About Abruzzo » Books

Set in Abruzzo – please help me find this book

Bodach — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:14:30 +0000

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.

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Set in Abruzzo – please help me find this book

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Ignazio Silone Update

Bodach — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:13:27 +0000

If I have a piece of information related to Abruzzo that I just want to pass on without comment I usually use Twitter. In this case I’ve decided to write a short post because I know that many readers of this blog are very interested in Ignazio Silone and not everyone follows using Twitter.

Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone by Stanislao G. Pugliese is a new book in English on (you guessed it) Ignazio Silone.

I spotted this review of the book by Harry Clifton in The Irish Times back in July. And today I was prompted to write this post when I came across this excerpt from the book and this review by Geoffrey Wheatcroft in The New York Times. I did a quick search, and although there are a few other reviews out there, at first glance the reviews above seem very informative.

I struggled with the frst two parts of Silone’s Abruzzo Trilogy, Fontamara and Bread and Wine, when I read them. I haven’t had the inclination to start part three, The Seed Beneath The Snow, yet. I expect I will at some stage. For those of you who have a better feel for Ignazio Silone’s work than I do, or for those who wish to understand this complex writer and his motivations, Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone by Stanislao G. Pugliese may help a great deal.

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Ignazio Silone Update

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Henri Cartier-Bresson in Abruzzo

Bodach — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:26:22 +0000

A few years ago, I was given a present of Henri Cartier-Bresson: Europeans, a collection of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004). I was new to photography and having access to a collection of images by such a highly regarded photographer was fascinating. I’d be surprised if anyone who has a copy of this book doesn’t consider photography to be a true art form. Many of the photographs are of people, and in all of them I think he treats his subjects (many of them unaware of the camera) with utmost respect.

Its been a while since I looked though the photos in detail. But, as a result of finding a blog post on the Abruzzo town of Scanno, I revisited book. Sure enough, on pages 86,87 and 100, Scanno is featured and on page 81 we have L’Aquila.

I’d love to reproduce the photographs here, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have the rights to do that. So let me suggest the next best thing. Go to the advanced search screen of Magnum Photos, enter Abruzzo as the keyword and Cartier-Bresson, Henri as the included photographer, search and enjoy!

Many of the resulting 27 images are of Scanno, taken in 1951. I have not visited the town, I plan to this year, and for that reason I’m not going to write about it, but instead direct you to the excellent article Skirting Scanno – a Henri Cartier-Bresson moment from the already mentioned Life In Abruzzo blog.

Scanno is in the L’Aquila province of Abruzzo, you’ll find it here.

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Henri Cartier-Bresson in Abruzzo

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L’appetito vien mangiando (Appetite comes with eating)

Bodach — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:54:58 +0000

I can’t wait any longer. I’ve done everything I can, but I‘ve had no response. However, I have a plan B!

So what was plan A?

Well I have a copy of Food and Memories of Abruzzo: Italy’s Pastoral Land by Anna Teresa Callen My idea was to publicise the book, which I think is great, and include some of its recipes. The publisher is Wiley, and I used their online form a few months ago to request permission to do this. Unfortunately, I have heard nothing back from them. They probably get many requests and it takes time to go through all of them. I’m sure I’ll hear from them eventually.

But I feel that I’ve waited long enough. This blog has been sorely lacking in recipes. In fact, during its first week, a good friend emailed me requesting some! I have yet to fulfill his request.

I don’t think I can post extracts from the book without permission, but I can tell that you that on the Pittsbug Post-Gazette website you can find Anna Theresa Callen’s Ragu alla Bolognese which is in the book, and on Food and Wine Magazine they have another six of her recipes that are not:

Photo by Adactio. See more here…

If Plan A ever works out I’ll post some more.

But now it’s time for Plan B.

I found a blog called The Flavors of Abruzzo which has many recipes in English. The blog is written by Mary, a resident of Abruzzo, who clearly has a great love of the region. I am delighted to have found it as it offers an excellent insight into day to day living. If you select the flavors category from the blog you are in for a treat. There is no shortage of recipes to choose from. This one is a variant of the very typical pasta with garlic, oil and peperoncino. Thanks Mary!

If you speak Italian a little, there is also the Accademia Italiana della Cucina. They say of themselves “Our project represents the first serious and organic research produced in Italy to classify as thoroughly as possible Italian regional cuisine. Out of this collection…we have selected 2,000 recipes faithful to tradition.” Very impressive.

These recipes are in Italian. Just launch the search form, select Abruzzo as the “Regione”, and away you go! The list returned can be broken down further by the course (Tipo di Piatto), the name of the recipe (Titolo della ricetta) and ingredients (Ingediente). Clicking “Esegui” runs the search.

If you are learning Italian, as I am, you could select a recipe, translate the instructions, improve your vocabulary, and finish with a very nice meal!

