Consider Yourself Invited

After the inaugural post about Kathy and Michele (The Business Manager and The Academic Director), several readers asked, "Who wrote the article? Where's the by-line?"

Anybody curious enough to scroll down to the two prior practice entries (a video of Michele's mom making coffee and a recipe for pastiera) probably figured out that Kathy is the mysterious ghost writer of the new Amici blog/newsletter and it took a few false starts before it clicked.

Last week I finally figured out that our get-togethers shouldn't be about me and my personal experiences in Napoli and it couldn't be about Michele in America. La Piazza has to be about all of us, students and teachers, natives and travelers of all sorts. We need to reach out and invite everybody who loves Italy to join into the conversation and share their ideas. So I wrote in the third person and turned our husband-wife mash-up into a symbol of the bigger Amici melting pot.

Here's what we hope will happen on La Piazza:

We'll invite people to share their expertise on Italian products, food, books and music. Marty Piazza, co-owner of Piazza Discepoli and instructor for last spring's popular Salute! wine class, has graciously offered to start us off with his favorite Italian wine of the month. Look for his first recommendation next Monday.

Of course all of us want to know about the real Italy, beyond the traditional tourist spots. Sul Luogo will feature different destinations seen through the eyes of someone who knows the kind of things you only figure out after you've spent a lot of time in one place and come to love it. Karen Smith and her husband Paul Demarco are co-owners of a charming house in Umbria and we've challenged her to tell us about her five favorite features of her "paese."

These days there are an incredible number of resources on the internet and I also plan to feature tips on the best apps and web sites.

So consider yourself formally invited. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm. Don't be shy. It's casual, the kind of chance encounters that are the best surprises. Tell us about your favorite musician or a great book by an Italian author, a poem you just can't forget, a recipe your grandmother brought from the Old Country. There's a warm, gentle breeze coming from the east and the sliver of a new moon just beyond the bell tower. The dinner dishes are all put away and it's a beautiful night. Come on. We're waiting for you. Out on the piazza.

Email suggestions or something you want to write about to kathy@schoolamici.com.