finish their workday around 7 pm. 

Simply put, people get drowsy after a big meal. Italians supposedly are embracing this biological fact as part of their natural clock. They have a very small colazione (breakfast)--cornetto and caffe--many go to a "bar" for a coffee break--Italians can't live without espresso. Their main meal is in early pomeriggio (afternoon). They nap when their body says to nap, whereas Americans are out of tune with their natural rhythms. In the evening, an aperitivo with friends and a small dinner or pizza and a passeggiare (stroll) around the main street or piazza.

One of the most surprising and frustrating things we discovered in Italy was how the riposo effects places of business.  Shopkeepers tend to go home for riposa. And no, they don't rotate their staff during the 3-4 hour riposo, they simply close the shop.

Americans let workers have lunches either rotate staff in shifts or for very strict time periods,, often as short as 30 minutes. Rush rush rush. The Italian way of life is much more laid back and humanistic. It's a domani (tomorrow) way of thinking. Spending time with family, enjoying a nice meal all together, and then perhaps taking a nap is much more important than mere business. What we would consider as Good Will for customers is a lower priority in Italy.  From an American point of view, many will simply not understand it.
When you visit Italy, you have to learn to travel at their pace.

Now some travel "experts" on the Internet say that we should embrace all this and plan to visit churches during lunchtime and look at frescoes and mosaic floors. NO! It's usually too damned hot and humid to visit such sites during the mid-day hours, even during the fringe, cooler months. You might consider taking a break from the heat of the day and go back to your hotel or rental for a couple of hours until the day cools off a bit.

Voyagers need to learn how to find food during the riposa. One solution we used was making sure we always had fixings for an impromptu lunch or picnic in our car: cheese, bread, sausage, foccacia, fruit, tomato and gassata (sparkling water) . We also found that for some reason or other, gelaterias are almost always open during lunchtime--Lord knows why. So, gelato and cold drinks became our early lunches on some days, picnics were the norm on many others.

Of course, in a large city like Rome or Florence riposa isn't really a problem. After all, there are so many tourists in the big cities, and with their shopkeepers and restaurants dependent on the tourist trade, they stay open. But in smaller towns, I can't tell you how many times we came out of an early morning visit to a museum or other tourist site and couldn't find any place to have lunch.

My Dad often stopped at a local bar on the way home from work... a place to drink beer, mixed drinks or whiskey. The only food might be a bowl of pretzels or chips sitting on the bar or hard boiled eggs or pickles in a jar. As I got into my early teens, I'd sometimes meet him and have a Coke with a wedge of lime and nibble on the pretzels. I felt grown-up perched on a bar stool next to my work-a-day Dad.

In Italy, a bar is a very different thing. In fact, most North American visitors to Italy are totally unaware that when they see a sign for a "Bar", they should really translate it as "Coffee and Sandwich Shop", which Italians use to get their morning espresso and cornetto or sweet pastry, or for grabbing a panino or pizza at lunch. Of course, in big cities there are cocktail bars where you can have an aperitivo and small bites, but remember, most Italians don't really drink much. Having an after work aperitivo with friends is a social thing, and not really about the drinking.

In fact, many we've seen from Tuscany down to Puglia were rarely closed for riposo. They are a perfect workaround when restaurants are closed. Virtually every bar in Italy--besides being "the" place to stop for your morning hit of espresso before work--is also a great place to stop and get some sort of lunch... snacks, panini (sandwiches), focaccia, pizza and other things that will satisfy most tourists for a quick, affordable lunch. In most, you select whatever they have pre-prepared in their showcases, but many Mom and Pop places will whip something up for you on the spot.

To be honest, this little fact got past us too during our first visit. Perhaps because we were traveling with our 11 year old son and, like most Americans, never would think of taking an 11 year-old into a place labeled "bar". I'm my opinion, this is a fairly big gap in the information out there about traveling and eating in Italy.

Remember... Bar = Espresso + Pastries + Food.

Figuring Out When Shops Are Open

Here are some words that you might see on signs posting operational hours:
giorni feriali          Weekdays (literally, working days)
settimanale            Weekly
quotidiano              Daily
ogni ora                   Hourly

Hours of operation--even when listed on the door of shops--are very loosey-goosey. Often you will see a sign with the shopkeeper's cell number. They might live nearby and be able to come and open the shop for you. Remember, this is the culture of domani... everything can wait until tomorrow.

If you see a logo that looks like a crossed hammer and sickle, it's not a symbol for communism, it simply refers to "workdays", meaning Monday through Saturday. If you see giorni festivi, simply festivi, this refers to Sundays and religious holidays (there will be a small cross). There are many that Italians close for--remember, it's a Catholic country. All religious holidays are National holidays.

If you see a sign saying chiuso per ferie, it means closed for the holidays. The "holiday" in August means 3-4 weeks--for most of Italian workers. The more official summer is called Ferragusto and begins on August 15th. Shops close up and whole families go to beach resorts or camping. If you see chiuso per lutto, this means they are closed for mourning. Most shops are closed on Sundays whether they go to church or stay at home watching the soccer matches.

