#ItalianCulture | Valentina Expressions

Arch Entryway To Little Italy

13 Oct 2022 11 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ArchLittleItalySanJose, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianHistory, #ItalianMusic, #LittleItalySanJose

A door or an arch are both passages that take us from an exterior to an interior space or even into another space in time and history.
It was not too long ago, March 2015, when I was awarded for my participation in the design concept of the arch for the Little Italy in San Jose, CA.
A team of architect, builder, designer, iron worker, stone fabricator, cement layer, lighting designer, investors and many more people in the committee of the Little Italy city project worked at the unison to make this come true. It was a many years effort from all of us volunteering to build something that was in the hearts of older and younger generations of Italians immigrated to this country for the continuation of our culture and traditions, but also as a bridge between other ethnicities of the area.

It was a beautiful moment when we finally saw the arch raised and illuminated. That day, a huge celebration in the streets defining the Little Italy area was in order. Many people attended the award ceremony and afterwards they danced in the streets at the tunes of mandolins, accordions, guitars and the voice of the Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito.

Full view of the Little Italy Arch, San Jose, CA

The piazzetta is now full of bricks of various sizes with the name of donors to remember them in the posterity. Since then, we organized grand galas to raise money for the future public works in the area, many merchants established shops, an art & craft festival takes place every August, every October people fill the streets dancing to the sounds of Italian music, eat Italian specialties and feel as if they are in Italy for one day. A Museum of Italian culture is currently being built.

Brick from donors layed in the Little Italy’s piazzetta

Bronze plaque installed on the base of the arch with all the names of professionals participating to the design concept.

The plaque I received at the award ceremony

The plaque I received for my contribution in the design concept of this arch is still in my studio, I see it every day and proudly reminds me that I made a difference in my community together with a lot of other generous and professional people.

Myself celebrating with Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito

It’s always a pleasure to be embraced by the handsome Pasquale Esposito, our Italian tenor.
If you ever have the chance to be in this area, stop by the Little Italy, in San Jose, CA.

Dan Antion offers the opportunity to learn about doors in the world with his Thursday Door Challenge, please visit with us, it’s fun to see various interpretations of doors. Ciao,
Valentina
My books on Amazon

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Screw The New World “Disorder”

25 Jan 2022 6 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianArchitecture, #ItalianCreativity, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianFashion, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianPeople

The epidemic restrictions have kept the world apart. Surely, I am not the only one feeling the solitude. Today, I called a longtime friend in Italy, a school friend, and asked her how her store was doing. She designs her own shoe lines and sells them in her store located in the fashionable center of my native city. She said the last week was a week to forget, nobody walked in the store.

The newly Italian puppet government established during the 2020’s pandemic (?), the kind of government nobody voted but “the class of politicians” appointed to the throne of power is doing a very poor job maintaining the economy of the country above water. They are bankrupting every business in any field, tourists are staying away due to the many restrictions applied to visitors and they are keeping the population in fear with unreal laws. The country is basically under a new socialist dictatorship.

Let’s start from the beginning. Some “notable” or so reputed foreign newspaper said that Italy was taken as an experiment for Covid 19. It turns out that some devilish world power wants to see how fast a strong and century-established culture like the Italian culture could be irreversibly broken and eliminated from the face of the earth. Italians have strong tight families, where a woman and a man still make babies, people believe in God, respect the elderly, the teachers and the flag. Italian people are surrounded by beauty every day they go out the doors; the country has a concentration of the richest arts never seen in any other country, has superb food and wines. Italy produces the fastest cars, beautiful fashion and flirtatious attractive women are everywhere. Love is always in the air and music is romantic.

Italy covers only 0,1% of the world surface. The Italian language is not spoken everywhere else in the world, but a lot of foreigners study to be fluent in Italian. If the Italians had not been there when they did, the world today would have been something else. The Italian peninsula is very small and full of disasters: earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, river floods, landslides, and much more. To live there under all these nature’s phenomena would have been a good bet for some other population, yet Italians have succeeded to create a beautiful country on dangerous territory.

Think of Venice built on water, it is a difficult city to live in, but precious mosaics, the marble designs, the embroidery in architecture, the fine glass art have made it a mysterious beauty the entire world wants to visit and experience emotions no other city offers.

