The Fatal Charm of Italy

When you talk about gay travel in Italy, you must begin the conversation with the Puglia region. It’s the top gay summer destination for Italy’s gay community, and furthermore, it’s recognized as one of Europe’s top 5 gay destinations.

So what draws LGBTQ visitors to Puglia, and for that matter, why would anyone want to go to this remote corner of Italy, not often on the tourist map?

In this episode of my Fatal Charm of Italy podcast, I spoke with Scott Maxwell. He’s from the Big Gay Podcast from Puglia, and he talks to me about travel to Puglia in general, and some specific recommendations for gay travel in Puglia, and throughout Italy.

Rick Zullo · Gay Travel in Italy

Gay Travel Puglia 

During our conversation, we get into planning some travel to Puglia, some of the top Puglia destinations, and some specific locations that are more friendly or gay welcoming.

For many travelers, Puglia is really all about the beaches. And in summer, tourists and residents alike go to the beach all the time (or the Italians say, “We go to the sea. Al mare.”)

Here’s a short excerpt from our chat. For the rest, you’ll have to listen to the podcast.

Transcript to Gay Puglia Travel on The Fatal Charm of Italy

“I think that because we have 800 kilometers of coast and we have such wonderful, wonderful beaches, that is one of the biggest draws for the LGBTQ community here in Puglia, that we have amazing, beautiful, wonderful beaches, and a very wide variety of beaches, from rocky coves, limestone limestone cliffs to long, sandy beaches. 

At the very tip of the heel, we’ve got the Maldives of Salento, so called because a lot of people think they are just like the Maldives, with lots of soft white sand and crystal clear blue waters. 

But yes, Puglia is a huge LGBTQ destination. And I have to say, I’ve been living here for six years. When I first came to Puglia, I didn’t know that Pulia was such a gay favorite. 

My background is that I was a London attorney. I worked for an international law firm as an attorney, but my management role was diversity and inclusion. When I came to Puglia because I decided that I didn’t want to live in the UK anymore, and I didn’t want the stressful workday. 

But after about six months, I thought, well, you know what? I’ve really got to be doing something because I’m now doing nothing other than just sitting in the sun and going to the sea and swimming. So I kind of thought, well, maybe with my diversity background, I can do something that helps contribute to the LGBTQ community here in Puglia and in the south of Italy. 

Because in Italy, as you might expect, with the Catholic Church being so strong and having such an influence, especially here in the south, having such a patriarchal society, LGBT people don’t have the same protections as many other Western countries do. 

So, for example, in Europe, in the European Union, Italy is the only Western European country that does not have equal marriage. Civil Unions, but not legal marriage.

When you talk about gay travel in Italy, you must begin the conversation with the Puglia region. It’s the top gay summer destination for Italy’s gay community, and furthermore, it’s recognised as one of Europe’s top 5 gay destinations.

So what draws LGBTQ visitors to Puglia, and for that matter, why would anyone want to go to this more remote corner in Italy, not often on the tourist map?

In this episode of my Fatal Charm of Italy podcast, I spoke with Scott Maxwell. He's from the Big Gay Podcast from Pulia, and he talks to me about travel to Pulia in general, and some specific recommendations for gay travel in Pulia, and throughout Italy.

Back in mid-March of 2020, when the pandemic hadn’t quite reached the U.S. yet but was devastating Italy, I interviewed five friends who were suffering through those early days of fear and panic.

One of those friends was Judy Witts Francini, who lives in Tuscany, midway between Florence and Siena. I guess I might describe her as an “Italian Food Concierge,” because she seems to be involved in every aspect of regional Italian cuisine; from shopping at the local markets, to cooking classes, to creating unique foodie experiences for curious travelers. 

(And the tourists are back now… BIG TIME!)

But as I’ve mentioned before, “Tuscan food,” perhaps more than any other regional Italian cuisine, gets bastardized the moment it leaves the confines of Italy. 

There is a legend that suggests it was the Tuscan-born Caterina de’ Medici who taught the French how to cook—although comparing the two cuisines these days, it seems that the Frenchies were slow on the uptake. Tuscan cooking is simple and contains very little of the elaborate sauces or complex seasonings found in the kitchens of Paris. 

The food traditions in Tuscany have their roots in peasant cooking, or “la cucina povera.” The poor folks learned to make the best out of the meager ingredients available to them. 

