January Newsletter

January in Rome

Dear Reader,

And here we are midway into January and I am reluctantly emerging from my cave to say hello to the new year. I feel like the elusive Orso Marsicano, the Marsican Brown Bear native to Abruzzo, that I saw on a trip to the mountains over the Fall. We stayed in a stone house across from an abandoned garden and at night a big bear would amble down the mountain to stuff herself with apples and quince and quant’altro from the orchard. She moved slowly and surely and looked sleepy, ready for hibernation. Did you know that there are only around 60 Marsican bears in the wild? They are on the endangered list. It was such a treat to have seen one - so rare! The last time I saw a bear was in Yellowstone and I was four. 

the bear at night on her way to the garden

Over the holidays I thought a lot about the bear, imagining her curled up in a leaf-padded den sleeping placidly through the Winter. I envied her instinct to rest. While we humans are still biologically programmed to slow down and rest over the Winter we are not very good at allowing that process. January 1st rolls around and off we go running with a long list of goals and to-do’s, shoving the holidays into over-stuffed bins and boxes until next year. 

In Italy we get an extra week to ease into the new year. On Epiphany the old witch Befana rides in on her broom to close out the 12th Day of Christmas and with that the holiday season, leaving all good children a sprinkling of sweets in their stockings of course. Tradition holds that she also clears out the old and ushers in the new, a symbol of deep wintering and the germination to come in the Spring. 

On my walks these few weeks, I have found myself eyeing dead branches and dry grass that would make a great broom to sweep up a few pending projects this Winter before moving into the Spring. 

bare branches that hold my attention on a walk

Speaking of seasons, as part of my Seasonal Letters from Rome offering I’ll be sending out the Handwritten Winter Letter through the end of January. If you are interested you can order yours here.

January in Rome is lovely, it’s a great time to visit. The crowds are gone, the weather is mild, and bright citrus dangle from trees. The bitter orange trees that line the streets are filled with their winter bounty and make natural ornaments that fit right in with the Roman palette. I’ve been taking way too many photos of the glowing baubles.

May the month of gennaio be gentle on you. Do tell me if you are coming for a visit!

A presto,

M.

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I write memoir and I write letters from Rome, actual physical letters. You can click on the links below to find out more about me and my work. I’d love to send you some mail. Thanks for reading and a presto!