Desiring Italy

L'altra vedete ch'ha fatto all guancia

Della sua palma, sospirando, letto.

Purgatorio, vii

"See the other, who couches his cheek on his hand and sighs."

I know it's a bit precious, but I thought since Sasha (my granddaughter) and I are leaving for Florence in a week, I should get in the mood by reading a little Dante.  Of course, I am not reading him in italian, though I hope that I can before we return in a month, but the above quote just seems to suggest to me the epitome of the romantic lover.  Will I see him in Florence?  I doubt it, but there will be much else to see in this very different time.

The other book I found while I was looking for my copy of "Room with a View," is "Desiring Italy," a collection of essays written about and from Italy by women writers.  Now I don't pretend to put myself in the company of George Eliot and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but writing from Italy about Italy is what I intend to do on this blog for the four weeks beginning June 9.  I will try to write about something more than food, but then, maybe not.  The pleasures of italian cuisine are many and varied, so I hope there will be quite a lot to say about what we are enjoying.

We'll see.  Join me if you can.