Discover Puglia

Seems like all I do these days is write, translate or take care of business on-line. Even when I'm relaxing, I find myself in front of the pc screen either watching tv (isn't streaming wonderful for the ex-pat?) or obsessively entering giveaways! Feels like my portable is permanently attached to me at the wrists!

I have been enjoying myself recently, I must admit, writing articles about the Puglia region for Charming Italy. I've always been one of those "gosh, I'd like to be a writer types" (probably like many other people who love to read), but I've never felt the urgency of a topic I really wanted to express myself on nor a talent for fiction. Instead, writing about Puglia is great fun for me and just comes naturally. I know lots about this area after living here for 18 years (wow, has it really been that long?) and I have lots of ideas about interesting things to share with others.

Hop on over to Charming Italy and take a look at what this region (and others!) have to offer.

Have you heard of the Bari International Film & TV Festival?

It's not too late to enjoy this year's Carnival in Puglia!

An evening of feasting and bonfires at the Feast of Saint Anthony.

Discover Puglian Christmas culinary traditions.

Apulia. A Film Tourism Guide

This past winter I translated a wonderful book that is a combination travel guide and guide to the sites and stars of all the films that have ever been shot in the Apulia region. The book is the result of a collaborative effort between the Region of Apulia and the Apulia Film Commission. Its aims are to increase tourism in the area, by attracting those people interested in films and visiting the locations where they were shot, and to encourage filmmakers to consider Apulia when searching for locations for new films.

Here's an excerpt from the blurb on the inside of the front cover:

"They are called 'locations,' but in Apulia they are simply life. Not only the most crystal-clear, spectacular sea you have ever seen, extending for 800 kilometres of coastline. Also the dazzling expanses of wheat seen in I'm Not Scared, the centuries-old olive trees and the ravines that 'wound' the land. The deserted villages of the Subapennine area and the candid towns eternally captured 'nel blu dipinto di blu' by Domenico Modugno. The trullos that captivate the English and now seduce Bollywood. The 'western' Murgia and the beaches of past invaders and present immigrants, the place were Lamerica begins. The indolent holiday resorts and the sensual nights that move to the rhythm of the taranta. The castles of Federico II and the Romanesque cathedrals. The mountain of the Angel and the cult of Padre Pio. The Ilva smokestacks and the outskirts of the cities. Bari, the hometown of the enamoured Meryl Streep of Madison County and of the resurrected Petruzzelli where Liz Taylor captivated the young Toscanini. The Felliniesque bands dear to Nino Rota. Castellaneta represents the legend of Rudolph Valentino. In the heart of Baroque Lecce, the nakedness of history and the strength of the light 'in the south of the south of the saints' of Carmelo Bene.
Ten itineraries to discover Apulia, a variable scenery for hundreds of sets, from Pasolini, Totò, the Taviani brothers, Monicelli and Wertmuller, to Placido, Amelio, Salvatores, Rubini and Moretti. Visions and symbols, famous masters and young talents, characters and places in search of a region where films come to life."

The English version was released this month and you can buy your very own copy on-line. The only problem is that all the links I have found are in Italian! Even the publishers, Laterza, don't have an English page in their on-line catalogue...I have to go pay them a visit and talk to them about this! In the meantime, you can place your order in Italian here.