According to one of the popular legends about the origins of Lisbon, the city was founded by Ulysses who fell in love with Ofiússa, the queen of the snake-women. When Homer’s hero returned to his Greek homeland aboard the Argos, thus abandoning Ofiússa, she was so furious that...
According to one of the popular legends about the origins of Lisbon, the city was founded by Ulysses who fell in love with Ofiússa, the queen of the snake-women. When Homer’s hero returned to his Greek homeland aboard the Argos, thus abandoning Ofiússa, she was so furious that...
As an avid reader of Renaissance history I am constantly on the lookout for something new and different to read. As anyone who is also be familiar with my blog will know, I am also fascinated by the historically unusual and when travelling I like to able to seek...
In the seventeenth century, the populous area of Verziere was one of the most disreputable and sinister in Milan. Contemporary legends said that the house at 2 Via Laghetto was inhabited by a powerful witch, who was the head of all the fortune-tellers and sorceresses of the area....
Table manners at the end of the Middle Ages were appalling.Everyone ate out of the same pot. Meals were served in one large chunk, from which everyone present cut a piece fro themselves. Poultry was not carved up before being put on the table. and people pulled even...
Saint Michael’s fountain in Forcalquier, apparently perfectly classical in style, conceals a little gem of medieval urban eroticism that is certainly worth a visit when you are next in Provence. The town of Forcalquier has sometimes been compared with Saint-Rémy-de-Provence because of the number of nothern Europeans who can...
Here is a little history about Dom Sebastião, the sixteenth king of Portugal….. Dom Sebastião, born in Lisbon 20 January 1554 was the sixteenth king of Portugal and the seventh of the Avis dynasty. He was the son of Prince Dom João, who himself was the son of...
You may never have heard of Caffarelli, one of Italy’s finest Castratos so here is a a little about him…. Caffarelli, whose real name was Gaetano Majorana (1710-1783), is said to have had one of the purest voices in the history of Italian opera. Apulian by birth (from...
I love visiting libraries when I travel and the Biblioteca Alfredo De Marsico is a ‘must see’, especially if you have an interest in legal history. Housed in Castel Capuano, (the Norman royal palace from the 2nd century), which was converted into the Palace of Justice in the 16th...
I have several gardening books tucked away in my library, and many of them focus on European garden designs, so it was a natural curiosity when I saw Louisa Jones book Mediterranean Gardens – A Model for Good Living in a local shop, to add it to my collection. It...
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.
