BENVENUTI! Welcome to the blogging lair of Tom Weber, aka The Palladian Traveler.
This is an eclectic site devoted to the pursuit of happiness — actually la dolce vita (the sweet life) — from within the borders of Italy and, occasionally, beyond.
Tom traded his hometown St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball cap in the United States for a Borsalino and he now hangs his cappello in the Puglia region of southeastern Italy, where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas embrace, centuries-old olive trees thrive and the quintessential Mediterranean diet contents.
A veteran print and broadcast journalist, with well-worn passports that have taken him to 50 countries and counting, Tom fell in love with the Bel Paese years ago. As he notes, “I’m inspired by the beauty I find in all things that are very, very old, and reliving history, or at least meandering along cobblestone and travertine streets that were laid down ages ago and just looking up and marveling at what occupies the space still today, really gets my ‘Vespa‘ running.”
Tom has a good eye behind the lens and is a graphic storyteller, but he’ll let you decide as he keeps his camera batteries fully charged and the dispatches flowing from his creative hideaway up in the hills just outside Ostuni — la Città Bianca (the White City).
A card-carrying member of the International Travel Writers Alliance (ITWA), you can also follow Tom at TravelingBoy.com, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
Now that you know who he is and why he’s here in the blogosphere, perhaps you’ll accept his open invitation to join him as he meanders along the cobblestone and travertine to somewhere.
Ciao for now.
©The Palladian Traveler
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beautiful header pic. 🙂
L2T — Keep viewing my blog as I change out the header pic often. I believe the one you mentioned — the colorful port-side scene of Procida — has sailed and there’s a new one in place.
yeah.. i can see that.. again another lovely panoramic header..
I am so happy to have found you.
Hi Tom,
I’m a journalist at The Local Italy (www.thelocal.it). We’re interesting in featuring you in an online article, please can you get in touch?
Thanks!
Rosie — I replied to you separately via email. Fra poco.
Nice to meet you. I can see why you came to stay in this lovely place.
Thanks Patti. Nice 2 meet you, 2. 🙂
Hi Tom — I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award – you can view it at http://whipadish.wordpress.com/my-awards/ – you can do absolutely nothing about it – but I thought you deserved the award.
I love your blog and am very much inspired by your photography which are absolutely stunning!
Maureen
Maureen — Sorry, but I’m running an awards-free blog now. I do appreciate the gesture though. Many thanks for the rave review on my photography. It’s very much appreciated.
No worries! I really love your log and am very inspired by it. Will keep coming back! 😀
Ok.
Hi Tom,
I’m an Austin, TX architect and writer looking to visit additional Palladian villas in September and am looking for a reasonably priced guide to provide access to villas I’ve not yet visited. I’d like to do a quick tour of several. I normally rent a car on my own, but I’m thinking for some of the more obscure villas that a guide might be more efficient. I also am looking for an inspiring, but reasonably priced, place to rent for about a week in and/or around Vicenza, a place where writing about villas would be facilitated! I had hoped to stay at Villa Ghislanzoni, but they don’t have my available dates. I follow and love your blog very much and hope that you don’t mind me contacting you—in case you have a suggestion or two? Grazie mille!
Darlene — I would suggest you contact the Ville Venete Network, an association under the government agency Regione del Veneto (Veneto Region). Here’s the website: http://www.villevenete.net/portalVV/faces/public/viven/. Select “en” in the upper righthand corner for English, then go to the Personalized Offer page from the homepage and fill out a request form indicating what you’d like to see and do. They’ll reply with a proposal. Let me know how it turns out.
Grazie mille, Tom!
Figurati!
Great to see Maddie is growing. Thanks for posting the photo of her and her folks. Tell them I said Hello! Still in SoCal but trying to leave for La by year’s end.
Hey Rick. Keep me posted on your move to Luziana. House sold? Shoot me a note on gmail and fill me in.
What a wonderful discovery this site is! We just returned from two weeks discovering Italy between Venice and Trieste as well as north into the SudTirol and Val di Non at apple-harvest time. What a trip! I’m sorry we didn’t have your wonderful commentary before we left. I’m enjoying it now – and it’s bringing back the not-yet-jelled memories of our trip. AND making me think about next time… Thanks so much for sharing. Carol E.
Carol — I’m currently up in the Trentino-Alto Adige Region among the Brenta Dolomites. Thanks for meandering along the cobblestone to somewhere with me. Don’t be a stranger. TPT
I do hope that you will accept your nomination for the Blog of The Year 2013 Award
You can find out all about it via this link
http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/2013/11/07/blog-of-the-year-my-2013-award-winners/
And Many Congratulations! xxx
Alysan & Dave — Appreciate the 2013 BOY nom, but my blog became “badge free” a while back. Thanks just the same.
no worries!
Very happy to have discovered your blog. It looks like you have a wonderful life, roaming up and own the beautiful ‘boot’. Look forward to reading more.
Thanks very much, Michelle & Katie. Glad you enjoyed my post from your neck of the woods. I’ll be “ruining” your landscape for the next couple of days. 🙂
Tom
My grandfather was born in Spilimbergo, just outside Treviso. I hope to visit there later this year. Can you direct me to specific things/places “not to be missed” in that area? Thank you. John.
