Episode 57: “Extra Virginity: the Sublime & Scandalous World of Olive Oil” with Tom Mueller

Eye On Italy

Hosts Sara and Jessica talk about flooding in Italy, Berlusconi’s resignation and what’s next for the Italian government. Then we speak with special guest Tom Mueller about his upcoming book on the “sublime and scandalous world of olive oil.”

Eye on Italy News Stories:

• Changes to the Italian government
  • Berlusconi resigned [see videos of post-resignation celebrations on ItalyChronicles.com]
  • Mario Monti named interim Prime Minister [see What Will Mario Monti Do? and March of the Technocrats on ItalyChronicles.com to find out more about the interim government]
• Flooding & mudslides in Liguria, Tuscany [see story on the damage on the New York Times, Telegraph (with video), & an overview on WhyGo Italy]
  • “A Violent Rain Buries an Italian Friend,” by Rick Steves

Special Guest
Tom Mueller writes for The New Yorker and other publications. He lives in a medieval stone farmhouse surrounded by olive groves in the Ligurian countryside outside of Genoa, Italy. He’s the author of an upcoming book about extra virgin olive oil called Extra Virginity: The Sublime & Scandalous World of Olive Oil.

• Tom’s website: Extra Virginity
• Tom on Twitter as @extravirginity and Extra Virginity on Facebook
• New Yorker article from 2007, Slippery Business

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week:

• Sara: My new book on Amazon Kindle, How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy
  
• Jessica: Donating to the flood relief effort via The Florentine Press; made easy for those not in Italy

Video of the week:

• A walk through Milan’s Central Station [by Jessica]