Francesco Bucci Category

• Grandpa Went for a Stroll

  Thursday, April 14th, 20116 Comments

  Suddenly, anticipated only by a crescendo of silence, Grandpa Amedeo materialized from the back door of the kitchen. He came from his stanzino (his little shop in the basement in Montopoli, Tuscany.) He swiftly crossed the kitchen, a quick and quiet appearance in the dining room, totally ignoring every human being different from himself, [...]

• A Proclamation from the President Barack Obama

  Friday, March 18th, 2011No Comments

  We are honored to publish on our web site the message written by the President of the United States of America Barack Obama, on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy. A remarkable, meaningful message of Peace and, if possible, corroborated closeness between Italy and the United States of America.
  This President [...]

• Today is the 150th Anniversary of the “United States of Italy” Auguri Italia!!!

  Thursday, March 17th, 20118 Comments

  I was a little child, getting ready for a remarkable piano exam, the “8th year,” a milestone in a young pianist’s career. Claudio Bini – a great young man, my teacher of music, of life, and of humility – made me take a one-time lesson with his own ex-teacher, Mrs. Caldi, an older, [...]

• Piergiorgio and the Wise Man

  Friday, March 4th, 20117 Comments

  The Wise Man proudly carries his well trimmed white beard and a magnificent hat on his head. He never skips a day: Around 6 p.m. he sits in front of the sunset, in front of a glass of purple wine, in front of the immeasurable soul of the valley at the very [...]

• There is Something about Italy… Something…

  Sunday, February 27th, 201111 Comments

  An old path paved with cobblestone climbing up the hill… Everything is old around it, the stones of the wall, the smell of the flowers, the gentle noise coming from the valley… Antique.
  I always start with the intention to write about a given subject, but then my mind goes off on a tangent and [...]

• Dante & Beatrice, a True Love Story.

  Monday, February 14th, 201110 Comments

  Dante, a nine year old child, saw Beatrice Portinari for the first time on a sunny Florentine afternoon. She was eight. Dante’s father took his son to a May Day party at the Portinari house. The two children didn’t get the chance to speak a single word to each other, but she was [...]

• You Have Arrived!

  Thursday, February 3rd, 20117 Comments

  The word Arrival originates in Latin ad-“to” + ripa-“shore.”
  It means “To get there,” “To get to the shore,” “To get to a safe place.”

  I landed in Los Angeles five years back, my first time. The darkness was huge. Colors were only where the lights were. Everything else was an untouchable night. People from all over [...]

• Pappalecco’s Visual Recipe

  Friday, August 27th, 20103 Comments

  I met Fabrizio and Marc about three years ago. They were sitting outside at Pappalecco, in Little Italy. The conversation was focused on the presentation of our plates, how the colors of different ingredients combine, how the proportion were well balanced and thought out, and how “good looking” our plates were. This went on for [...]

• A Big Opportunity: An Opportunity to Fail

  Friday, July 9th, 2010No Comments

  Yes, soccer is big in Italy. Huge!

  We Italians use soccer to express our feelings, our frame of mind, and our style.
  A metaphor is that privileged segment of world where something is like something else. We choose to communicate a concept by linking it to something else: When Italy plays We are Italy. We are our [...]

• San Gimignano, San Diego, Livorno and… Little Miracles…

  Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010No Comments

  There are a few defining moments in our lives that make all the difference. Many of these defining moments come from unknown causes. We’ve got to believe in them!