Enjoy your Voyage and don't forget to check out the local bars for a snack!

--Jerry Finzi

Enzo Schillizzi (b 1955 - d 2009) lived in the small Albanian-Italian village of San Costantino Albanese above the banks of the Sarmento River. The artist spent almost all his life in this small village just outside of Potenza, painting the local life and culture in murals all around the area. 

His work focused on the cultural symbolism of arbëresh tradition and folklore, especially on religious rites, for example, illustrating Nusazit, the pyrotechnic puppets of the saints day of San Constantino Albanese. Proud of the region's heritage, he recorded his impressions of the romantic and violent history of Basilicata and the briganti, robber/rebels who ran rampant during the post-unification period if Italy. Other subjects were his own interpretations of of painters such as Velasquez and Picasso.

Some works are childlike, with indeed a Picasso-esque loose hand, while others show his extraordinary skill as a draftsman.

After his untimely death, in July 2009, an effort has been made to research, document and restore and preserve his wonderful murals in addition to paintings privately owned. His colors often remind the viewer of the muted and natural palette from Basilicata itself--wheat, the varied tones of greens from the mountains and valleys, and the more vibrant colors of sky and flora.

This research has been possible through the efforts of family and friends, who helped to identify and search out several paintings and gain permission of the owners to allow photographing them for posterity. Despite his works being dispersed in various places, a significant number still remain in San Costantino in private collections houses and in public spaces. Some his more complex works remind me of the work of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera while others have a mix of abstract and cubism in their compositions. After seeing his work, I'm convinced that his imagery would be well suited to ceramics and mosaic tiles. The town of San Constantino is blessed to have much of his work on public display, honoring their wonderful heritage.

--Jerry Finzi

No shit! There really is a Shit Museum in Italy... the Museo della Merda.
It was in 2015 that Gianantonio Locatelli founded the "museum" in Lombardy along with his associates: Luca Cipelletti, who manages its projects and products, Gaspare Luigi Marcone and Massimo Valsecchi.

The idea came into being in Castelbosco, in the province of Piacenza (just south of Milan) on a farm which makes milk for Grana Padano cheese and includes seven production units. Here every day 3,500 specially selected cows produce around 50,000 litres of milk and 150,000 kilos of poop.

The future-thinking Locatelli wanted to turn all this excrement into something useful with his ecological, productive and cultural scheme. Using highly innovative systems, electrical energy started to be produced from the manure. Today the farm produces up to three megawatts per hour! The buildings and offices of the farm are heated exploiting the warmth given off by huge processing tanks called Digestori (digesters) turning the manure into energy. The process also produces fertilizer offered for sale under the name MerdaMe (Shit me).

All these activities have drawn attention from various international institutions concerned with ecology and innovation, leading to widespread recognition and prizes, and making Castelbosco a point of reference.

Locatelli began to gather together friends and artists, leading him to the idea of the Shit Museum. The Museum itself might be called a canvas onto which artists create... the Digesters themselves transformed into a bright colored landmark in the area. The idea for a new museum slowly took shape, emerging from manure to deal with the broader theme of transformation. The museum would be an agent of change which, through educational and research activities, the production of objects of everyday use and the gathering of artifacts and stories concerning excrement in the modern world and throughout history, was to dismantle cultural norms and prejudices.

The first stage of the project was carried out in April 2015 with the inauguration of the exhibition spaces of the Museum, in the rooms on the ground floor of the company premises, located within the medieval castle of Castelbosco. The museum is a blend of aesthetic, scientific, human and animal experiences, both modern day and historic. The concept is that shit is a useful and living material.

The symbol and mascot of the Museum is the dung beetle, considered divine by the Egyptians (and symbol of the Museum itself), to the use of dung in architecture, from ancient Italian civilizations to those in Africa, via historical-literary works such as Pliny’s Naturalis Historia. Right up to the latest scientific research and works of art drawing on the use and reuse of waste and discarded materials, the Museum is a contemporary cabinet of curiosities which finds its main guide in the science and art of transformation.

Museum Activities
Right from the start, the Shit Museum was designed to be a production center not only of ideas and exhibitions, but also of objects and projects. The implementation and patenting of the Merdacotta® brand sums up the principle of sustainability. The poo is mixed with clay and gives shape to the first products to bear the Museo della Merda brand: vases, flowerpots, tiles, plates, bowls, a jug and a mug in simple, clean, rustic shapes, harking back to ancient principles.

The ‘primordial products’ of the Museum were presented for the first time during the 2016 Salone del Mobile, in an exhibition which won the promoters Cipelletti and Locatelli first prize in the Milano Design Award. The motivation given was as follows: “for the development of a process of great complexity and innovation, capable of destabilizing common perceptions. The educational itinerary breaks down all the commonplace stereotypes and offers a censorial experience, one which promotes a new vision of the culture of the project.”