That’s why it’s laughable that so many fancy, high-priced “Tuscan” restaurants have sprung up in the U.S. and U.K., becoming the exact opposite of the real recipes cooked in traditional Tuscan kitchens.

This is apparent in the antipasti where the most common thing is to offer a variety of crostini (little pieces of toasted bread) topped with anything from chicken livers to wild mushrooms to olive tapenade to lardo (yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like: lard, or pork fat).

The bread is made without salt (called pane sciocco in local slang), because once upon a time, salt was heavily taxed and very expensive so they made their bread without it. As a homesick Dante wrote in Canto 17 of Paradiso, “Thou shalt prove how salty is the flavor of other people’s bread.”

But bread eventually goes stale, so being ever frugal, the Tuscans use the day-old bread to make their famous soup, ribollita, with black cabbage (cavolo nero) and cannellini beans. 

Or as Judy described in the podcast, a “bread salad,” called panzanella, which under the right conditions takes on the consistency of cous-cous. 

Well enough from me. Listen to what the expert has to say about Tuscany Food And Wine:

Rick Zullo · Tuscany Food Tours with Judy Witts Francini – FCI 048

Tuscany Food And Wine Tours with Witts Fancini!

On this episode I'm joined by Judy Witts Francini, who lives in Tuscany, midway between Florence and Siena. I guess I might describe her as an “Italian Food Concierge,” because she seems to be involved in every aspect of regional Italian cuisine; from shopping at the local markets, to cooking classes, to creating unique foodie experiences for curious travelers.

Visiting Venice is a dream for many. And then there are those who are fortunate enough to live inside that dream every day. More appealing still when part of your job description is leading hungry tourists around that dreamy landscape in search of the best cicchetti and Spritz.

I talk about all this on the podcast today with my friend Monica Cesarato; blogger, chef, food tour leader, and an unofficial ambassador for the city of Venezia.

Rick Zullo · Visiting Venice with Monica Cesarato – FCI 047

But the dream of visiting Venice was interrupted for many by the global pandemic. Cancelled flights, scrapped itineraries, and alas, broken dreams. Perhaps more like a nightmare for the Venetians themselves who rely on the tourist industry as major source of the local economy.

The good news? It’s coming back in 2022! As of this writing, Carnevale is underway!

Monica dissects this discussion for us, talks about some other current events in the city (like the MOSE initiative to combat the high water), and shares many tips about visiting Venice beyond the standard 1-day/10-hour tour-de-force. If all you see is the worn path from the train station to the Rialto Bridge to Saint Marks Square and back, well, then you haven’t seen the real Venice at all. You’ve had a rushed visit through a museum, not an encounter with a living, breathing city. A missed opportunity of a lifetime.

In this episode we talk mostly about Venice tourism in general, and the current post-pandemic state of affairs. But Monica is publishing a book on cicchetti, the Venetian version of tapas, I suppose, by one definition. That discussion will take place on my other platform dedicated to food, Eat Like an Italian. So stay tuned for an update on that, which will be live in early April, in anticipation of her book launch.

I’ve mentioned it before: Venice holds a special place for me. I spent about 7-8 weeks there in the spring of 2010, and I recall it as the most tranquil period in my adult life.

It was a real pleasure to travel through La Serenissima once again with the guidance of Monica.

Monica Cesarato – Your Guide for Visiting Venice at her best

Grazie a Monica for being such a gracious guest, full of both knowledge and love for her city. It’s contagious. After listening to her I’m sure you’ll be researching your next trip to this one-of-a-kind magical place! But in the meantime…

Visit her website at MonicaCesarato.com

We're visiting Venice with Monica Cesarato, blogger, chef, food tour leader, and an unofficial ambassador for the city. We talk about the current state of tourism in the post-pandemic era, and she tells us about a few sites that aren't on the typical tourist itinerary. Ciao! (and yes, that's a Venetian word)

It’s October, and every year I find myself reflecting—and maybe scratching my head a little bit—about the connection between Columbus and Italian Heritage Month. At first glance, the connection seems obvious enough. But it’s my contention that if we dive a little deeper into this discussion, the relationship gets cloudier.

Rick Zullo · Columbus and Italian Heritage Month – FCI 046

These thoughts first occurred to me several years ago when I was passing through Genova, Christopher’s hometown in the Liguria region of Northwest Italy. Ever since then there’s been this nagging question that I can’t quite reconcile.

