Hi Everybody,

I saw the preview of The American a couple of days ago. The movie is filmed in Abruzzo and of course I was couldn’t wait to see the places it was filmed. It brought back a lot of memories when the Jack, the main character played by George Clooney makes his temporary home in Castel del Monte. I remember visiting a lot of the small villages nessled in Abruzzo’s Gran Sasso mountain, the medieval hill town. It’s opposite Rocca Calascio, a place that I was accused by my late husband for eating his prescutto sandwich while he took a nap when we stopped for a romatic picnic – overseeing the sky, clouds and stars.

The scenery throughout the movie left me thinking about my memories over the last few days. Bittersweet but how lucky I was to explore the nooks and crannies of this beautiful region.

One of the scenes where Jack and his girlfriend met for dinner, as they ordered a bottle of Montepulchano, the regions wine – I also have a section about the wines of Abruzzo in my book! As a foodie, the first thing that I thought of was – what did they order from the menu?? Did they order pasta alla Chitarra for primi, the regions prize pasta! Or perhaps, the grilled lamb chops that I have the focusfeature.com site? I’m sure food was the last thing they were thinking (if you know what I mean)!nes and chemistry between Jack and Clara were

The village procession reminded me of the one I attended in the town of , at the summer festival (feraugsto) a few years ago.

Life in Abruzzo is holding a photography competition to celebrate L’Aquila, and a copy of Breaking Bread in L’Aquila will be given to the third-prize winner. From Life in Abruzzo:

April the 6th is a time to remember the people of L’Aquila and celebrate a culture whose splendid cuisine continues to recapture the spirit of ‘home’, whilst so many are still in differing forms of ‘temporary’ accommodation following the earthquake in 2009.

We’re holding a photography competition that celebrates the province of L’Aquila’s scrumptious cooking style and divine ingredients, all still available in local agriturismi & restaurants for those visiting Abruzzo on holiday, and available on request from good Italian delis back home.

Read the full details here and be sure to enter!