Published on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Olives and olive oil symbolize Italy and its culinary delights for many people, but for Italians the products of olive trees influence their economy as much as their diets. Each year the country exports about one trillion pounds of olive oil, second only to Spain. The giant, twisted trees of Puglia usually account for nearly 40% of Italy’s overall olive-oil produ...

Published on Friday, November 7, 2014 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I have a video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. This week I'm talking about enjoying the olive harvest in Italy. Italians look forward to the fall for any number of reasons, the grape harvest, the best truffles are in season. But a bi...

Published on Wednesday, September 17, 2014 by Kathy McCabe The Italy Mix is a weekly post about the most interesting Italy and Italy travel news and human interest stories around the Web.  Here are our top picks for this week: Romantic Venice: The top 10 things to do to celebrate love in this most romantic of Italian cities.  (Swide) Police Foil Wine Scam:  Officers uncover plot to flood global market with more th...

Published on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 by Kathy McCabe What do Italians do at the end of October and beginning of November? They harvest their olives. Up and down the country, huge olive producers as well as folks with just a few trees on their property bring together friends and workers to pick the olives from the trees. Once picked, they gather them up for a trip to the olive mill. As part of the Southern Go...

Published on Friday, July 15, 2011 by Kathy McCabe So you think you've eaten well in Italy? Suspend all judgment until you've visited the region of  Puglia, where the Mediterranean sun waves its magic wand to produce a true bounty of magnificent, flavorful gifts. Here are some examples of the fresh ingredients Puglia produces and how they combine in simple, yet mouth-watering ways: Olive oil: The ancient  olive t...