Think of Naples, Pompei and surroundings built on volcanoes, on boiling sulphury Geiser and on yellowish tufa stone, with an ancient under city still a marvel to visit. It thrives with creativity and the art of living.

Think of Rome and how the ancient Romans built an empire in such intelligent and modern way with the ancient resources they had. Their buildings, aqueducts, arches and cupolas withstood the taste of time and all the natural disasters. Today, we are still admiring their arts and skills.

The Italians invented the landscape mixed with a harmonious architecture that did not exist before and since the Renaissance has attracted the world over. They have invented a way to be happy in the enjoyment of the landscape, as every small area is a concentration of ecstasy.

These are exactly the reasons those devilish world powers I was referring in the beginning want to destroy to break Italy. Italy is too uncomfortable for regimes that want to keep people crushed under their thumbs. Creative people don’t follow rules, creative people find alternative ways to make a living, creative people don’t break easily, creative people cannot be controlled. The world power’s experiment is failing. Italians might be suffering now, but they will rise and shine again. Italians have learned to live with nature’s disasters, this rough moment will slide off their shoulders. Italian heritage is strong and cannot be annihilated. Days will be blue again, Italians are still creating beauty that will eliminate the satanic people who want to see Italy falling in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s not going to happen, because when the people rebel against evil powers God leads the way.

The “new world disorder” will have to wait, therefore SCREW all the people who sold their souls to satanic forces. Ciao,
Valentina
Amazon Author’s Page

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here:
Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Guest Blog: Cooking Is A Form Of Love | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

28 Jun 2013 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #ItalianCulture, #kitchenDesign, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WallDecals, #WallLettering, #WiseDecorWallDecals, http://www.wisedecor.com/blog/cocooning-in-the-kitchen

A couple of months ago Wisedecor.com contacted me to contribute to each others blog with articles on home subjects. They specialize in personalizing home décor with favorite wall letters, words, quotes & decals to apply in any room with any style. WiseDecor Decorative Lettering offers a fresh and inexpensive way to decorate.

(Photo: ©Valentina Interiors & Designs)

Last week my article Cocooning In The Kitchen was published on their site:
“Do you remember the film Moonstruck with Cher? Many scenes in that film take place in the kitchen. Loretta Castorini (Cher) comes home after Johnny Camereri proposed marriage to her in an Italian restaurant. Her father Cosmo is listening to Opera on the radio in the living room. Loretta wants to announce she is getting married to Johnny Camereri and invites her father to the kitchen for a glass of Italian Spumante. A serious matter is always discussed in the hearth of the house, around the kitchen table! (…).
(…) In most families the kitchen means harmony, it is the cocoon where we find the answers to the majority of our questions in life and where everyday we go back to relax around food.
Today’s kitchens have returned to be the same multi-functional great rooms of the Middle Age, where cooking, entertainment, receiving guests, sleeping and resolving issues happened all through the day. (…)”
Continue reading my article on http://www.wisedecor.com/blog/cocooning-in-the-kitchen

*********

Today, I am sharing their thoughts on how Cooking Is A Form Of Love and this is the article written by: http://www.wisedecor.com

“The kitchen is the heart of the Italian house. Whereas formal guests are welcomed in the living room and presented with coffees and pastry for relaxed catching-up sessions, members of the family would rather meet around the kitchen table. Meals are scheduled to accommodate different timetables and daily routines and to ensure that everybody can enjoy food together. There is something special about eating with the other members of your family. It is far more than simply feeding and sustaining your body; it is an act of love. As Italians would say, “cucinare è una forma d’amore” (cooking is love made visible), and to share food is the best way to display that love. On one hand, the person in charge of cooking will prepare tasty dishes as a way to tell how much she/he cares for the other family members. On the other hand, those eating will reciprocate that love by eating up what’s on the plate and asking detailed questions about ingredients, origins of the recipe, and difficulties encountered in the preparation. Quite often, the story of how a meal was prepared will initiate other stories about how the recipe was discovered and in which circumstances. As a result, conversations about a specific food will often lead to the narrating of stories about people, places, and occasions that somehow relate to the dish in question. It is fair to say that every recipe carries a story that the cook will happily share to entertain and please her/his loved ones or guests.