Here it is in a nutshell: If most Italian-Americans trace their roots to Southern Italy (ex. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies), why do they identify so strongly with a historical figure that came from a different country (The Maritime Republic of Genoa) 350 years before the unification of Italy? Two different political entities, two different cultures, two different languages. Not to mention that his famous expedition was funded under the flag of Spain.

I’m I the only one who finds this connection misplaced and a bit odd?

Columbus and Italian Heritage – Related Topics

During the podcast, I also reflected on a visit to Little Italy in Manhattan several years ago. Interestingly, this was a three day stop-off as I traveled from Italy to my home in Florida, so I had a fresh perspective having just spent the entire summer in the Old Country. Which might explain my “reverse culture shock” when, during my stroll down Mulberry Street, I couldn’t find a decent cannolo or a single person that spoke any Italian. (There is an excellent Italian American Museum, however.)

And I’m often confused about the tendency of some Italian-Americans to exalt fictional mafia characters like Don Corleone or Tony Soprano. This was on my mind recently as I watched the new HBO movie, “The Many Saints of Newark,” which premiered, NOT coincidently on the first day of Italian Heritage Month.

Side note: a few minutes into the movie, I realized that the title comes from the main character’s last name, Moltisanti, who happens to live in Newark. The story is mostly about him, Dickie Moltisanti and his family, so the title could have been “The Moltisanti’s of Newark,” but interestingly the producer chose to translate his last name to English. I’ll give him points for cleverness on that.

Anyway, this sort of ties into what I was saying earlier. I often find these tedious discussions on Facebook about fictional mafia characters, attempts to translate “Italian” words (which are almost always a bastardized mixture of dialect and nonna’s pidgin-English), and the great debate between “sauce” and “gravy.” (The correct answer: it’s neither of those; it’s sugo.)

Evert October I find myself reflecting—and maybe scratching my head a little bit—about the connection between Columbus and Italian Heritage Month. At first glance, the connection seems obvious enough. But it’s my contention that if we dive a little deeper into this discussion, the relationship gets cloudier.

My Cheap Italian Home … I first discovered this resource on Instagram and I knew right away that I needed to interview the two women responsible on my podcast. After being holed-up in my Florida townhouse for the last 14+ months due to the coronavirus, my dreams of returning to Italy grow more vivid every day.Today I’m speaking with Michelle and Kristina from My Cheap Italian Home. So what makes my (and YOUR) dreams even more exciting, is that their website, Instagram, and most of all, newsletter, puts these dreams within reach. In other words, cheap. Cheap enough for most anyone to afford. My Cheap Italian HomeMichelle and Kristina started My Cheap Italian Home during the thick of the pandemic, and now it has organically found a small life of its own. Their Instagram account has about 40k followers now, and a worldwide community of subscribers. Here's a taste...

But the REAL fun is their weekly newsletter. I'll let them explain:

We want to help Italy lovers create their dream and feel like they are more connected to Italy. We are super interactive with our subscribers, and they really look to us as their friends in Italy. They know they will get genuine advice from us while also having lots of fun. Like a mini vacation to Italy delivered weekly to their inbox!"

Rick Zullo · My Cheap Italian Home with Kristina and Michelle - FCI 045Listen to our conversation here on the my website (above), or in your favorite podcast player. Some of our talking points:* How/why did you start this business?* What’s included in the weekly newsletter?* What about all of those articles about the $1 houses?* What are your criteria for selecting properties to be featured?* What should people watch out for?* How has the housing market in Italy changed during this Covid period?* Are there any new “hot” areas that everyone is talking about?Michelle & Kristina„Michelle ‧ Interior DesignerMy professional background has always been in interior design. When my husband and I met we found we shared the same passion for finding old beautiful homes that so desperately needed a new life.And over the years I am proud to say we have loved and saved more homes than I can count. From beach houses on the Gulf of Mexico to old colonials in New England, even a 16th century monastery in Ireland.We have been off and on in Italy for over 10 years...now we are fulltime in Tuscany and it is magnificent.„Kristina ‧ Property Manager23 years ago I came to Italy from Australia for a break after a long stint in Corporate IT. I was tired, stressed and burnt out at just 27.As the date to leave Italy was looming and being a dual citizen, I decided to stay. Just like that.I have been mainly in property management since arriving a...

My Cheap Italian Home is a house hunting platform for expats dreaming of the beautiful life in Italy. Great deals to be found!