Food & Wine

Jun 3, 2014
Our Potentino Chefs are Back at the Château!

“A Taste of Italy and a Touch of France”… Some of you may remember this article which I posted in my blog last year at about the same time. I had invited Charlotte Horton and ...

May 28, 2014
Having a Fine Lunch in Grosseto

When travelling around Italy to visit the houses and villas featured in our Trust & Travel rental catalogue, I always try to see or do something new. This keeps my job interest ...

Apr 23, 2014
A Magic Underground World – The Antinori Winery

“Katharina, this wine is absolutely divine! –        Well, it’d better be, Jonathan. I have never paid that much for a bottle of wine! –        Oh! Is that so ...

Apr 2, 2014
Leaving no Scrub Unturned

This week, I am going to teach you how to pick the Asparagus acutifolius in the Italian fashion. How about that? Oh, by the way, the Asparagus acutifolius is more commonly known as ...

Mar 6, 2014
A Bad Day with a Happy Ending

There are days – like yesterday, for instance – when everything goes wrong. I’m sure that you experience such unpleasant days once in a while. I won’t tell you about yester ...

Feb 25, 2014
One of Siena’s Secret Gems

Off the beaten track… You want to be surprised and discover little gems when you travel? My one piece of advice: go off the beaten track. Take the back roads and back alleys. Ven ...

Dec 5, 2013
Tuscany’s Olive Oil Celebrations

“Buona bruschetta, Katharina! –        Buona what? –        Buona bruschetta! You’ve never heard this before?!” No, I had never heard this greeting phrase b ...

Nov 13, 2013
A Seafood Heaven on the Tuscan Coast

“You don’t know Lo Zazzeri, a friend of mine asked me once, disconcerted? Luciano Zazzeri, owner and chef of  La Pineta ?! ...

Nov 3, 2013
Tuscany’s Liquid Gold

At about this time of year, every year, when the days are getting shorter and colder, Tuscany is busy extracting its highly prized “liquid gold”: the extra virgin olive oil. Th ...

Marcus &Valentine Hansen form Courances, Charlotte and Alexander from Potentino
Jun 27, 2013
A Taste of Italy and a Touch of France

On June 15, I managed to bring my two lives together: the Italian and the French ones; and by the same token to indulge in one of my great passions: food & wine! I invited Char ...

Jun 10, 2013
An Appetizing Menu and Venue

As some of you, dear readers, might remember, I started last week’s article by quoting a few words by Benjamin Franklin. This week, allow me to cite the great Virginia Woolf: “ ...

Barrique cellar at Cast. di Bolgheri
Jun 5, 2013
The Stars of Bolgheri

“The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars.” Benjamin Franklin I have never discovered a constellati ...

Winemaker Charlotte Horton at Castello di Potentino
Mar 21, 2013
A Pop-Up Restaurant from Tuscany

Contrary to my general practice, our “story” today will not exclusively focus on Italy. And it will have to do with two castles… In 2011, one of the owners of La Foce, Do ...

Venice Canal Grande
Mar 12, 2013
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Venetia – PART 2

“So, what wonder are you promising us today, Katharina? my brother asked me on the fourth day of our family holiday at the Villa Valmarana. – Well, today I suggest we get roman ...

Boiling Pasta
Feb 18, 2013
The Art of Cooking Pasta

“No man is lonely eating spaghetti: it requires so much attention!” I could easily appropriate these words by Christopher Morley, an American writer and journalist (1890-1957). ...

Dried spagetti
Nov 30, 2012
Tuscany, so sweet to your tastebuds… once again!

No, I did not know what good, real good pasta was until… Here is the story of one the great gastronomic discoveries of my life. I was dwelling in a Tuscan farmhouse near Merc ...

Montisi in autumn
Oct 3, 2012
Celebrating Autumn’s Bounty in Tuscany

Tuscans celebrate the rhythm of the seasons with an array of festivals and feasts adapted for each period of the year.  Autumn is particularly colorful as the leaves change and th ...

“I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee.” Clark Gable
Sep 7, 2012
Coffee the Italian Way: Simply the Best!

As American author Justina Chen Headley wrote in one of her novels: “Adventure in life is good; consistency in coffee, even better.” ...

Aug 9, 2012
A Restaurant on a Green

My obsession with good food and restaurants should be somewhat familiar to you by now, I guess. Well, we all have our little failings and addictions, don’t we? This week, I’d l ...

tuscany villa arrival dinner
Jul 5, 2012
Little Extras that Make the Difference!

“Phew! We got there, at last!” You left home early this morning and have been travelling all day. Now it’s the evening and you have just arrived at your Trust & Travel de ...

divinamente italiano italian restaurant paris
Jun 22, 2012
The Essential Black Cabbage

Can you guess… When, in the middle of the day, at work in Paris, I suddenly long for Italy or feel a strong urge for anything Italian, what do I do most of the time? Well, ei ...

The World of Interiors Pedrocchi
Jun 1, 2012
The Café without doors – Pedrocchi in Padua

This must have happened to you too… One day, your eye is for the first time caught by a very peculiar house, shop or façade, and you think to yourself: “Gee, I’ve walked ...

cooking course italy ravioli
May 23, 2012
Private Cooking Classes in Tuscany

You like Italian cuisine, don’t you? Of course you do. Wish you could cook some great Italian dishes yourself? ...

Procacci Florence
May 18, 2012
Great Light Lunches in Florence (part 2)

Because I usually keep my promises, here are – as promised – my two extra luncheon picks for anyone visiting beautiful Florence, Italy. Like the first two I gave you last week, ...

Fratellini Florence snack
May 11, 2012
Great Light Lunches in Florence (part 1)

As is often the case, it’s only 10 am and I already have a hungry eye trained on the upcoming lunch – even though I had a hearty breakfast just two hours ago! There’s somethi ...

Subscribe to Katharina’s Italy
Subscribe now to recieve our latest articles, villa recommendations and more...

Travel inspiration? explore holiday rentals

my website TRUST&TRAVEL key
Trust & Travel