Interestingly, keys, wallets and purses will be left in the kitchen, as it is the “safe” of the house – someone will always be there on guard. More importantly, this is the last place you visit before leaving the house to double-check that you have all the necessary items before exiting the house.

It is fairly common to hear Italians talking about food; they exchange recipes, rate restaurants they have been to, and discuss how to improve dishes they have already made. It is fascinating to realize how, whenever in the company of Italian people living abroad or travelling outside of Italy, they always end up talking about food. And yet, this is not due to a lack of other possible topics for conversation, rather it is the concrete expression of the degree to which their upbringing has molded their ways of approaching people and establish relationships. Talking about food is often an icebreaker and also a way to strengthen emotional bonds. This is why there is nothing more accurate than the saying, “it is around the table that friends understand best the warmth of being together” (See the Italian translation for this designed by WiseDecor Wall Decals in Figure 3).

Meals will never be quick and rushed; rather they will extend for hours while several plates are introduced and more bottles of wine opened. Every conversation will start with an assessment of the food presented followed by compliments to the cook and requests to exchange cooking tips. Many other stories will originate from the initial food conversation and plans for new dinners will be made to taste and share new recipes. The length of dinner parties is impressive and the amount of time spent around the kitchen table eating often surprises non-Italians. In fact, it is important to understand that in Italy, to eat is not always directly related to being hungry. Rather, Italians think that “appetite comes with eating”! It is not surprising then to be forced-fed by the cook who will always argue that it is indeed by eating that you will eventually realise how hungry you are. Buon Appetito!”

Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens, cooking and extensive knowledge of food. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. Copies of her three books are available on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Local Flavors | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

25 Mar 2013 12 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianArchitecture, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianLifeStyle, #PugliaTravel, #RedVoyageIntoColors, ItalyTravel

The idea of Local Flavors by http://biancadventures.wordpress.com gives me an opportunity to show some of the local flavors my group of curious travelers will experience as soon as they land in Italy this coming April 15 with me. That’s right, I am taking a group to Puglia, South East of Italy on the Adriatic Sea. In 2012 American soap opera running on T.V. since 25 years ago “The Bold And The Beautiful” filmed eight episodes of the main protagonist’s wedding between the towns of Alberobello, Polignano a Mare and Fasano, a very quaint area of the region.
I didn’t even know the existence of this soap opera until I spotted this video, now I just hope Hollywood’s influence on the region doesn’t help raising prices for the locals.

Don Antonio the fruit vendor, truly an Italian charmer, always offers the typical afternoon glass of bubbles (Italian Prosecco) with familiar shoppers that come in after 6:00 pm. He knows how to keep the shoppers faithful to his merchandise and how to keep them in the shop. It is a ritual while shopping there for produce to get a glass of Prosecco and a taste of something delicious his wife prepares daily with his fruit and vegetables. They are two delightful people who can steal your time blindly if you don’t watch the clock. Often, Italian shops are daily meeting points of people living in the neighborhood. They buy whatever product the store sells while they indulge in gossips, news, business or even planning future activities between each other.

My local flavors include the show all the fishermen put out on the seafood bank along the promenade in Bari, the main city of Puglia. My group will enjoy watching them opening live shell-fish, will get a real amusement hearing them making loud and colorful comments on who has the best fish of the Adriatic Sea and will feel enticed to try some of those delicious morsel of row fish, wine and bread. Puglia is the only region in Italy where people are accustomed to eat row fish, even if the price is as high as 50-60-70 Euro per Kilo.

As a local born in those parts, my work as a tour guide into art, architecture, history and local flavors will be easy. I am planning to show the area on foot and by a private bus. Walking around the streets is the best way to learn the customs of a country. My group will admire the beautiful Mediterranean architecture and learn some insight of the local history. They will learn that balconies are not just an appendix of their flat, but also places for eating outdoor, gardening and exchanging a conversation with the next neighbor. They will admire fashionable people, pick up some folkloric slang or……a lover. Well….., Italy is the country that will enrich you in every sense.

To register for my trip click here, I still have room for April 15, 2013 : https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-2
Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola will host two trips a year to Italy with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” don’t even know exist. She will take her groups to the non-commercial Italy, areas not beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up!

Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Mystery In History | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

01 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CastelGandolfo, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianHistory, #PopeBenedictXVIResignation, #PopeRedShoes

History unfolded before my eyes yesterday morning. Never in millions of years I would have thought of assisting to such an important event in my life.
Pope Benedict XVI left his Papacy for good after announcing his resignation fifteen days ago. It was shocking news, no other Popes after Pope Celestine the 5th had ever resigned since that year in 1250.

Strangely has it seems, the Vatican was not ready to keep a Pope in retirement needing new staying accommodations, medical assistance, a new set of clothes, furniture and servants. Usually Popes don’t resign, they die and go down in history, that’s how they mark the end of their duty towards the Church. Now seamstresses are working on his new dresses, he will wear the white “zimarra” without the cape, new shoes of different colors are in the making and the new apartment in the Vatican’s nunnery convent is the remodeling phase, where he will spend the rest of his life in seclusion.

The Pope left us all puzzled and in doubt that there is more to this story than his frail health and advancing age. The Pope’s high power CEOs and media have said the Pope is not sick, just very fatigued. Today’s resignation created a huge precedence setting new rules in the Vatican. This could mean that in the future, a Pope might resign anytime he feels like, if for whatever reason gets tired of this highly important job, or the pressure of carrying-on duty and responsibility towards the followers becomes too heavy. He can tell the world “I have had enough of you now, good-bye, I go shrivel up in my little corner”. Furthermore, it means that any corporation or high power government can order the next Pope to step down at anytime, using the excuse of a bad health as a cover-up. This gesture of resigning was wrong, it has undermined the Catholic Church and diminished the role of the Pope in the service of the Christian community. How two Popes are going to exist until Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be alive? This was not an act of courage, it was simply wrong. Perhaps 100 years from now, posterity will know the real reason that forced him to resign. For the moment, we cannot help feeling abandoned.

(Photo: Castel Gandolfo https://www.tourinrome.com/it/tour-castel-gandolfo-e-benedizione-papale)

(Photo: Porter’s Office at Papal Summer Villa – http://orbiscatholicussecundus.blogspot.ca)

The ceremony of the Pope’s transfer to Castel Gandolfo by helicopter was solemn and emotional. Castel Gandolfo is a beautiful large mansion built around the 17th Century owned by the Gandolfo’s family and later expropriated by the Vatican, as the Gandolfo’s could not pay their high debts towards the Vatican. The house faces the Lake Alban and sits on the Alban hills of the Roman countryside. Ever since it became the Pope’s vacation residence, the Swiss Guards guarded the house and the main door always kept open.

(Photo: Swiss Guards – http://www.catholicjediacademy.com/search/label/Swiss%20Guard)

Since 1506 the Swiss Guards have been in service of the Pope only, no other person or office in the State of the Vatican. Their colorful uniform made of tri-color combination orange, blue and red, conceals highly trained snipers and combat soldiers. Yesterday in their formal uniforms their duty was over. At 8:00 pm sharp the Swiss Guards closed Castel Gandolfo’s doors as a symbol that the Papacy is empty and their duty is over. The Vatican’s Gendarmerie took over Castel Gandolfo’s security. This ceremony, unique in its genre, had never happened before. Castel Gandolfo did not even exist in the year 1250 when Pope Celestine the 5th resigned and neither did T.V. to project these historic images in the world. I really witnessed history in the making!

(Photo: AFF)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, as he will be called from today, will no longer wear the famous red loafer, reserved only for the reigning Pope. His gold ring, the “Ring of the Fisherman”, decorated with a depiction of St. Peter in a boat casting his net, with the name of the reigning Pope around it and made only for him will no longer be in use. The goldsmith will create a new ring for the next Pope with a new seal.

Pope Benedict XVI Ring
(The ring of the Fisherman found on:
The Ring of the Fisherman or the Fisherman’s Ring (Pope Benedict XVI’s ring as Pope)

We feel a lot of empathy and wish Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI light and internal peace, but we can’t help feeling lost. A new era is coming. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola, Italian born, designer and author decided to live as an Italian outside Italy. At times she talks about politics and writes about major events of her country, expressing only her opinion as a form of pain releasing, or amusement, no other intentions. Please check out her books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Even The Fastest Race Car Needs A Pit Stop | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

19 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #AlberobelloPuglia, #CulinaryTrips, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianLifeStyle, #PugliaFood, #PugliaTrips, #TableCustoms, ItalyTravel

