The formal recognition of Italian cuisine by UNESCO for its cultural legacy to humanity was announced just a couple of days ago. It made news around the world, and a big celebration is in order, especially during this holiday season.
As for me, there is no cuisine like the Italian! My appreciation for it has roots deep in my past, and it has the faces of extraordinary people I was fortunate to meet….
Exhilarated and grateful—that’s how we feel upon completing six exceptional fall tours in Italy. We’re excited about the experiences we’ve had and will soon share with other travelers. And we are grateful to all the people who made these tours a success, from the great people who entrusted us with their vacation days, to our dedicated guides and the Italians who gave us an authentic look at their lives. We enjoyed culinary and hiking adventures, immersive language learning, and our first-ever Sicily pilot trip. They all reflected the heart of Esperienza—authentic connection, discovery and joy in unexpected details.
On the first day of Esperienza’s In the Steps of St. Francis springtime trek through Emilia Romagna, I began to question my training. My feet pounded. My breathing grew deeper. Then we stopped at an ancient monastery. As we admired its crumbling courtyard, the caretaker emerged from a low stone doorway bearing a tray of cookies and bottles of wine. I was revived.
On the final full day of the In the Steps of St. Francis tour, our group gathered in a private room around a large table at the Michelin-star restaurant Da Gorini. We were there to celebrate our shared achievement—hiking 75 miles over 5 days—with an eight-course meal. We met the charming chef. The food was astoundingly clever and delicious. But what stays with me most is the laughter, easy conversation, and the realization that we had become our own warmhearted community.
“I couldn’t have made this hike without you,” one of us said.
On a recent summer evening in the charming town of Forlimpopoli, Esperienza founder Anna Bonavita was presented with the Marietta Ad Honorem award by the distinguished Casa Artusi Foundation, on behalf of Esperienza. The award recognizes Esperienza’s promotion of small Italian villages among Americans, through our immersion tours dedicated to the appreciation of Italian cuisine and its rural roots.
“For me art is a space where shame has no place. Only by leaving shame and other powerful negative emotions behind can I talk to others in a powerful way.” — Fiorenza Pancino
This is the credo of Fiorenza Pancino, the 2024 Esperienza artist in residence from Italy. She was born near Venice, but has lived and worked in the city of Faenza* in Emilia-Romagna for over 20 years. She is deeply passionate about ceramics, which she says — not unlike her — is sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. However, she also uses other media, such as videos, photography and materials, like paper and fabric, in her artistic endeavors.
“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow.”
—Pico Iyer
Wise words from the famous essayist Pico Iyer.
I recently took the “In the Steps of St. Francis” tour with Esperienza, and I feel, to borrow Iyer’s word, extremely invigorated.
Our small group hiked from one spectacular hilltop town to the next, tracing ancient trails through the Apennines. It was a journey through Emilia-Romagna on foot—the way countless humans traveled before us. With each step, I felt more connected to the land, its people, and curiously, to myself. Moving slowly—with trekking poles in hand instead of phones—I noticed more, reflected more, felt more.
In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite you to enjoy the poems below, shared by Luigi Cappella in our online event in March.
When I began imagining Esperienza in 2017, I consulted a friend of mine who was an expert on small business development. He thought the non-profit would have no future because only people like me want to go to rural Italy. And in his opinion, there were very few of us…
Seven years later, there is small but growing community of curious, caring, compassionate people who are embracing a new way of traveling. Not only do they want to stay in touch and come back to Romagna, they are inspired to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.
The floodwaters have receded, after historic flooding in Romagna in May 2023. But the work will continue for months, and years to come.
Thanks to the contributions of our generous followers, Esperienza has been able to send financial support to a variety of organizations and individuals impacted by the damage, as they work to rebuild and restore their community. We offer here a summary of the ways in which our funds will help.
My name is Elena Campacci. I am a woman and mother and daughter; a woman farmer, basket maker and educator. I believe in dreams and in the Earth. I believe in human relationships. I believe that daily actions done with the heart – respecting and listening to all that is alive – can really change the world, first within us and then around us.
If this land will soon raise its head from the mud, it will be due to the many volunteers who are working tirelessly to rebuild what has been lost. According to estimates by the Region of Emilia-Romagna, there are at least 3,000 individuals who have stepped forward, to which are added 2,000 volunteers from the Civil Protection and various associations. But these are only those who have “registered” as volunteers, through municipalities and groups.
Today, as I write, Romagna is on its knees. After two years of extreme drought the month of May has brought almost 2 feet of rain (500 mm) two big flash floods. The towns of Faenza, Cesena, Forlì, some parts of Ravenna are under water, as well as smaller municipalities and even the arcades of the Via Saffi in central Bologna. The devastation is massive: electricity blackouts, telephone lines out of order, trains haywire, all leading to the anguish fueled by the isolation of entire areas.
Fifteen years and a lifetime ago our family of five—my wife, our three school-aged children and I—lived in Italy. It was our la dolce vita period. That experience reawakened a love for many things—family, simplicity, beauty, adventure, and notably, all things food-related. Upon returning to my American home, even as I resumed a conventional career and lifestyle, I was changed. Among other things, I spent more hours creating in the kitchen, relishing every moment. I was even inspired to enroll in a formal culinary arts training program. Life continued, enriched.
