We have all heard the comments that a piece of two of dark chocolate are purportedly good for one’s health, but did you know that in 1775 a Venetian published a dissertation praising the health benefits of chocolate? Well, here is a little about that dissertation…. In 1775, Giovanni...
One of my favourite late Renaissance composers is Claudio Monteverdi who really defined the transition from the Renaissance style to the Baroque. Although his early madrigals show the wonderful chromatic style of the Renaissance, Monteverdi not only was able to embrace the simplified style of the Baroque but was...
One of the best-known ambassadors for French gourmandise is a tiny, egg-shaped pure white candy known as anis de Flavigny. The fact that it appears in the French version of Trivial Pursuit is probably the clearest indication of how well-known it is. Its origins can be traced by to 1591, when...
Opposite Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan – in whose refectory Leonardo painted The Last Supper – stands Case degli Atellani, where the artist owned a vineyard to which he was particularly attached. The building itself dates from the end of the fifteenth century. Constructed at the behest of Ludovico...
I thought I would share with you another one of my favourite, perhaps not so well known paintings – The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine by Parmigianino. Parmigianino (Girolamo Mazzola, 1503-40) was a Renaissance painter much admired for both his landscapes and his Mannerist religious paintings. This painting (c.1530 –...
If you are into the slightly macabre then next time you are in Paris you should make the effort to visit the little known crypt of the beautiful but often overlooked Church of Saint-Joseph-Des-Carmes in the 6th Arrondissement. It is open to groups of five or six people on...
Now displayed in the gallery of the Intesa Bank on the first floor of Palazzo Zevallos, Naples, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, the last work by Caravaggio painted just before his tragic death at Porto Ercole , has a troubled history. The picture, commissioned in 1610 by the son...
As is my want, I often pick up one of Lawrence Durrell’s books where he writes of his sojourns in the Mediterranean. His poignant lyrical words feed my soul and I can sit for sometime after reading contemplating what his life was like and what it would have been...
I have many tagines in my kitchen as I love to cook middle eastern food. A tagine is so versatile and inevitably when placed in the middle of the table for a meal with family or friends, the instantaneous smiles of delight when the lid is lifted are worth...
If you travel to Madrid there is an eerily beautiful and unnerving place that you must visit, the gardens of Casa Riera. While the gardens are in theory only open to the people working in the building at No. 1 Calle Marqués de Casa Riera, there is a cafeteria...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
