As I looked back to several years of my "Vita di paese" articles written for this publication, I selected a number of images worth publishing again, all of them reflective of an unusual Italian experience, such as the Pinocchio store (fig. 1) near piazza Navona in Rome! During one of many trips to the countryside, the cloister of a small, almost deserted convent in Leonessa (fig. 2) captivated my attention with its simple, beautiful structures in total contrast to the dignified poverty of the surroundings. The Tuscan borghi and small villages are always a source of unforgettable photographic discoveries, such as a rural enoteca (fig. 3) or the old fashioned vini sfusi shop (fig. 4), where the locals will stop to fill up their bottles with a few liters of usually inexpensive but very drinkable seasonal wines.

Bracciano, located on the shores of a Lake outside of Rome, is a small borgo worth visiting even on a rainy day (fig. 5). Many trattorie and rustic restaurants (fig. 6) will always make the trip very enjoyable! Calcata (fig. 7), a small medieval hilltop hamlet, has slowly come back to life, after being essentially abandoned by its population decades ago out of fear of devastating earthquakes which never occurred. It has now become a frequent destination thanks to its art community and its al fresco gelaterias (fig. 8).

During my youth I grew up in Taranto, a naval town in the Puglia region, and I remember occasional trips to nearby rural villages, the source of excellent but little-known pasta and mozzarelle di bufala, now the rave throughout Italy as well as abroad. The region is also home to trulli (fig. 9), a very ancient housing construction typical of this region.

When traveling away from the urban centers, it is not unusual to run into small kiddie parks (fig. 10), which are assembled during local celebrations usually in the village main square, for the delight of excited children, often with plenty of panini and bibite (fig. 11) available. At the end of a long day, while finally sitting down for a well-deserved dinner, even the COVID pandemic didn't dissuade the peripatetic musician (fig. 12) from carrying on with his musical rounds...arrivederci!

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