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Como e’ bella ce’ la luna brille e’ strette
Strette como e’ tutta bella a passeggiare
Sotto il cielo di Roma

Down each avenue or via, street or strata
You can see ‘em disappearin’ two by two
On an evenin’ in Roma

Do they take ’em for espresso, yeah, I guess so
On each lover’s arm a girl, I wish I knew
On an evenin’ in Roma

Though there’s grinin’ and mandolinin’ in sunny Italy
The beginning has just begun
When the sun goes down

So please meet me in the plaza near your casa
I am only one and that is one too few
On an evenin’ in Roma

Don’t know what the country’s comin’ to
But in Rome do as the Romans do
Will you on an evenin’ in Roma?

Though there’s grining and mandolining in sunny Italy
The beginning has just begun
When the sun goes down

Como e’ bella ce’ la luna brille e’ strette
Strette como e’ tutta bella a passeggiare
Sotto il cielo di Roma

Don’t know what the country’s comin’ to
But in Rome do as the Romans do
Will you on an evenin’ in Roma?

Sott’er celo de Roma
On an evenin’ in Roma

Read more:

Dean Martin – On An Evening In Roma Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Went to a party on Saturday night with Ben Stiller, Kirsten Wiig (who I never heard of until that night), the cast of Zoolander 2, and the cast of Ben Hur at the house of David Lane, U.S. Ambassador the U.N. Thought I should watch the original Zoolander so I had some context, albeit belated. Stupid genius.

I spent most of the night talking with Kathleen Dougherty who has been nominated to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Cypress; her friend Becky Ortiz from Columbia, who previously studied at MIIS and took classes from Bill Monning; John and Jackie Norris, Jackie the former Chief of Staff to Michelle Obama and John now working with David Lane; and other government and political operatives. I met a couple of the make-up crew, Ben’s make-up artist Bernadette and hair stylist Alan. On my way out, I chatted with Sicilian actress Electra something or other who wore a black veil and exuded mystery. 

One of those wonderfully strange evenings where celebrity and government collide in magical ways. Reminded me a bit of my years with State Senator Gary Hart (”El Otro”), he being completely unphased by anyone except professional athletes.

Release: 2001 Genre: Comedy Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor Director: Ben Stiller Video Quality: HD 720p Language: English Trailer Imdb   At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

So I’ve been wondering about these tomatoes, as they’re the ones I buy a couple times a week at Testaccio Market. Always the most expensive, but also always the best – a flavor that explodes sweet and red, and when paired with pecorino is extraordinary. And now I know.

WTI Magazine #58 2015 April, 17Author : MIPAAF Translation by:…

The first tomato cultivated in the district of Pachino (50 km south of Syracuse, in the extreme southern tip of Sicily) date from about 1925 on farms with irrigation from groundwater wells. It was noted, even at that time, that tomatoes cultivated in this area had very different characteristics from other tomatoes.

First of all, they went into production 15-20 days early; they had a bright colour, due to a particularly tough skin and their Brix level, which measures the amount of sugar, was always very making them much sweeter and more flavourful than others. The intensification of tomato cultivation, due to a restructuring of the agricultural economy after the local wine-growing crisis of the 1970s, allowed this tomato to consolidate its reputation in Italian fruit and vegetable markets where it was wholesaled.

Soon, its reputation as a “special” tomato spread throughout the fruit and vegetable supply chain and local producers began to highlight the city of origin, which had become a synonym for quality, on the crates. Over time, continuous experimentation on its varieties has led farms to select the sensory qualities of the tomato that best corresponded to the specific characteristics of the soil in which it was grown and the climate of the area.

Among these, the “cherry” variety, harvested in small clusters, quickly emerged and its success made it the symbol of the Pachino tomato “par excellence”. As the reputation of this product grew, massive imitation by many other producers outside the production area, who peddled tomatoes of similar shape and type as Pachino tomatoes, caused no little concern to local producers.

To combat this phenomenon, in the 1990s, the procedure was begun to obtain a protected geographical indication (PGI) for Pachino tomatoes, which was then officially entered in the European PDO and PGI register. Following this recognition, identified by a special logo and label on the packaging, only tomatoes produced in a specific geographic area, delimited by the production regulations can be certified as IGP (PGI) Pomodoro di Pachino.

The product

One of the most common misconceptions identifies the “ciliegino” (cherry) variety as the only true IGP (PGI) Pomodoro di Pachino but, in reality, the regulations cover four different types of tomato, all with different characteristics and intended for various market segments. All the types share a high Brix level, excellent to post-harvest hardiness and a bright, attractive colour.

These types are: the “tondo-liscio” (round-smooth), which is small, round and dark green with an unmistakable taste and dense consistency; the “a grappolo” (cluster), which can be green or red and is round and smooth, with a bright colour and very dark green collar; the “costoluto” (ribbed), with a very dark green colour, which has won the approval of Italian consumers by replacing the “round salad” type in the winter (the optimal period for the production of this type); and finally the “ciliegino”, also known as “cherry tomatoes”, a small variety that grows in clusters or as single fruit, which is deep red, fragrant, sweet and juicy.

