Italian Soccer & All purpose picture thread...

falvo · Dec 8, 2019

Soccer in the 1970s: Three generations of the Lenarduzzi family at home in Vancouver (Bob Lenarduzzi, Giovanni Lenarduzzi, Clelia Lenarduzzi, Sam Lenarduzzi, Danny Lenarduzzi, Jason Lenarduzzi (Sam's son), Vanni Lenarduzzi with baby Carly, Vanessa Lenarduzzi (Sam's daughter), Vibeki Lenarduzzi (Vanni's wife), Corey Lenarduzzi (Vanni's son))
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falvo · Dec 10, 2019

E’ arrivata la neve di dicembre in Sila, Calabria

falvo · Dec 12, 2019

Today we remember Mr. Frank Sinatra !

Happy Heavenly Birthday to the late and great Frank Sinatra! Sinatra would have turned 104 years old today .

Rest In Peace Francis Albert Sinatra December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998)
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falvo · Dec 13, 2019

Carlo Dapporto viva L'Atalanta!

falvo · Dec 14, 2019

Danny Aiello just passed away right before the 32nd Anniversary for the movie Moonstruck debut this weekend back in Dec 1987

Happy 32nd Anniversary to the cast of Moonstruck .

Rest In Peace Danny Aiello

falvo · Dec 14, 2019

falvo · Dec 14, 2019

GRANDE SAMPDORIA!!!!
Genova è BLUCERCHIATA!!!!!!

falvo · Dec 17, 2019

falvo · Dec 17, 2019

Buoni!

falvo · Dec 18, 2019

So Good! Buoni i cullurielli! Viva la Calabria!

falvo · Dec 19, 2019

Wow, cool! Opening in my hometown!

Italian food marketplace Eataly coming to Valley Fair

falvo · Dec 19, 2019

falvo · Dec 20, 2019

falvo · Dec 22, 2019

falvo · Dec 22, 2019

Reflection: Images of Calabria at Christmas

Christmas gets bigger every year, so much so that we can’t fit everything into just one month. Decorations come out earlier and earlier, and we’re hardly able to finish our Thanksgiving turkeys before those Christmas parties start rolling out. But amidst all the hype, there are also those moments, some may even be categorized as magical, that make the season special. I’d like to share a few characteristic images of Calabria at Christmas.
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ORANGES IN CALABRIA AT CHRISTMAS
Growing up in New Jersey, despite its “Garden State” nickname, I didn’t give much thought to seasons and food, other than perhaps the much praised Jersey corn and Jersey tomatoes. I do recall scratching my head, however, when reading a book or seeing an old film in which a single orange as a Christmas gift was received with great joy, whether by a little girl in a fur-trimmed jacket or one dressed in tatters. I remember thinking that I wouldn’t have exchanged my pile of presents for that one orange.

Back in a time when transportation wasn’t what it is today and grocery stores weren’t overflowing with fruit out of cold storage or in season somewhere else, receiving even a semblance of an orange must have been a rare treat. But nowadays I wonder, what wouldn’t I give for a truly spectacular orange? And perhaps that’s why I’m so taken with fruit for sale that still has an association with the tree from which it has been plucked.
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Clementines in Calabria

Brightly pigmented clementines and mandarin oranges with their stems and beautiful green leaves attached are like a magnet in Italian markets. The textures and colors can’t be matched. The fresh juice bursts in your mouth. In Calabria, a gift basket of these early citruses—oranges, mandarins, clementines and lemons with a piece of the branch and leaves intact—is very gladly received.

Continuing through the winter, my favorite orange in Calabria is the Tarocco, a type of blood orange that is only slightly tinged with red. Succulent hardly begins to describe the juice in Tarocco oranges, which will quickly bathe your forearms down to your elbows even when you’re careful.
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Tarocco Orange Tree in Calabria

A FEW CULINARY TREATS IN CALABRIA AT CHRISTMAS
Scrumptious fried creations are also Calabrian classics at Christmastime. My favorite goes by countless names, depending on where you’re eating them: Crispelle, grispelle, zeppole, zippuli, cullurielli, cuddrurieddri, to rattle off a few. Delicious however they’re called, they make their first seasonal appearance at the Festa dell’Immacolata Concezione or the Festival of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th, a national holiday in Italy.
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Crispelle, zeppole, zippuli…

The dough consists of flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt. Many recipes also include boiled potatoes in the mix. Crispelle are round or ring-shaped, and can be plain or filled with a host of ingredients. My first choice is anchovies, but I wouldn’t turn down cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olives or ‘nduja, a very spicy, spreadable salami. They are deep-fried, eaten as appetizers and washed down with a glass of the local red wine.

The dessert version is made the same, but without a filling. Dipped in honey and rolled in sugar or cinnamon, sweet crispelle are finger-licking good.

In the Province of Reggio Calabria, petrali are popular Christmas cookies. The basic recipe calls for a shortbread dough in the shape of a half-moon that is filled with a mixture of dried figs, walnuts, almonds and orange/mandarin zest, all chopped and soaked in vino cotto (cooked wine) and coffee. They’re finished with an egg wash and beads of colored sugar or chocolate.
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Petrali in Reggio Calabria at Christmas

I have a fond memory of being presented with a little tray of these beautiful petrali, along with a pastry in the shape of a Christmas tree dedicated to me. The mastro pasticciere (pastry chef) had a little trouble with my name, as most Italians do. I’m often Carmen, Carolina, Cara or Caterina, as the “k” isn’t in the Italian alphabet, not to mention the difficulty of the swallowed “r” of the English language. Nevertheless, it was the delightful thought that counted.
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Petrali with a Christmas Tree – Calabrian Pastries at Christmas

DECKING THE HALLS IN CALABRIA AT CHRISTMAS
The holidays always feel more festive amidst cheerful surroundings, and Italians like Christmas decorations as much as anyone, or perhaps more than most. Lights are strung along main streets of the smallest of towns, no matter the struggling budgets. Christmas is a priority.
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The north end of Corso Garibaldi in Reggio Calabria decorated for Christmas

This important season spills over into churches all year long. I was particularly taken with a 16th-century representation of the Epiphany on an altar of Carrara marble in St. Mark’s Church in the town of Seminara. The church was under renovation and didn’t look like much from the outside, so perhaps the surprise of an interior with great potential and several exquisite carvings made me take note.

