Dolce Far Niente
The importance of downtime.
I have fully embraced doing nothing! This summer, the heat has made me slow down even more. Like most Italians, we try to run errands in the morning and then return home to close all the windows of the house to keep it cooler inside. Naps are essential to avoid heat stroke. I thought I was going to pass out the other day while walking around my village with some guests.
I prepare a quick, leisurely lunch and then close myself in my bedroom, with the A/C running and a fan.
I picked the perfect time to retire.
I had no idea what life was going to look like when I “retired”. So many people told me I couldn’t or wouldn’t retire, but stepping away from “work” has been a gradual set of choices to arrive here. First, I closed my school in 2015, when my husband had cancer, and I switched to culinary touring. This spring, I ran my last tours. Several events have led me to retirement. The crowds in the larger cities have been overwhelming. Florence, Rome, and Venice. In the past few years, I concentrated more on Sicily and Puglia, which are regions less frequently traveled by mass tourism.
Getting older is another reason, and my health is another concern. I had two surgeries during COVID. A surgery removing a lipoma from my leg, which has continued to give me problems on and off. The other was for cancer, which luckily went well. I need to slow down. I have many projects I am working on. Tour planning for clients. Research and writing for my newsletter.
Italians talk about the dolce far niente, which is translates to the “sweetness of doing nothing”. My friend Sophie Minchilli wrote a book on it.
“Nothing” doesn’t mean “nothing”, but rather embracing the act of slowing down and living life. It’s not being bored, but rather taking time to do nothing as a benefit and allowing time to be creative.
It’s not having FOMO, “the fear of missing out”.
I have so many wonderful memories of traveling to research my tours and then sharing them with my clients. Now, I dream of returning to some of my favorite places on my own and slowing down even further. That is a gift to myself—the time to think, plan, and dream. It’s not all aperitivos and riding Vespas around town.
To me, it’s taking time to stop for coffee and catch up on local news, reaching out to friends, and spending time listening without rushing, and just sitting in a piazza and eavesdropping on everyday life going on around you or reading a book sitting in the garden or at the beach under an umbrella.
At this point in our lives, we have moved to the countryside. Life takes on a new pace, which is less stressful.
Summer meals
I get up early and do any cooking I may want to prepare. Mostly, this is a no-cooking summer. Italians have it down to an art form.
Prosciutto and Melon
Mozzarella and Pomodoro
Carpaccio
Prepared foods like porchetta or marinated fish
Tons of fruit
Tomato salads in hundreds of ways.
Gelato and Granita
This month’s recipe is from Sicily. A simple dessert, easy to make with little time on the stove, but it is served chilled. The original jello!
