Ciao!
I have always loved Italy! Although I didn’t travel there for the first time until 2011, I had paintings of Venice and other Italian scenes hanging all over my home, and I had heard the romantic stories of driving in Italy and coming upon random families eating at large tables outside who invited strangers to join them. Then, I went to Rome over New Year’s Eve and that pretty much was it for me.
My relationship with Italy and all things Italian took a serious turn . . . when I bought a condo in Southern Italy, sight unseen and became familiar with Mezzogiorno Italia (the nickname for Southern Italy) and fell in love with it!
Then in 2019, my love life took a turn straight for:
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
When Mark and I got married and honeymooned in Italy – guess where?? Villa D’Amore!! Here I had the best birthday EVER. This was the day Mark asked me at breakfast if I would want to live in Italy!! How long do you think it took me to answer that question?? Suffice it to say the day just got more and more magical with a private reception with the mayor of our town and ended with a birthday dinner with all of our friends at my favorite restaurant with a hazelnut cake baked by my favorite pasticceria, and the evening was topped off by impromptu dancing! Is this Heaven or just Italy? Or, maybe, Italy is Heaven??
About this Blog
My purpose is to share information about Southern Italy with a focus on the Cilento Region of Campania. All of this area is beautiful and most of it is not well-known, especially the parts south of the Amalfi Coast. As I got to know the area, there was no easy way to find information, other than to do separate web searches and even then, found most businesses and areas still do not have websites!! This site will be an attempt to share all information we have learned and also and equally importantly, will share lifestyle and cultural information. I want you to know and love Cilento and Southern Italy as much as I do!
This site is not just a blog site. In addition to regular blogs, you will notice that each menu topic also includes information about that topic that can be used as a reference site for travel or by anyone wishing to learn more about this scenically beautiful area. Also, I include cultural and lifestyle info as well. Please note, I have nothing to sell, just information to share.
The Origin of Mezzogiorno (as a reference to Southern Italy)
Southern Italy or Mezzogiorno (literally “midday”) is the traditional term for the southern regions of Italy, encompassing the southern section of the continental Italian Peninsula and the island of Sicily. It coincides with the administrative regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Molise, and Sicily. The term Mezzogiorno first came into use in the 18th century and is an Italian rendition of meridies (Latin for ‘south’, because of the sun’s position at midday in the Northern Hemisphere). The term was later popularised by Giuseppe Garibaldi and it eventually came into vogue after the Italian unification.
Jo Stroback (Giò)
mezzogiorno living 
Buon Giorno Jo Anne e Georgio, First let me say Italia has held my heart for many, many years, my wife and I have been working with Luisa P from Property Organiser Ltd., since 2014 looking all over the Cilento coast (Costa Cilento) and Sicily for our dream retirement villa in Italia/Sicilia. We are hoping that our last visit has produced our dream.
We are negotiating now on a villa in Ascea. I am first generation Sicilian American by birth on my mothers side. Mama e Papa met during WWII in Palermo. Dad was passing through with General Patton’s third army second armored division. Pops got to stay in Sicily for a 5 month stint after Patton famously slapped the soldier and Ike took his command away.
Enough about that for now. Any way we would love to meet new friends in Bella Italia hopefully our wish will come true shortly. I really enjoyed your stories and envy you for buying an apartment the way you described. There is a good possibility that we will be living la doulce vita soon and pray that we do.
Ciao,
Don Paolo e Donna Gina
LikeLike
Paul, thanks for your nice note! We would love to connect with you and Donna. We were just over there for 2-3 weeks but are back stateside now. Are you in Facebook? If so, please connect with me – I am listed as Jo Anne Oxley Febish. If not, please connect with me via joannefebish@yahoo.com. Where do you live in the states? We are in the Tampa, FL area. At some point in the future, we will spend more time each year in Italy.
LikeLike
Also, the best of luck with your negotiations! We would love to meet you both!!
LikeLike
Thanks for the reply and good wishes. Donna Gina and I are facebook members. To tell you the truth I don’t go on the site too often. I feel there is to much personal information shared on that site, not to mention the drama. Any way my facebook listing is paulwes55. We live in Northern Virginia hoping to retire within one year. We would like to meet you guys also.
Ciao for now Don Paolo e Donna Gina (Ginny)
LikeLike
I love the stories and traveling through Italy from your eyes. I was born in Milano and have relative from North to South. txs
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are most welcome! I LOVE Italy – the people, the beautiful countryside and the culture. Thank you so much for the compliment. I have many more stories to tell. Each is about a day in Italy.Do you live in Italy now?
LikeLike
Hi Joanne, do you still own your home in Campania? I was watching some of George’s videos and it appears you two are no longer together. If so, sorry to hear. We are in Minturno now and house hunting in the Cilentano area, as my husband’s family was from Agropoli. Enjoyed reading your blog.
PeggyV
LikeLike
Hi Peggy, thanks so much for your note. You are correct, George and I are no longer together and are now divorced. I do still own my home in Campania. It is located on a hill overlooking the sea and Marina di Casalvelino, about 30 minutes south of Agropoli. Where in Cilentano are you looking for a home? I will be updating the blog soon. I’m glad you enjoyed reading it. Where do you live in the US? Enjoy your visit and let me know if I can be of assistance!!
Jo Oxley
LikeLike
Ciao Jo Anne,
It was so nice to hear from you. My husband and I are actually headed to Agropoli on Mon/Tues from Minturno. My husband’s grandfather was born in Agropoli and we have visited several times, but the last time was many years ago. We spent time in Lucca in Jan-Mar of this year, and liked it very much however we do prefer a warmer climate, being by the water and seafood! We are from Stuart, FL which is on the Atlantic side. Our son and daughter-in-law live in Denmark and we want to be on this side of the Atlantic to make visiting much easier. Are you a full time resident with a permesso or simply a 90 day tourist?
Regards,
Peggy Volpe
BTW the TuttiGiorno blog was my attempt to record our time in Lucca. We were having so much fun I only wrote about the first few weeks.
LikeLike
Ciao Peggy,
Please let me know how your visit went in November. Did you find a home in Italy? How did house hunting go in The Cilento? I am in the process of updating my blog and doing a new release to reflect my new life. WE will be doing a visit there sometime very soon. We should get together sometime even if here in Florida. I live in Apollo Beach.
LikeLike
Ciao!
We’d love to get together here in FL to share our Italian experiences. Recently we did a lot of exploring in and around Minturno, including visiting Agropoli (where my husband’s grandfather is from). We plan to visit there again perhaps in the fall. We are currently on the east coast of FL, just north of West Palm Beach. Perhaps we could meet somewhere in the middle! It would be fun to get acquainted. If so, you could contact me directly on my personal email.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Peggy, thanks for your note. I will be in touch!
LikeLike
My husband and I are actually moving to our home in Italy in late July! So it may be more likely that we meet in Italy.
LikeLike
Hi, great blog to come across, just as I decided to check out the Cilento. Are you still living in the area by the way? I am looking to rent a house on the Cilento coast for a few months and it would be great to chat with someone who has been here for a while.
Cheers,
Carolyn
LikeLiked by 1 person
JoAnne,
I am so happy for you. I just happened to notice your husband’s name in your Dad’s obituary…I hadn’t read through it that comprehensively today as I was thinking about your Mom and that I needed to reach out to her and realized I didn’t have her new address/phone number?
Anyway, I love your blog and love your sharing of your Italian experiences with the rest of us who are not currently living life abroad. So admire you for taking the plunge!
I hope you stay in touch. Message me privately. I believe you have my contact information. I would love to reconnect!
Norma Fetherman
LikeLiked by 1 person