I read in a travel magazine that in North America 25% of the population never takes vacations and 37% will only take one week of vacation a year. Considering that North America is a highly productive part of the world, how can we keep our sanity and keep on producing our wealth if we don’t ever take a break from the daily grinding? We know that stress is the major cause of heart disease, high cholesterol and on and on, while our nerves are slowly being pulled apart as a rubber bend until they snap for good and become beyond repair.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Architiello S. Felice seen from the sea- trip to the sea caves of Vieste by Cappellaccio)

As we need restorative breaks in life, April 15, 2013 I am taking a group of curious travelers to Puglia, Italy, the region where I come from, South-East of Italy, sitting pretty on the blue-green Adriatic Sea looking at the white Greece and the Dalmatian Coast of the ex-Yugoslavia. Puglia is one of the many Italian regions not well-publicized to mass tourism, thus it is an area where the land is virgin, the air is pure, food is deliciously hand-made fresh every day, people are warm and friendly and prices are affordable. This is a place where you will reconnect with freedom, or will make you the protagonist of your own art of vacationing.

(Cathedral of Trani – Via Pinterest)

Traveling to Puglia is not about a super luxurious accommodation, but about finding new experiences and feeling new emotions. Puglia will teach you how to lose yourself in moments totally without the “hurry” word. I promise, while you are there, you will not want to see your electronics to connect with work back home!

My father used to say: “Andiamo piano che abbiamo fretta” meaning “let’s go slow in order to go fast”. How true is that? If you don’t slow down, you will never be attentive to the details in your life and fall in love with them, or even appreciating the “unexpected” life brings.

Our private bus will take us to many places, however the trip is not a “tour de force”! At our leisure, I will take the group through beautiful landscape of orchards, vineyards and seaside views, art, history and shopping in markets. The group will learn to appreciate local traditions, the rhythm of nature and its sounds, healthy natural food cooked at home, colorful atmosphere and the pleasure of making your own food. Yes, perhaps, one or two nights we will cook with a local chef in the farmhouse where we will stay. Puglia will teach you never to eat alone. One a different day, we will have a crazy fun, dressing up in vintage clothes and ride in vintage cars along the Adriatic Sea, or perhaps you will want to experience a relaxing massage with olive oil, the “green gold” of this land.
Register here: https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-2

I will take the group to an “unexpected” Italy through all the human senses, collecting memories or flavors and not material things. I will show you how simple food will change you forever, as it fulfills your soul and rewards your health. While we are on the subject, we will talk about Italian table manners and etiquette.

(Ristorante Gorgo Di Fuoco – Putignano)

Even The Fastest Race Car Needs A Pit Stop, you need to stop in Puglia! Please find price, all the information needed and watch the videos when you click on the link. Start packing and register here: https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-2
Registrations will close March 20, 2013 and I want to see you on my bus. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola will host three trips a year to Italy based on her three books with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” in the non-commercial Italy away from beaten paths of massive tourism. Valentina is NOT a travel agency, but with the help of her Italian expert travel team, she will guide her tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up! Register here: https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-2.

Find Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Stuck In The Groove | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

12 Jan 2013 17 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ItalianCulture, #ItalianCustoms, #NewYearCelebrations, #NewYearWishes, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ShineOnAward, Appreciation

Hoops, I didn’t even notice to have been gone since Christmas and my page seems stuck in the groove! Pardon.
Well, last year my Thursdays disappeared often out of my weeks, catapulting me straight into the Saturdays and weekends didn’t even appear on the horizon of my calendar. To me it meant one thing: time for regrouping, regenerating and detoxing from the Internet. Literally, I abandoned my studio and this time I was the one who disappeared. Now, I am wondering, why the year is new, I am one year older, but my office has the same organized mess, the same décor looking at me and the same dust onto which I can write the story of my life, especially after my short absence.

No, I am not stuck in the groove, the year has started well and I am very much alive and kicking.
This week, I made a third anniversary flying with WordPress. It has been a great experience reading all of you bloggers and making new friends.

I have received also the “Shine On” Award from A MisBeahaved Woman http://misbehavedwoman.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/shine-on – THANK YOU, I am honored and I accept. Please read her interesting blog on social issues, she is really good.