The area

The IGP (PGI) Pomodoro di Pachino production area includes all of the municipalities of Pachino and Portopalo di Capo Passero and part of Noto (Province of Syracuse) and Ispica (Province of Ragusa). The link between the IGP Pomodoro di Pachino and the production area its based on the uniqueness that sets it apart.

In fact, it was found that the success of the authentic IGP Pomodoro di Pachino is based on the salinity of the irrigation water, the excellent fertility of the soil, the very mild temperatures found only in this restricted area and high exposure to sunlight: in fact, the district has about 30% more sunlight than surrounding areas. Recent studies have shown that the luminosity and radiant intensity of the southern part of the province of Syracuse (and Pachino in particular) is the highest in Europe.

Please never go there!

Not a great time if you’re a college grad to be looking for a job in Italy.

The only sadly modest solace is that it’s better here than in Greece.

The Local – Italy’s News in English

Italy recorded the sixth-worst jobless rate of the EU’s 28 countries. Job photo: ShutterstockItaly youth jobless rate jumps to 42.6 percentPublished on: 31 Mar 2015 10:59 CET Italy’s youth unemployment rate hit 42.6 percent last month, an increase of 1.3 percent in a month, while the overall jobless rate also increased.Nationally the jobless rate reached 12.7 percent in February, up by 0.1 percent in a month, statistics agency Istat said on Tuesday.The increasing difficulty for the under-25s to find work reverses a trend seen in January, when youth unemployment fell by 0.1 percent.It remains harder for women to get into the workplace in Italy, facing 14.1 percent unemployment compared to 11.7 percent for male jobseekers.The negative figures will be a blow for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who has made labour reform one of the government’s top priorities.Last week, the Italian government said 79,000 permanent contracts had been created in the first two months of this year, owing to incentives contained in the Jobs Act.But Italy still has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. Based on February figures, Italy recorded the sixth-worst jobless rate of the EU’s 28 countries.Europe’s average unemployment rate was 9.8 percent, with jobseekers having the greatest success in Germany which boasted 4.8 percent.Greece remains the worst place in Europe to find a job, where unemployment stood at 26.0 percent in February, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.The Local(rosie.scammell@thelocal.com)

Friends coming to Rome, having been to Rome, or hoping to someday to visit return to Rome:

Here’s a link to watch the HBO/BBC series Rome.  You can safely stream all of the episodes for free except for the last one — a message appears asking you to click to “download Java,” which is almost always a really bad idea. I bought the last episode on iTunes just to be safe.

More here on Wikipedia about the series. While it’s historical fiction, it follows actual history pretty and historic figures pretty closely. The characters, acting, sets, and costumes are incredible — so good, in fact, that two seasons was all HBO/BBC could afford.

Beware: lots of nudity, sex, and violence — I’m told about what might be expected from that period of history, but startlingly graphic (and certainly intensified for television and ratings). Definitely not PG (and at times not even R). Rumor in Rome is that the set was burned down because people here were so upset by how Romans were portrayed. You can judge that for yourself.

By the way, if you’re interested in this period of time, you might enjoy The Twelve Caesars: The Dramatic Lives of the Emperors of Rome.

Bel paese is the classical poetical appellative for Italy, meaning the “beautiful country” in Italian, due to its mild weather, cultural heritage and natural endowment.

The usage of the term originated in the Middle Ages, being used by Dante and Petrarch:

del bel paese là dove ‘l sì suona,

Of the fair land there where the ‘Sì’ doth sound,

il bel paese
ch’Appennin parte e ‘l mar circonda e l’Alpe

The term is currently widely used in modern Italian as in other languages as a synonym for Italy, but can sometimes be intended slightly ironically.^[1] It is commonly used as a term of endearment by members of the Italian diaspora, and it is often used to endorse or promote goods^[2] and services^[3] both in Italy and abroad.

Italy v Switzerland. “One of the epigraphs John Hooper uses to introduce the various chapters in his new book, “The Italians,” is a bit of dialogue from the 1949 film “The Third Man.” In it, Harry Lime compares the tumultuous 30 years of Borgia rule in Italy, which produced the Renaissance and some of its greatest artists, to the 500 years of democracy and peace in Switzerland, which, he claims, produced only the cuckoo clock.”

So that’s why they call it cappuccino. “The Capuchin friars are a Franciscan order named because of their habit, which features a pointed brown hood (cappa). The word cappuccino is in fact derived from this and it allegedly alludes to the colour and ‘peaked finish’ of the coffee. In 1631, the Capuchin friars relocated to their current home on Via Veneto and the Vatican ordered them to also take the remains of their brethren with them. Following their relocation, the friars then went on to construct this bizarre crypt. ”

A Must See in Rome: Museum and Crypt of the Capuchin Friars (Museo e Cripta dei Frati Cappuccini) e the Church of Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins (Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini)