Welcome to a new beginning

Celebrate the life you have

Hello my friends,

I could not be happier for you to be here.

If this message has suddenly appeared in your inbox after 2 years you haven’t heard from me, you may be a reader of my 15 years-old blog or of my cookbooks. You might have been a guest at Alla Madonna del Piatto Agriturismo in Assisi. Maybe, you bought our olive oil, or you have read my articles on l’Italo Americano or The American in Italia. And if you are a newcomer here, I am so grateful we have crossed paths today.

So much has happened in these two years. If you wish to know more - and enjoy a lovely recipe - head on to my latest blog post.

In short, in July 2021 my beloved Ruurd was suddenly affected by a grave illness. He made it through but with many limitations.

Meanwhile, we have sold the farm in Assisi and moved to Rome. It’s been impossibly painful but slowly we have been able to rebuild our reality and appreciate a new beginning.

For over two years I have stayed away from public life because of our personal tragedy but also because I could not face the memories of our extraordinary life atop a magical mountain in Umbria.

Nevertheless, I never lost hope. When Covid obliged us to abstain from work for the biggest part of two years, I wrote Festa Italiana, a book about how we celebrate life in Italy.

When our life shattered, I persisted. We were surrounded by so much love from family and friends.

Tea has just graduated from her Bachelor in International Studies at Leiden University in The Hague. We could not be more proud and happy that she has also persisted and succeeded so brilliantly.

And now - finally - I feel I am ready to do again what I have always loved: share my kitchen with others here in Rome, tell stories about people and their relation with food, explore simple techniques to extract and preserve flavours, investigate history and tradition.

There can hardly be a better place than Rome to find inspiration, identity and lots of magic.

I feel it’s time to celebrate life again. The one I have.

Thank you for being here and see you soon.

Letizia

PS. Please accept my apologies if you had un-suscribed from one of my lists or if you are receiving double emails. I have had to move all my subscribers here and if you don’t wish to keep in touch, please use the button at the end of the page.

PPS. We have just moved to Rome and both my cookbooks are out of print right now. If you are interested in my books, check this newsletter as I will announce when they are available for sale again. It might take a few months but it will eventually happen, I am thankful for your patience!

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