With the Awards come the rules. Here are the ones for the Shine On Award.

1.) Show appreciation of the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post.

2.) Add the award logo to your blog.

3.) Share 7 things about yourself.

4.) Pass the award on to 5-10 other bloggers you admire.

and here the winners:

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com – Photography and stories.

http://ohtheplaceswesee.com – they are husband and wife who decided to live somewhere else a month at a time.

http://algarveblog.net – a British expatriate to Portugal.

http://wheresmybackpack.com – She says: “anyone who tries to tell you it’s a small world hasn’t tried to see it all”.

http://taylorjorjorian.wordpress.com – Photographic Surreal Impressionism

http://grandmothermusings.com – Jamie is a sweet teacher.

Please go visit them, enjoy their reading and make new friends. The world is full of people we have not met yet. Happy 2013 to all, hoping this year will treat us very nicely.

To find 7 things to say about me it’s a hard task to do, but I will do my best.

I have always liked to eat and manage to keep a good figure to suit my bone structure. I have eaten a Mediterranean diet since I was born and don’t even get closer to junk food. People who know me call me “A Good Fork”. My father used to say that was better to clothe me than feed me.
Growing up in my Italian family, food choices did not exist and neither did democracy in the family nucleus. The heads of the family made up their own laws and we kids had to obey. Today, I go into people’s homes and find that kids can choose what they want to eat, as if they are at a private restaurant, tell the parent what to do and even get paid to do chores!
I am not a mechanical person like most of my women friends are. If something breaks it will stay broken unless someone fixes it.
I love Opera. When I am sitting in those red velvet chairs, I transport myself to a different world and era and get totally oblivious to anything around me, but often asked myself how I would react if a fire happened while I am totally hypnotized by the opera notes.
I am an acute observer. I see things people miss easily. I can sit at a café’ for hours just to observe and hear people’s conversations.
I don’t get bored easily, stupid people get bored, but time wasters get on my nerves easily.
I don’t shop at corporations, I shop at small stores and I am very faithful to them if they know how to treat me right.

I am participating in the A to Z challenge on any subject, mine will be on HOME from A to Z.
I will give myself one year to write funny and not so funny stories, tips and stuff related to the home projects and behind the scene happenings.

Let’s have a fantastic year and let’s not get stuck in the groove of time! Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an interior designer, in business since 1990 and a former fashion designer.
She helps people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors, exteriors, restaurants and more. She is also the author of three books all available on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Red On The Cheeks Comes From The Mouth | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

29 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #CookingInItaly, #CulinaryTrips, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianFood, #ItalianTableCustom

One of my friends has just returned from a month of vacation in Italy. She spent two weeks of her vacation in a kitchen of an agritourism to get some hands-on training on typical Italian cuisine. She is a personal chef and owns a catering company. Our catching up conversation was mostly centered on Italian food and table customs. She could not help but noticing the difference and making a comparison between her American eating customs and the Italian eating style. She noticed how properly people conducted themselves while sitting at the table and how she never spotted an Italian local person eating in the street while walking, an activity only foreigners and tourists engaged in.

At the restaurants and in the place where she was cooking for a few days, she went along with the flow of dinner and how her hosting friends conceived it. They ordered many dishes from antipasto to pasta, meats, and vegetables to fruit, cheeses and dessert. The dishes arrived at the table not in serving platters for sharing, as often is done in the States, but in single plates, each person got his/her portion of everything ordered.

One time they ordered grilled fish and she did not expect to see the deboning process at the table, right before her eyes. That is a common practice in any respectable Italian restaurant.

Photo waiter deboning fish at the table from TripAdvisor

There was a considerable time space between each specialty, she told me. At first she was puzzled to why it took so long to finish the entire dinner and even longer to get the check, people lingered at the table, talking with espresso coffee and digestive drinks, but by observing how Italians carried on conversation and relaxed with wines and company, she understood right away that she was in the land of “Dolce Vita” where eating is an art and nothing else is important while sitting at a dining table.

At some tables where business people gathered for lunch, talking about business, my friend observed, did not take place until after all the ordering of food and wines was completed and after people took interest in each other’s life, news of their families and the general happenings. Then during the second half of the dinner, business talk started.

