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Showing posts with the label Volterra

Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...

Volterra, Italy

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Here a little bit more from our Italian trip to Tuscany. From Pisa airport we set the course to Volterra and a little bit of culture. (I hope you notice that we start with the culture and not the food and wine!)  I have already told you what I expected from this city but alas, the shooting of New Moon was not done here. It was rather clear from the beginning although I think that the landscape going up to the town might have been the place. A long stretching plain, at this time of the year, entirely green and blooming. The town was an important centre already in the Etruscan times. The name in Etruscan is Velathri or Felathri). It is believed that this place was inhabited during the Roman Age as early as the end of the 8th century BC. In the 5th century AD it was a bishop's residence and the religious important continued during the 12th century. When the episcopate went into decline, Volterra became interesting to the Florentines who conquered them. The Florentines were an oppre...

Twilight in Italy

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It has been a little bit quiet on this blog for a while. It is because I have been travelling. We went with friends to wonderful Tuscany in Italy over Easter, to enjoy the landscape, history, food, wine and culture. It is many years since we were there so it was really nice to come back. We flew to Pisa where a rented car took us south to the area of Montalcino. Yes, famous for the Brunello wines! This is the square in Volterra When my husband mentioned that we could pass by Volterra (where we never visited before) I realized that I also had a higher cause for this trip than just enjoying food and wine. That makes it necessary to confess that I am a fan of the Twilight books and movies! I resisted a long time to watch the first movie but when I did I was lost. Probably the romantic in me. Volterra, is the home to the Volturi, the ‘royal family’ of the vampires. As fans know, in the second book, New Moon, Edward goes there on his suicidal mission. It is beautifully filmed, startin...