Le Nonne

While they are not behind the desk, nonne (grandmothers) in many ways direct at least six of the hotels we love most, and where we book so often for you.  They are seen often however checking over rooms, fussying over details in the hotel dining room or helping their middle aged children, who officially are the managers.  These are all four and five star hotels.

We celebrate nonne often when we confirm a cook for your villa or a cooking class : our experience is that more often than not, your cooking teacher will be a nonna.  

Nearly every restaurant we recommend and book for you is family owned, and more often than not there is a nonna either cooking or a retired cook/nonna somewhere in the background.  One outstanding example is in Ceglie, in Puglia. The 93 year old nonna is the cook.  Her ebullient son, who is 30 years younger, is the maitre and owner. He is the first to say that the restaurant is really all hers, and his substantial paunch indicates that for six decades Nonna has fed her son well.

Nonne serve essential roles in Italian society : the repository of a profoundly rich and varied regional culinary tradtiion, a connection with Italy’s pre World War 2 past, the child caretakers of choice for a whole generation of young Italian parents. Nonne (and nonni too) seem to power the economy — it is they that allow daughters of small children to go back to work, as they look after their grandchildren.  Nonne collect children after school. Nonne take children to the seaside when school ends. Nonne treat nipotini to their after school gelato.

A nonna began Insider’s Italy with me.

Nonne are busy all across Italy today, preparing for the immediate days of feasting that come soon : the seafood feast that is traditional on Christmas Eve, Christmas lunch, and for the family feast of Santo Stefano (December 26).  Nonne will be back in action on New Year’s Eve (perhaps), again New Year’s Day (tradition demands quite specific menus for each of these days) and then again on Befana, Epiphany, when good children receive their holiday stockings (Nonna-approved contents.)

Nonne run artisan stores — I buy my linens, jewelry, shoes and jersey knits from nonne whose grandchildren — from babies to adults — are often in the store when I am there too.  Shopping is more like visiting friends who have lovely things to show me, and is one more reason why I own very little that is not Italian made.  Loredana, who has appeared before in my blogs, and grows remarkable vegetables with (nonno) Domenico, is a nonna, whose daughters and grand-daughters are nearly always at hand, trimming vegetables or at work weighing customers’ produce.

A society where nonne are so relevant, so integrated within society and viewed as so precious is a society that is much the richer for it.

Vivono le nonne !