She was all so surprised to see the freshness of food and its vibrant colors in both raw and cooked state. Fish was colorful and smelled like the sea, she said. Of course, she knows that in America supermarkets do not sell the entire fish stock in one day, thus the next day the store will re-propose old fish to the customers marinated in herbs or in some kind of dry rub. In Italy, nobody would buy the re-adaptation of fish. If I want fish, I go directly to the fishmongers. I am fortunate to live in a coastal place, where it is possible to go directly to the source.

My friend asked me why in Italy people don’t suffer gluten problems as people in the States do. You would think that with the large amount of pasta, rice, pizza and bread consumed in Italy, everyone would have gluten intolerance. Well, the answer is simple and crude: Italian food manufacturers do not stuff food with hormones, vitamins, sugar, sodium, MSG and other absurd chemicals. Read the labels of any American food and you will see that the majority of ingredients are unpronounceable chemicals and of real food, there is only a faint percentage. In Italy egg yolks are orange, chickens are yellow and don’t eat corn; pigs are not fed with hormones but acorns, which makes our famous prosciutto (ham) so perfectly balanced; gelato is made with real milk and fruit; bread only contains flour, water, yeast, and olive oil; vegetables are not sprayed with chemicals and fruit arrive at the supermarket with the dirt they grew in, not polished with wax. To this add the Italian lifestyle. Italian people walk to stores, to work, to schools and most of the places they must reach every day. In fact, my friend the chef, after all the commercial cooking she did for her own experience and the eating she did for her own enjoyment with daily wine tasting, lost 14 lb in one month and she could not explain how it happened.

As I say during my books’ presentations: “The red on the cheeks comes from the mouth”. Eating real food daily will help release extra pounds and stabilize the weight. Most importantly, real food will introduce positive energy in the stomach, which in turn will exude from your skin pores and that is good enough to keep away for your system any food intolerance ever invented by the human mind. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She especially loves to design all those rooms with a “make me feel good” tag attached, such as kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms, and entertainment rooms. She is a public speaker and a mentor. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books and a book on colors, all available here in this site on the Books page and on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Right Way | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

29 Aug 2012 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ItalianCulture, #PugliaTravel, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #TasteOfItaly, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, ItalyTravel

A couple of days ago, Joanne Mathis interviewed me on her BlogTalkRadio show for a talk on the “Taste of Italy” as the launch for my 2013 three trips packages to Italy based on my three books. The trips are in the making in conjunction with various establishments in Italy. Soon, I will be ready to take registrations.

Some parts of the radio talk were really funny, as most of the time happens when talking about Italy, a country, which thrives with free-spirit people and lives on not so many rules. During my next radio talk in October, with Joanne Mathis again, I will highlight some of the things and customs not very proper for foreigners and other useful tips for travelers to Italy.
We were really laughing on the show and having a good time on what Italians consider the “right way”.

• In Italy the woman walks on the right side of the man and inside of the sidewalk near the building and not near the street. It’s an old custom to protect the woman from dangers, still used today.

• To drive in Italy one must think and act like a racecar driver. Accidents are fatal on freeways, where speed limit is not respected much, but are rare in the cities, because our cities were built in the Middle Ages, therefore streets are truly small, often have only one or two lanes, but one must know how to get disentangled to avoid causing a huge traffic jam. Driving through an intersection, one must give the right away, meaning must yield to cars coming from the right, unless otherwise noted by street signals.

• At a dinner party, the man of the house always sits at one of the head table and the wife on the opposite head table. The wife changes her seat to the right of the men of the house when there are special guests. In this case, usually the male special guest sits at the opposite head table across from the man of the house and his wife on his right. In the Middle Age, the women’s place was set at the right of the men as a form of respect and to receive morsels of food the man cut for her and presented on the tip of a knife. Women did not cut their own food. Mind you this was when tableware did not exist yet.

• In Italy we stir coffee to the right, clockwise.

• Woman sleeping with man: she usually sleeps towards the wall and not towards the entry door to the room, often her place falls on the right side of her man.
• When a woman is in the bus, metro, or in a taxi with a man, the man gets off first to help the woman getting off, just in case her heels get caught in something, or some absent-minded person pushes her out.

• When we greet people, we kiss on both cheeks, starting with the right cheek, so it is my right cheek to your right cheek and then left to left.

