And the winner is…

Congratulations to del Borgo for winning the 2011 Palio!

We lost by one single point, but the jury gave us high points for our ‘nearly cineographic’ performances.

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In the News

It’s been a roller coaster week for Aroma Cucina! On top of crazy festa doings, we’ve had some other good stuff going on.

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Montone: In the service of Dionysus

By most accounts, our del Verziere spettacolo was a grand success. It came off as a powerful, dramatic piece, and that was the intent. Five all-out rape scenes in a very challenging (as in STEEP) setting also took its toll on us. Skinned knees and elbows, bruises, banged shins, jammed fingers, and scraped toes, all in the service of Dionysus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, theater and ecstasy.

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Montone Marathon: Day 2 of Donazione della Santa Spina

Tues morning, Aug 16
Town is a beehive of activity. Those little 3 wheeled Api’s are buzzing around town hauling sets and props, garbage, chairs and what ever else needs to be transported through our tiny medieval streets. Anything larger and Jeff is hauling it around in our trusty-rusty pick-up truck.
Clusters of people with clipboards gather, confer, and separate like so many drops of mercury, endless reorganizing according to the task at hand.

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Montone in Festa!

It’s that time again! Donazione della Spina in Montone!
A full week in August where the town of Montone remembers Braccio Fortebraccio, our illustrious mercenary ancestor who survived many a battle against the Pope. His equally illustrious son, Carlo, as a reward for his heroic efforts, was given a precious thorn from the crown of Christ. As he rode into town with his prize, bells miraculously rang without someone yanking their chain, flowers sprang into blossom, horses genuflected as he passed and …. there was unbridled partying for seven days.

We are on the eve of unbridled partying.

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La Dolce Vita Veloce

Lazy summer days, flip flops, reading a book until you fall asleep. Is this for real? Life in Italia hurtles by at breakneck speed during the summer. The Italians LIVE for summer, the socializing, the dinners, the festas, the concerts, the film festivals; they all tug at you and say, “Come on! It’s summertime!”

And we’ve been doing our best to live la dolce vita.

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Bye-Bye City Life

Our nomad urges can no longer be denied; it’s time to go plant tomatoes and other yummy things. So we’re heading back to Montone to open the windows and hear bird song instead of car horns. I’m looking forward to fava beans, artichokes and other spring surprises in the market. But I know I’m going to miss those blueberries and mangoes that have flooded the Chinatown markets.

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