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L’appetito vien mangiando (Appetite comes with eating)

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Skiing in Abruzzo

Bodach — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:34:34 +0000

On the desk beside me is The Guide to Cross-Country Skiing, published by Abruzzo Promozione Turismo Regionale. It’s written by Stefano Ardito who appears to have written many books on mountaineering (assuming it is the same Stefano Ardito).

Confession time: I know very little about skiing. OK, I know what it is, and I remember watching Alberto Tomba win at least one of his gold medals, but I have never skied. Many of my friends have skied, and they love it. I just haven’t tried it yet. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, who knows.

The odds have swung in favour of my giving it a go, because Abruzzo is full of opportunities to ski. Just look at this snow bulletin site and see the number of resorts listed. When I think of skiing in Italy I think of the Alps and Northern Italy. It turns out that Abruzzo has 21 ski resorts.

Now most of what I’ve posted so far and the photos that go with it point to a very sunny region. That’s because that’s my main experience of Abruzzo. Liane Katz writing for The Guardian in 2006 got it right saying “it’s often possible to combine a morning’s skiing with an afternoon at the coast” (read full article here).

But skiing has helped me make a fortunate discovery! While I was trying to find out more information about skiing in Abruzzo I stumbled across a post written by Alex Roe back in November 2007, describing how his Italian friend learned to ski in Roccaraso. This introduced me to Alex Roe’s Blog From Italy, which I’m enjoying very much indeed. It is written in English and covers all things Italian. Go on, give it a go.

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Skiing in Abruzzo

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Bread and Wine, Ignazio Silone

Bodach — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:47:23 +0000

In a previous post, Looking Under The Hood, I introduced the writer Ignazio Silone. He wrote Bread and Wine in the 1930s and it has themes of Socialism, Christianity, corruption, betrayal, love and survival, set in the hills, mountains, farms, villages and towns of Abruzzo. What a mixture, how can it fail to entertain and inspire. In fact there are many reviews of the book available and they all (all the reviews I have read anyway) sing its praises. I, however, cannot.

I agree that the subjects covered by the book are important. I am also delighted to get an insight into life in Abruzzo during that period. But I just didn’t enjoy reading it. Maybe it is because I was reading an English translation; perhaps it flows more freely in Italian. I really felt many of the conversations and situations were not natural. I could not imagine people talking the way the characters talked.

So would I recommend the book? I guess it depends on your purpose for reading it. If, like me, you are interested in Abruzzo, its history and culture, then yes you should read it. Especially if you have limited or no Italian, as I haven’t found many books (fact or fiction) relating to Abruzzo, in English. If you are just looking for an entertaining novel, in which you can lose yourself in the characters and be swept away, this (in English anyway) isn’t the book for you.

Having said that, the book is important. It is set during the 1930s in Abruzzo, during the fascist period and the outbreak of war with Abyssinia (Ethiopia). It suggests that pure Christianity and pure Socialism are not incompatible. And it outlines the struggles the peasants face on a daily basis. Definitely important issues.

Some point in the future, definitely not now, I’ll read The Seed Beneath The Snow, the final part of Ignazio Silone’s Abruzzo Trilogy. I’ll do this because I am interested in Abruzzo; I want to be informed and to understand, not because I expect entertainment. I’m just not ready yet! And it’s at least 100 pages longer than Bread and Wine.

If anyone has any other recommendations of books relating to Abruzzo, in English, please let me know. Just add a comment to this, or any other post.

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Bread and Wine, Ignazio Silone

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Looking Under The Hood!

Bodach — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:44:44 +0000

I love spending time in Italy. In particular, surprise, surprise, I love Abruzzo. I think it is one of the most wonderful places in the world.

I have travelled a little around the region, but I want to explore more. I love the sound of the Italian language, I understand a little, but I hope to learn more. I know a little about the history of Abruzzo, and guess what, I want to know more.

So, to help me along this journey, I have just finished reading Fontamara from The Abruzzo Trilogy: v. 1-3 by Ignazio Silone (real name Secondino Tranquilli). Fontamara, published in the early 1930s, depicts the plight of peasant farmers in Abruzzo during the rise of fascism. It is a tragic story, which gives an insight into a naturally tough way of life, that is made much worse by the impact of corrupt officials.

Now in case you are worried, I’m not going to make a political statement in this post. My main purpose is to suggest that if you are going to spend time in a new part of the world it is a good idea to try to understand the place. Probably an impossible task for an outsider, but you may go some way toward it by reading its literature, attempting to learn the language and getting out of the traditional tourist destinations.

I think reading any fiction set in the region would be a good place to start.

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Looking Under The Hood!

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Abruzzo in print

Bodach — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:34:22 +0000

Before I had the opportunity to spend significant time in Abruzzo I read a book by an Irish writer, Harry Clifton, called On the Spine of Italy: A Year in the Abbruzzi. Although I cannot say that I encountered the same experiences as described in the book, it does give a detailed description of life in the smaller mountainous villages of Abruzzo.

The book seems to be set a few decades ago, although I believe it first hit the shelves either in 1999 or 2000.

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Abruzzo in print

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