Italy is a very modern country and women are also living a very modern, hectic life as everywhere in the world, but certain things have remained untouched. The respect toward women and wanting to protect them is very high.

If you like to listen to my radio talk and laugh with us, it will take only 40 minutes of your time. Enjoy it:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mathisinteriors/2012/08/28/valentina-cirasola-artist-designers-and-things-oh-my

Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola will host three trips a year to Italy based on her three books with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” in the non-commercial Italy beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up! Valentina’s third book is in the printing process. ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors will be soon on Amazon with her others two books:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Christmas Markets Under The Stars | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

08 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChristmasCelebration, #ChristmasMarkets, #EuropeanChristmas, #EuropeanChristmasMarkets, #HolidayFood, #ItalianCulture, Panzerotti

Today December 8^th the Catholic world celebrates the Virgin Mary Immaculate Conception marking the official opening of the Christmas holidays. The Catholic dogma believes the name Immaculate (pure, the purest of the angels, innocent) was given to Mary when the angels announced to her that she to had been chosen to become the mother of Jesus through the Holy Spirit without any human contact. Up to that moment, Mary lived a life without any original sin, nor mortal or venial sins, thus she had that special privilege to become the mother of Jesus.
The celebration of Mary Immaculate Conception was introduced in the Roman calendar in 1476 and since then Christmas holidays start with this celebration in anticipation of the birth of Jesus. On this day Catholics are expected to fasten for the entire day until the evening. Around 7:00 pm they can sit down and have a really scrumptious meal with different kinds of meats, panzerotti, some stuffed pasta like tortellini or ravioli, fried or cooked vegetables, but mostly rich filling food, good wines and typical Christmas sweets.

Photo Campanile-http://www.italymagazine.com

Panzerotti @Cristina Sisto

Naples-San Gregorio Armeno-http://www.inaples.it/eng/home.asp

On this day, most of all the cities in Italy and Catholic Europe will have an area of the city designated to Christmas street markets. The market will be open for business all day and all night until midnight or 1:00 am, every day until Christmas Eve and in some cities the market will reopen after the first of January for a few days until the Epiphany. Giving Christmas gift to kids is a fairly new custom. Up until twenty years ago, more or less, kids received their gifts the night of Epiphany, January sixth. For Christmas they would get some new clothes and special home-made sweets. The adults celebrated with special food, special wines consumed with family and friends. Christmas was for kids only.

At the street markets, especially at night with all the flickering lights, the atmosphere is very Christmassy and sweet. It is December after all, the air is fizzy and cold, perfect for hot cocoa or warm brandy. Women are bundled up in fur coats and boots, kids are wrapped in woolly scarves, hats and heavy clothes looking like petit Michelin men. Some vendors’ kiosks are filled with curious arts and craft, some have specialties food and some sell Christmas delicacy or sweets. There are music and street musicians playing their favorite instrument, but what will catch your eyes is the willingness of people to leave computers and TV’s at home and come out in the streets to enjoy the evening with their kids, kids’ friends, families, to meet people they have never seen before and to shop at small artisans, where they can find unique gifts. I also noticed the gentleness of people in this time of the year. It is kind of puzzling to me why some people are only nice at Christmas time.

Here in the States, I have seen and experienced many different kinds of Christmas celebrations, but I have never seen a nighttime Christmas market. The closest I got to this idea last week was the market organized in the courtyard of the International German School in my area. I was the only author in a kiosk with books for sale, all others kiosks displayed hand-made art and craft items, jewelry, pottery, ceramics and German food. It was an enjoyable evening, despite of the cold wing and my frozen feet. Kids gathered on stage to sing so graciously Christmas carols in German language, the adults instead played modern rock and roll music.

Both of my books sold well that evening, my easy and healthy recipes from Puglia, my home land of Italy, will delight people’s tables this holiday season and will make a nice addition to their Christmas specialties. Both books are available here in this site on the Books page and on Amazon.
Just in case you are in a bind and need my help in decorating your holiday table, just leave your name in the box, I will answer in 24 hours time and I will be delighted to help you. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She especially loves to design all those rooms with a “make me feel good” tag attached, such as kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. She is a public speaker and a mentor. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books and she the author of the forthcoming book ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on the subject of Colors, due to be published very soon.