This site is dedicated to thoughts, comments and photographs relating to Abruzzo, Italy.

I may be alone in this view but I think there are some sports that aren’t really spectator sports. In saying that I realise that what constitutes a spectator sport for one fan is the closest thing to a brain numbing activity for another.

Football, loved and watched by many, bores the pants off many rugby fans I know. Golf, a sport I’d happily watch on television, is the closest thing to watching paint dry for those with little or no interest. Cricket - the idea of sunny days in the open air politely clapping a glorious stroke has an appeal, but live televised test cricket, I just don’t get it.

If you don’t understand the subtleties and rules governing a sport then the chances are you’ll never understand why its on TV.

That brings me to cycling and the 2010 Giro d’Italia. I understand a little about cycling. I used to cycle a fair bit but in recent years I’ve  been lazy. This year I’ve started cycling again, no more than an hour at time, but I admit I’m finding it tough.

I don’t really consider cycling to be a TV friendly sport but whenever I’ve been in Italy when a major race is televised, especially the Giro, the bars are full of cheering fans. I was surprised the first time I realised that it was cycling and not football that was on the television. From the roars I thought somebody had just scored.

I’m full of admiration for the strength and levels of fitness that are required to compete in a major race day after day. Next to the Tour de France the Giro d’Italia must be one of the toughest races for any professional cyclist. They seem to go at speeds that God never intended.

This year the Giro d’Italia has two stages passing through Abruzzo. The 256km stage 11  on Wednesday 19th May from Lucera in Foggia to L’Aquila in Abruzzo looks like a tough one. That’s followed by the 191km stage 20 on Thursday 20th May along the Adriatic coast from Città Sant’Angelo in Abruzzo to Porto Recanati in Le Marche. I expect that the bars of Abruzzo will be full of excitement during these stages. That’s assuming that the Abruzzese haven’t closed up to go see the leaders and the peloton as it passes near to their homes.

But cycling isn’t without controversy. Today I read in the Guardian online “Italian Danilo Di Luca has been banned for two years for testing positive for illegal blood booster CERA during last May’s Giro d’Italia, the Italian Olympic Committee’s (CONI) anti-doping tribunal ruled on Monday”.

This is sad news. I remember the Giro of 2009 and how Di Luca, who is from Spoltore in Abruzzo, came so close to winning overall, only losing out by 41 seconds to Denis Menchov of Russia. It was a very exciting Giro for Abruzzese who were still coming to terms with the earthquake of 6th April. I wrote about it at the time and was hoping for Di Luca to do well. Unfortunately it now looks as though my excitement, and that of many Abruzzese was  unwarranted.

So for 2010 I hope the Giro d’Italia is as exciting but without any of the negatives that have plagued this sport in recent years. I hope that those cyclists and teams who bend the rules and cheat do not profit by their efforts. I’d like to think that the 2010 Giro will be drug free but I don’t believe that will be the case. The most I feel I can hope for is that the major players, the stage winners and the overall winner earn their positions by honest means.

You can cover a great deal of country in books. ~ Andrew Lang (1844 – 1912)

I’m looking for a book. It is called Belloccia: A Hill Village in the Abruzzo by Gimi Jordan. I’ve never seen it. I can’t find it for sale online and I have failed to find it after trawling though several library databases. I’m now hoping that readers of this blog, its Facebook fans and Twitter followers might help me find it.

I’m certain it exists. I’ve seen many references to it. Unfortunately the reference is usually “currently unavailable”, “we don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock” or “out of print”.

I can’t find much of a description of the book, certainly no detailed reviews. I did find a reference on the Books about Abruzzo page of A House in Pennewebsite which says that it is set north of Pescara, and is more about the village and the characters of the village than the author’s experiences there. That’s enough for me, I want to read it!

I’ve tried the standard sites like Amazon, the sites more focused on out of print books like Abe Books and the entire online catalogue of the Irish public library system – no joy. If somebody’s selling this book, they’re not shouting about it.

Last night I sent an email to a Norwegian online book seller that may have it. The email was in English to a seller that may only speak Norwegian about a book set in Italy that they probably don’t have!

This may take some time, but I’m not going to give up on finding it just yet. So if you have a copy and want to sell it, if you see it somewhere or if you have any suggestions that may help me find it, please get in touch by leaving a comment.

Why do I want it? I love reading and there are very few books in English that are either set in Abruzzo or are about Abruzzo.

To date I’ve read the following:

• The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss
• On the Spine of Italy: A Year in the Abbruzzi by Harry Clifton
• Fontamara, Bread and Wine from The Abruzzo Trilogy: v. 1-3by Ignazio Silone

and I have cooked using recipes from

• Food and Memories of Abruzzo: Italy’s Pastoral Landby Anna Teresa Callen

I spend a lot of time in Abruzzo. But I don’t spend anywhere near as much time there as I’d like to. So while I’m based in a differently beautiful and certainly colder European country I like to dip into those things that can transport me back to the Majella and the Gran Sasso.

Writing this blog, buying the odd bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and cooking with peperoncino all help. But reading another book set in the region would be an absolute treat.

When I first told you about my Abruzzo 2010 Calendar I said the following:

• All profits (which amount to €5 per calendar) will go to the Italian Red Cross.
• The calendar will be for sale until the end of February 2010.

I’m now going to make a little adjustment.

Since in a little over a week we’ll be into February, and approximately one twelfth of 2010 will be gone, it seems fair to reduce the cost of the calendar so I’ve dropped its price by more than 20%.

Why am I doing this? After a conversation with a fellow Abruzzo-phile I realised that anyone who bought the calendar now loses out on its value because January is almost over.

How does this affect contributions to the Italian Red Cross? I cannot reduce the manufacturing or shipping costs, so for each calendar sold from now on the Italian Red Cross will still get all the profits, which will now be €2.

Yes, less money goes to charity per calendar, but maybe I’ll sell more calendars!

Most likely you’re reading this post because you have an interest in Abruzzo.  If that’s true you no doubt remember the work done by the Italian Red Cross to help the victims of the L’Aquila Earthquake which struck in April 2009. Buying this calendar will not only give you a beautiful memento of Abruzzo but it will also help make a small but tangible contribution to an organisation that dedicates itself to helping disaster victims throughout Italy.

Go on, treat yourself, do some good, click here to buy the calendar.

Once again here is a preview of the calendar,

(If the preview above does not display in your browser please click here.)

Please note that I will not be making any more price reductions and the calendar will be for sale only until the end of February 2010.