16th-century Marble altar of the Epiphany in Seminara, Calabria

I also enjoy the presepe or nativity scene in its many forms and never tire of the allure. The Neapolitan style creche with tableaus from everyday life is particularly endearing.
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Detail of a Presepe or Nativity Scene in Calabria at Christmas

A lot of care and energy goes into Christmas. The holiday seems to be in a constant state of expansion. Are the decorations bigger, better and more beautiful this year? Bigger? Maybe. Better and more beautiful? No, but perhaps those twinkling lights actually do enhance the passeggiata (walk), which is so much a part of Italian communities.
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Corso Garibaldi in Reggio Calabria at Christmastime

The festive illumination along the old streets creates an added intimacy to this old-school form of socialization. And in a world caught up in an out-of-control cycle of mass aggrandizement, it’s good to remember that there are still the simple things in life. In Calabria at Christmas, an orange with a leaf attached, a fried dough ball with a treat inside and a nativity scene portraying Uncle Tony’s butcher shop to the left of the Holy Family, can still give that magic.
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falvo · Dec 22, 2019

The beautiful capital of Italy celebrates its 2,773rd birthday in 2019, with events also taking place on the days either side of the anniversary.
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Known as Natale di Roma, the annual birthday celebration is based on the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus in 753 BC.
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The traditional Rome birthday celebrations are centered in the Circus Maximus and include the trench-digging ritual, known as the tracciato del solco.
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The tradition recalls the founding of ancient towns when a trench or mundus was dug and offerings were thrown into it to encourage the gods to watch…
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The main event is a costumed parade, featuring more than 2,000 gladiators, senators, vestal virgins and priestesses, at the Circus Maximus.

The pageant is organized by the Gruppo Storico Romano, a historical dramatic society which, for more than 20 years, has brought history to life by re-enacting battles, historic events, and displays of the ancient theatre.
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Il Ciuccio · Dec 22, 2019

falvo said: ↑

Reflection: Images of Calabria at Christmas

Clementines in Calabria

Tarocco Orange Tree in Calabria

Crispelle, zeppole, zippuli…

Petrali in Reggio Calabria at Christmas

Petrali with a Christmas Tree – Calabrian Pastries at Christmas

The north end of Corso Garibaldi in Reggio Calabria decorated for Christmas

This important season spills over into churches all year long. I was particularly taken with a 16th-century representation of the Epiphany on an altar of Carrara marble in St. Mark’s Church in the town of Seminara. The church was under renovation and didn’t look like much from the outside, so perhaps the surprise of an interior with great potential and several exquisite carvings made me take note.

16th-century Marble altar of the Epiphany in Seminara, Calabria

Detail of a Presepe or Nativity Scene in Calabria at Christmas

Corso Garibaldi in Reggio Calabria at Christmastime
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That’s most of southern Italy.

falvo · Dec 24, 2019

falvo · Dec 25, 2019

falvo · Dec 26, 2019

falvo · Dec 27, 2019

NASL Line-Ups: The New York Cosmos' starting XI in 1979 featured 10 different nationalities (West Germany, Portugal, Italy, England, Yugoslavia, Brazil, Iran, The Netherlands, USA, Turkey).
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falvo · Dec 27, 2019

Happy 69th birthday to Italy international Roberto Bettega (number 11), the athletic Juventus striker who scored 129 goals in 14 seasons in Turin -- winning 7 Serie A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and 1 UEFA Cup in the process -- while also competing in the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the 1980 European Championship, then transferred to the NASL in 1983 and led the Toronto Blizzard to back-to-back Soccer Bowl finals, notching 10 goals and 21 assists in 48 matches.
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falvo · Dec 27, 2019

falvo · Dec 28, 2019

“Un brevilineo con la coordinazione da semi Dio. Etereo, imprendibile”. Così lo ha definito Federico Buffa.

Il 28 dicembre 1993 fu premiato come il miglior giocatore del Vecchio Continente e quindi del mondo. Non era un onore solito agli italiani, anzi. Ma lui non era un calciatore classico. Lui era Roberto Baggio.

Uno che poteva vincere quel titolo senza imporsi con grandi allori. Pochi mesi prima aveva tirato su la Coppa UEFA, sì.

Un grande campione che fece urlare al campione sin da quando era ragazzino: “si capiva fosse già un grande campione. Al Vicenza a soli 16 anni gli lasciavano già tirare rigori e punizioni i vecchi calciatori”, avrebbe raccontato poi Fabio Capello. “E’ la reincarnazione tecnica di Peppino Meazza”, disse di lui Gianni Brera. Belle storie.

Il calcio di Roberto Baggio. Di Roberto il grande. Secondo molti, il più grande.
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falvo · Dec 28, 2019

La Juve campione d’Europa 1995/96
Peruzzi, Torricelli, Conte, Ferrara, Ravanelli, Paulo Sousa, Pessotto, Deschamps, Del Piero, Vialli e Vierchowod

Ma quanto era bella questa squadra di campioni?
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