Italian Experiences - Culture & Food

11/25/2025

I just shared a new update in today’s newsletter, a little personal note about how Italian Experiences and Pittula are growing side by side.

If you’ve been following the posts here, you already know Pittula has become a big part of my everyday life, especially in the kitchen. This update explains how the two projects connect and what’s coming next.

Thank you for being here and for supporting both journeys in your own way. 🤎

It’s been a long time since my last update, and if you’ve been part of my email list for a while, you probably noticed the quiet months (okay… more than a year). Life brought big changes, including the arrival of my daughter, and during that time I stepped away from all projects, including Ita...

08/15/2025

I’ve always wanted to try making the famous Focaccia di Recco, and today I finally did, thanks to my friend , who gifted me some of their incredible 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨. 🧀💛

Lira Rossa is a small artisan Italian creamery based in Moulton, Texas, inside the scenic Four E Dairy farm. Since 2016, they’ve been crafting traditional Italian cheeses in small batches, using fresh local Jersey cow milk and centuries-old techniques. The result? Flavors that are rich, authentic, and unforgettable.

This stracchino was so fresh and creamy, it truly became the star of my focaccia recipe. And…wow what a result! ✨

Have you ever tried it?

04/16/2025

🌸 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧!

In this carousel, I’m sharing 10 Italian words that have shaped every Easter I’ve known, from sacred rituals to the smallest, sweetest traditions.

Holy Week in my hometown was always filled with ceremonies, sounds, and moments I now miss deeply.

𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲!

04/09/2025

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.
Miraculous saints, peace offerings to kings…
The Colomba Pasquale has its fair share of myths.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?
It began in 𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟎𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, with a clever 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚.

𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐢, head of marketing at 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚,
decided to reuse the 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 and 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲 as 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 to create a new treat for Easter.

Same ingredients. New shape.
𝐀 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬.

And just like that, the Colomba as we know it took flight, becoming an icon on Italian Easter tables!

Swipe through to learn more 😜

04/06/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐚? 🇮🇹🍝

April 6 is Carbonara Day, time to celebrate Italy’s most iconic (and often misunderstood) pasta!

👉🏻Just 5 ingredients.
👉🏻No cream. No peas. No garlic. Ever.

Swipe to discover the real deal ✨

04/02/2025

🇮🇹 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐬. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡: 𝟔 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰! 🇮🇹
Learning Italian as an English speaker? These 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 will help you avoid common mistakes and understand how the language really works.

Swipe through to see the key differences and boost your confidence. 💬✨

📌 Save this post for your next study session & follow for more Italian tips!

04/01/2025

🌺🐣𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 — 𝐄𝐩. 𝟏 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬!
I’m starting a fun little series where I invite friends to share their favorite recipes—starting with Enrica EM Gonzalez from 𝐆𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐚 and her beloved Pastiera Napoletana.

Now, here’s the thing about Enrica: she can’t resist tweaking recipes. And she’s on a 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 😂. Even this classic pastiera (one she’s made for years) almost fell victim to her “just a little less sugar” mindset.

Let’s just say… one look from me was enough.
We stuck to the original. And it was perfect.

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭) 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐃𝐅👉www.italianexperiences.us/pastieranapoletana

03/30/2025

✨ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚?🌺
It’s not just a pie: it’s 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, wrapped in pastry and filled with tradition.

This centuries-old dessert is made with 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚, 𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, and 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭… all baked in a golden shell with exactly 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐩. Why seven? That’s part of the magic.

Swipe through to discover what makes this pie so special—and stay tuned for the next reel with the full recipe! 🎥💛

03/24/2025

🌸 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲! 🇮🇹

Let’s celebrate the season of blooms, blue skies, and longer days with some 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 that capture the essence of la primavera.

👉 Swipe through our carousel to explore the words, their meanings, and how to pronounce them like a local.

Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments! 💬
And don’t forget to save this post if you love learning Italian, one season at a time.

03/19/2025

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐙𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲?

03/19/2025

Today, March 19th, Italy celebrates 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐚̀, Father’s Day, a special day dedicated to honoring fathers with love and gratitude. Unlike many countries that celebrate in June, in Italy, 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡, the protector of families and fathers.

Traditionally, this day is filled with family gatherings and delicious treats, especially 𝐳𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞, a classic pastry enjoyed across Italy to mark the occasion.

A heartfelt auguri to all 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐚̀, but especially to the most wonderful one, , the one who fills our daughter’s days with love and warmth. Watching you with her is the sweetest gift of all. 💙

03/17/2025

🚀 𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐯𝐬. 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞! 🇮🇹

Are you confused about when to use ESSERE (to be) and AVERE (to have) in Italian? 🤔 You’re not alone! Many English speakers mix them up!

Swipe through this carousel to learn more!