You see them in the supermarkets as well as the neighborhood markets. A sure sign of the season!

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I crossed the Strait of Messina to Sicily, where the best blood oranges in the world grow in the shadow of Mount Etna on the eastern side of the island.

It was only two o’clock when I arrived in Catania on that winter afternoon, but the sky was so cloudy that lights were already coming on in the narrow streets. Caught in their glow I saw a pile of oranges. Some were split in half, their flesh the colour of blood, of garnets or old crushed velvet, and I recognized the fruit that Italian writer Carlo Emilio Gadda described as arance imbibite di tramonti, ‘oranges soaked in sunsets’. 2 Looking back, I know the fruit must have been a variety called Moro, the bloodiest of the blood oranges produced on the volcanic plain surrounding Mount Etna, or, more specifically, on the triangle of land between Palagonia, Francoforte and Scordia, names that beg to be combined in a poem with Tarocco, Moro and Sanguinello, the varieties of arancie rosse growing there. Etna itself is often shrouded in mist, but when the weather is clear, its vast, snow-covered peak dominates every view and fills the windscreen of your car as

The arancia rossa is a prince among oranges. The first written record of its presence in Italy comes from Giovanni Battista Ferrari in Hesperides (1646). He believed that a Genoese missionary had brought an orange to Sicily from China that tasted strangely like a grape and he remarked on its ‘purple’ flesh. This distinctive colouring is due to the blood-coloured pigments called anthocyanins that are also found in red, purple and blue ‘super fruits’ such as blueberries. The development of anthocyanin pigments in oranges is only triggered by a difference of at least ten degrees Celsius between day- and night-time temperatures while the fruit is ripening in the autumn and winter. In the shadow of Mount Etna it can be twenty degrees Celsius on a winter’s day, but at night there is always a sharp drop in temperature. So it’s cold, not warmth, that sets blood oranges on fire on the Etna plain. When they are grown in other places, such as Brazil or Florida, the contrast between daytime and night-time temperatures is unreliable, and coloration is often weak or altogether absent. This has made Sicily the most reliable source of blood oranges in the world. Anthocyanins are good for us in a variety of different ways:

experiments have shown that the anthocyanin content of blood oranges underpins high antioxidant activity, so that their juice, which is rich in Vitamin C, gives protection from certain kinds of cancer, increases insulin production, lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke, and improves circulation. 3 Plants use anthocyanins like a sunscreen, to protect themselves against ultraviolet light, and by eating plants or fruit rich in anthocyanins, we benefit in the same way. 4 An ongoing investigation into the benefits of blood orange juice is being carried out at CRA-ACM (Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Research Centre for Citri-culture

In Italy blood oranges have become something of a symbol for healthy eating. This is due in part to the invention of a brilliant scheme by Princess Borghese at Il Biviere, an organic citrus-growing estate near Lentini, about thirty minutes’ drive south of Catania. Today the farm is in an area that offers the best conditions in the world for producing blood oranges, and yet when Miki and her husband, Prince Scipione Borghese, first arrived in 1968, it was a godforsaken spot with a long history of suffering.

…yard and he trotted at my side. There were caves in the hillside above where the Siculi, prehistoric inhabitants of eastern Sicily, used to live, and on the steep ground rocks lay exposed, as if the island’s ancient bones were breaking out through the thin soil. That’s the soil the Tarocco loves, the soil it gathers to itself, so that Sicilians believe a Tarocco orange is steeped in the flavour of this mysterious, ancient place. Even if the attempt to engineer the gene responsible for the pigmentation of blood oranges succeeds, it seems impossible that the new generation of fruit could have the same unforgettable taste.

Attlee, Helena (2015-01-05). The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and Its Citrus Fruit, Countryman Press. Kindle Edition.

There are so many things about Siena’s cathedral to admire, it is sometimes difficult to zero in one what would be main attractions in any other church.

I’m happy to say that I am just beginning my 5th year of living in Florence! Hip hip! It’s an accomplishment in so many ways! And a pleasure.

This is my 5th (or 6th really, because I spent another December in 2014 here as well) December in Florence and if there is one thing I know, late November and December is the time of rain.

This year is has been extra dreary because of the Covid lockdown. Until 2 days ago, we were in the Red zone, which meant you were not allowed to go out for extraneous activities and you had to carry a document with all the details of your venture out of your house, in case the authorities stopped you.