Museo della Merda
Frazione Campremoldo Sopra
Loc. Castelbosco
29010 Gragnano Trebbiense (PC), ITALY
To Make an Appointment: [email protected]
For information: [email protected]

As I get back to my little stone cottage, one of the many dogs on the farm runs up to me and barks, "bau bau!" Wait a second. I'm actually starting to get the hang of this language! "Here boy", I call... "venire qui, cane... bau, bau!" I give him a piece of sausage from my pocket. (Where'd that come from?)

(Gotta remember to buy some of that miele before I leave).

--Jerry Finzi

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Beginning in January, 2017, Grand Voyage Italy is undergoing a reconstruction: adding new pages, categories and moving older posts to more appropriate pages. If you can't find what you are looking for in this new Lifestyle page, use the Search Box to help find what you need. Grazie! 

We planned on going to Italy even before our son, Lucas was born, but because of a sudden illness, we had to call it off. Then in 2014, we planned our three week Voyage to Italy, but this time, with our 12 year old son along with some typical goals... see the art, architecture, learn the history and search out my father's roots in Molfetta down in Puglia. We knew it would be a great time, giving us fantastic memories, but as this blog shows, it has changed our lives in many ways. Here are a few ways that a Voyage to Italy might change you forever:

1. If you thought you were eating "Italian food" before, you'll learn that you were wrong. Chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs and pasta swimming in Alfredo sauce are not Italian dishes. You'll realize that if--and when--you eat these, you are really enjoying Italian-American dishes. A totally different thing.
2. You will appreciate fresh pasta more--especially if you make it yourself.
3. You will at long last really know how to slow down.
4. You won't want to pay extremely high prices for restaurants after learning how easy it is to implement the simple philosophy of Italian food preparation in your own kitchen.
5. You will learn that you can get along with less... more fresh food requires a smaller fridge; you don't need a huge gas-guzzling car; and that 22' high entrance hall in your McMansion will start to seem very ridiculous.
6. You will learn to recognize opportunities to relax and take in a view--learning to always make time to soak in the simple pleasures like a vista, a sunset, beautiful architecture or natural wonders.
7. You will be humbled at your place in history after seeing buildings still standing--and often still being used--after 2000 years. The oldest structures (Pennsylvania stone colonials) in my area are no more than 300 years old.
8. Your lunches will seem amazingly inadequate and short. You will want to have a job close enough to allow you to go home for lunch.
9. You will begin to understand the Italian meaning behind your own "bella figura" and always try to appear well attired and attractive rather than going out in public in sweat pants and unkempt, wet hair.
10. You will learn the advantage of a mid-day nap.
11. You will want to have simpler breakfasts... an espresso and a sweet pastry.
12. You might start keeping your home neater and cleaner. Italians even remove their shoes when home, walking on well cleaned tile floors.
13. You will want to make your own pizzas, and when you don't, you will want to order individual pizzas with simpler toppings... basil, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella.
14. You will want to learn all about soccer and watch international matches.
15. You will begin to see how much of an overpriced, un-Italian joke Starbucks really is.
16. You will no longer drink to excess, but rather have a cocktail or two (perhaps a Negroni?) with friends. You will start to select your bottles of wine based on how well they pair with your meals. Beer will lose its appeal.
17. You will eat more slowly, especially in good restaurants.
18. You will learn how to pronounce Italian words properly: broosh-KET-ah rather than broosh-etta, ree-COTT-ah rather than ri-cutta and eS-PRES-so instead of eX-presso.
19. A measly two week vacation will seem very inadequate after learning of the mandatory 31 days given to Italian workers.
20. You will never be satisfied by the fruit and veggies in your local supermarket again.
21. You will learn to absolutely love cheeses--especially from sheep.
22. American sodas will forever taste too sweet to you.
23. You will never be afraid or timid on the road again. You will drive with the confidence of a Grand Prix race driver.
24. You will learn to taste your food before automatically putting salt on it.
25. If you've always thought that complex French cuisine was the ultimate in fine dining and cooking, you'll find yourself replacing that whole view with the simplicity of Italian techniques.
26. The peanut butter will be shoved to the rear of the shelf, while Nutella comes to the front.
27. You will want to have meals with larger numbers of family and friends than ever before.
28. If you're a guy, you will feel fine about giving your friends big hugs and expect the same back.
29. Men... you might want to try wearing a Speedo again.
30. You will find yourself thinking about time in a different way... when it flows past, like a river, there is nothing you can do to get it back. There's always domani.
31. If you've never cooked before--you will. If you have cooked before, you will cook better.
32. You will never look at supermarket variety olive oils in the same way again.
33. You will have learned how a walk after dinner is good for your soul, your family and your health.
34. You will want to ask your family elders about their past, their romances, their family history and of course, you'll want them to write down their recipes for you.
35. If you're a man, you will compliment women more--even your mother. If you're a woman, you'll flirt more.
36. You will look at older people differently, and possibly even look forward to that stage in your own life.
37. You will find yourself learning more and more Italian words and phrases... and perhaps take a lesson or two, in preparation for your next trip back to Italy.

--Jerry Finzi

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