Hi John — There’s a lot to see and do around Spilimbergo, one of 20 “Jewels of Italy.” Here’s a great tourist site on your nonno’s hometown and places near your roots in the Friuli Venezia Giulia: http://www.turismofvg.it/Locality/Spilimbergo. You’ll be close to Gorizia (the Nice of the Adriatic), Trieste, Belluno, the Dolomites, and great wines from the Colli. The list is endless. Sorry, Treviso’s a bit of a hike down into the Veneto. Mandi!
Just found you today, look forward to reading much more 🙂
Anna — Now that you’ve found me, I hope you’ll visit often.
of course 🙂
Tom, I spent some time at the website you recommended for Spilimbergo. Thank you. I also discovered 26 people living there with my maternal grandfather’s surname. Things could get very interesting! I enjoy your blogs and photos and wish you continued joy along the cobbles.
John
John — Interesting is good. Enjoy following your family tree back to Spilimbergo. Glad I was able to assist. Mandi!
Hello. My name is Dante Liberatore. My brothers & I own Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering in Maryland. Every three years I invite guets to join me to a tour of Italy…It’s a great adventure for all of us. Could I email you to get a few do not miss restaurants & hidden jewels from you??
Our trip is in Mid-August for 13 days. Rome-Lucca-Firenze-Abruzzo( where my mom & dad were born & raised)-Amalfi Coast & back to Rome
Look fwrd to your response.
Thx
Dante — Email me the specifics and I’ll put on my thinking cap.
Can’t wait to read more of your posts, love your writing style 🙂
Thanks very much. Glad to have you meandering with me.
I nominated you for a Liebster Award and realized you’d already been nominated!
Anthro — I no longer participate in blogger “badges,” but thanks just the same!
I was in Italy last year. I wish I’d found your blog then! (And no, I wasn’t asking you to badge. Just wanted to tell you I recognize your all-around excellence!)
Thanks again!
Hey Tom: Marcolan Torcolato … How about a review please! Thank you, Cesarino
Haven’t see a post from you for some time. Just checking to see that everything’s OK and you’re just too busy having a wonderful time to post.
janet
I’m alive and well and out on the road a lot with little time to chronicle what I’ve been up to lately. Stay tuned for a post hitting the street shortly.
Hi Tom,
My name is Nadine, and I work for InterNations.org, maybe you have already heard of us? If not, with over 1.4 Million members, InterNations is the no.1 worldwide community for expats and global minds, offering its members the opportunity to network, socialize and find expat-relevant information online and offline.
The reason I am contacting you is that your blog about living in Italy as an expat through your unique international point of view would fit just wonderfully in our Recommended Expat Blogs Italy Section! I really like your blog and I am sure that our members would love having access to it.
If you are interested in having your blog featured on our website (InterNations.org) or have any other questions please let me know!
I hope to hear from you soon and have a great day!
Best regards,
Nadine
Nadine — I’ll reply via email.
Where can I find a recipe for Bigoli that I read about on ITALIAN NOTEBOOK.COM? Thank you.
Joan — Refer to my article on ItalianNotebook, the recipe’s there. Also, click on my blog link: http://thepalladiantraveler.com/good-chefs/bigoli-al-tastasale/
Wait, you’re American?!!!
Yep!
Greetings from Columbia, Missouri. I just recently stumbled upon your site and want to tell you how much I enjoy it—photos and writing. Lucky and courageous you that you and your wife have built a house in Italy! Living there always has been my dream, as well; however, at this point I think I’ll have to settle for trips to and fro for the rest of my life. I’ve spent time in all of Italy’s regions, including Sardinia and Sicily, but have traveled through Puglia only to get to Greece. I hope to visit there on my next trip; I’ve always intended to explore that area; It sounds wonderful— and I know the food is. Your photos and stories give me more incentive.
We have lots in common. I was born in St. Louis, grew up 60 miles west of there and graduated from the journalism school at UMC in ’74. You aren’t Tom Gianella, by any chance, are you? He was a fellow classmate and photographer. I’ve been in love with Italy since 1970, when I first studied Italian at the university with a prof from Sicily. My first trip was in 1972 and I’ve been back nine times since. I studied cooking with Marcella Hazan in 1980 in Bologna and have spent a life in cooking and chasing good food around the world. Lived in Portland, Oregon twice, but ended up back in Missouri. Worked in publications all my life—writing, editing, photographing and designing for books and magazines. Also cooked Italian food in Portland at a fresh-pasta shop. Wrote a cookbook in 2011. Started and led the Slow Food chapter here for 13 years. Loved every minute of that, and went to the international Slow Food meeting, Terra Madre, in Torino in 2010. Now I’m retired and spend time cooking, gardening, traveling—and lately— writing and calling lots of legislators! Took a “History of the Mafia” course last year at the university. Taught by a historian/friend who lived in Sicily and did her doctoral work there. It was fascinating.
Anyway, just wanted to give you a shout, and say thanks for documenting life in Puglia. Perhaps our paths will cross some day, the next time John and I are in Italy!
Bernadette
Bernadette — Happy to have a fellow Missourian following my blog. Best to you with your future travel plans.