But 2 days ago we were switched back to the Orange zone, which means we can walk about as desired. Despite the rain, I needed to get out of the house and so I decided to trace the Mugnone torrente, that flows in front of my apartment, to its confluence with the Arno River. It was about a 4 mile walk and it was partly cloudy, terrifically rainy and windy, and finally, sunny. I got wet, my umbrella turned inside out, and I was tired, but it was a great day despite all of that.

My video shows the end of the long, long torrente Mugnone, just before it joins the Arno at the Ponte all’ Indiano.

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The picture above is taken from the bridge you saw in the video. That’s the Mugnone on the left, as it flows into the Arno, at the western most end of the Cascine Park.

And again, a little further backwards.

This being Italy, the street artists were sure to snap up the space of the bridge supports to use for art.

A detail of the right side above.

A detail of the left side above.

Above: Looking down the Arno from the bridge, as it flows off towards Pisa.

There’s a short street in the historic center of Florence with the very interesting name of Via del Melarancio, or the street of the pomegranate. I love this fruit and drink a freshly squeezed glass of it whenever I am in the center of Florence. Not all bars serve it, but I have my favorites!

The famous and beautiful Palazzo Pubblico is the town hall in Siena. Construction began on the building in 1297, which was to serve as the seat of the Republic’s government. Chambers were needed for both the Podesta and the Council of Nine. These were the Republic’s elected officials.

Within the palazzo is the Sala di Balia. This room was created at the beginning of the fourteenth century and was so named because it was used by the magistratura di Balia, a council gathered to execute government policy. The council met in the Sala from 1455 until the end of the Republic and Gilberto da Correggio, the commander of the Sienese army against Piccinino (1455) was executed here, for treason it is said.

The room is richly frescoed. On the vaults, the Sienese Martino Bartolomeo painted the Evangelisti – The Evangelists – between 1407 and 1408, when he completed the six busts of emperors and warriors. Spinello Aretino, helped by his son Parri, at the same time took on the task of painting the remaining walls with Storie di Alessandro III – Episodes from the Life of Alexander III – Pope Rolando Bandinelli. One of Siena’s great sons, during the course of his twelfth century papacy Alexander III helped unite northern Italian cities with varying success, in an extended struggle Emperor Frederick I, known as Barbarossa. This pictorial cycle, divided into sixteen, starts with two lunettes on the arch over the exit.

The frescoes show a simple but effective vitality – clearly influenced by the Giotto’s late period – showing episodes from the life of this Pope: his coronation, his expulsion from Rome by Barbarossa’s troops, his alliance with the Venetians, the foundation of the Piedmont city of Alessandria, named after him. Amongst the events depicted, the Battaglia di Punta San Salvatore – Battle at Punta di San Salvatore – is remarkable for richness of detail, such as the naval battle between the Venetian and German fleets. This painting, showing the Venetian victory, covers the entire lower wall leading to the exit. Equally marvellous is the depiction of Ritorno a Roma di Alessandro III – Pope Alessandro III returns to Rome – above the entrance. In this last fresco, the Emperor Barbarossa is shown, defeated yet forgiven, accompanying the Pope into the Eternal city.

Both before and after Spinello, only Sienese artists painted in this room and its decoration – in terms of artist, concept and iconography – is unique in the Palazzo.

Today in Florence: I took a walk, over 5 miles long, heading west from my apartment, following the course of the Mugnone, the “torrente” (it’s a big creek, essentially) that streams in front of me 24/7. I knew the Mugnone eventually joined the Arno River, and today was the day I was going to track down that confluence. It was sunny, it rained, the wind bent my umbrella inside out, it spit a bit of hail, and then it calmed down into a gorgeous afternoon.

In another post I’ll write more about the torrente itself, but I saw some beautiful architecture along the way. The palazzi pictured below are all situated on my street, the Via XX Settembre, and I time traveled by studying these lovely facades. My area of town was developed in the late 19th, early 20th century, and I can picture how that development went as I look at these wonderful old buildings. They are, by the way, very much occupied and alive today.

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The inscription of MCMXV over the door tells the story: this lovely old palazzo was constructed in 1915. Before the first world war. Think of what has transpired in the 105 years. WWI, Armistice, the rise of Fascism, WWII, Florence occupied by German forces, Florence freed by Allied forces. All the while, this building sat here. It has seen it all. I suspect Covid-19 will not bother it in the least.

One of the interesting things about Italy is the way the local laws are posted on the street. You see this all of the time.

Already it seems like a distant dream, but just a month ago I had the pleasure of a visit to the beautiful city of Siena. Here are a few of her charms.