A first in many ways. My mother's very first trip outside the United States, ever! My first trip to Italy. Our first visit to the small hilltop farming community that my maternal grandfather left a hundred years ago, for the hoped-for greener pastures of America. Our first visit to the city of song that my paternal grandparents escaped from, and now I know why - Naples is a tough, crazy place, that makes Rome look like a convent in comparison. And they're proud of that...

Fantastic journey back in time for three displaced Italian-Americans - my brother Mark, my mother Angela and myself. This visit also coincided with the epochal 2000 Millenium Jubilee, which as any good Catholic knows, is a BIG deal, and Roma herself was filled to the gills with Americanos, left and right.

Mountains, lush valleys, verdant farmlands, historic and cultural heritage, coastal waterways, religious icons - Italy amazes, overwhelmes, envelopes and satisfies all senses. Pity so little time to open all the senses to what she has to offer.