My Orvieto – Erika Bizzarri

Clutter

Clutter can often be confused with hoarding. It can be limited to finding a box of objects your father had somehow stowed away. It can be hanging on to your child’s first drawing or confirmation certificate. It can mean keeping photographs. All things one could do without, and which can therefore be labeled clutter. ButContinue reading “Clutter”

Clocks

One day, just before Easter, a slight man named Joseph wandered into my shop on Piazza Duomo. Easter, including Easter Monday when the Italians all go out into the country for a picnic, is generally the busiest time of the year. It is the first wave of tourists coming to what they imagine will beContinue reading “Clocks”

Virtual Photos

Tuesday after Easter, 2021: I go to the villa to see if the lilacs are blossoming. Open the doors to let in air and light. There’s a box on top of the wardrobe. Photos it says. A few albums, a mix of single photos. Openings into a world of the past. Some are dated inContinue reading “Virtual Photos”

Orvieto As It Was…And Is: The Grand Tour

Click Here to purchase Orvieto As It Was…And Is So many things happen by chance, coincidence. Little did I think that when a friend insisted that I accompany him to meet a former school teacher in a village about 15 minutes from Orvieto that I would end up marrying him and moving there. But alsoContinue reading “Orvieto As It Was…And Is: The Grand Tour”

Forthcoming: Orvieto As It Was…And Is

Years ago, when I was living in a village 15 minutes from Orvieto, that inimitable city on a cliff in Umbria, some friends of mine said: “Why don’t you write about Orvieto? You’ve been here so long and could do a sort of Grand Tour, a guide to the city, and how it has changedContinue reading “Forthcoming: Orvieto As It Was…And Is”

Lockdown

Time passes. I have barely gotten used to living “in town” when the corona virus makes its appearance. We all go into lockdown. Orders are to stay inside unless you have to walk your dog. Shopping? My two sons, duly masked, see to that and leave my groceries on a table in the entrance. EverythingContinue reading “Lockdown”