- Cassandra Kramer

Love often strikes when it's least expected.   It knows no cultural boundaries or language barriers.   It may end up as a fling or become more serious.   But when these relationships lead to marriage, joining two cultures is more complicated than simply exchanging wedding vows.  

Every couple has their story.  In the town of Cagli, Italy, two women, one Austrian, one Japanese, took their cultures across borders and around the world to marry their Italian loves.

- more


La Pausa for the Family

- Allyson Carroll

Agata Aguzzi laughs from behind a glass of her grandmother's homemade cherry wine at hearing her father say he would do the dishes if he had to. She wants written proof of his claim. But in Italy, the roles of men and women are becoming less sharply defined. Despite these cultural adjustments, smaller towns such as Cagli still hold one tradition that has experienced little change: the pausa.

- more


All Roads Lead to Home

- Katlyn Massimino

Giampietro Chegai and his wife, Daniela, sit comfortably sipping white wine and enjoying their time together in their small apartment tucked away on a quiet street in Cagli.

It is one of the few moments each week that the couple spend together.

Giampietro, 37, travels each week to Rome, staying Monday through Friday to run his own pest control company, while Daniela, 39, stays at home in Cagli.

"The fact is I get more satisfaction personally," he says of being able to interact with more people on a daily basis, as he lounges on the window ledge and overlooking the narrow street where the couple lives.

- more


Planet Fitness

- Jennifer McGuirl

In the small Italian town of Cagli, men are seen day after day in the Piazza Matteotti on their bicycles or jogging.   Women are never spotted showing off their physical capabilities.   A majority of the women in Cagli are extremely health-conscious; but they choose to work out behind closed doors.   It is the men to be seen strutting their physical fitness throughout the center of town, but on average, more women than men go to the gym each day.  

- more


The Cagli Times

- Anne Carey

Giovanni Bartoli, one of 15,000 inhabitants of Cagli, shares with one other journalist the responsibility to provide the Cagliesi with their news. While it might seem unrealistic for two men to cover so many people, Bartoli's background and involvement in Cagli, make him a perfect match for the town.

Bartoli is in his 70s, and his ancestors have been here for centuries. He was born in the house where he lives in today. He knows nearly everyone in the town.

"I have great love and respect for this town," he says, and because of this love, he holds much pride in the work.

- more


Just Press Pausa

- Anna Youngquist

In a small town nestled in the Apennine Mountains, businesses are closed and activity is scarce- so much that silence resounds through the streets. It looks more like two o'clock in the morning than two o'clock in the afternoon. Where are the Cagliesi? Resting. In a long-standing tradition in Cagli and many small towns across Italy, the town rests from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. In la pausa, Italian for "to pause," businesses close their doors and employees head home to enjoy food and rest with their families.

- more


Spotlight Ferrari - Ferrari Club of Cagli

- Caitlin Rohan

Some people love cars, but the Cagli Scuderia Ferrari Club seems to possess a more intense interest than most car enthusiasts.

  "My love for Ferrari is the same feeling as being in love with a woman: it is passionate," says the Cagli Ferrari Club President Da-Rin "Pol" Apollonio.  

Franco Francogli, a lifetime Cagli resident and fellow Ferrari Club member agrees, excitedly expressing his interest in Ferrari.   "Ferrari is my passion," says Franco.

  Even though these men may be passionate about Ferrari, only four of the total 55 members actually own one of the cars because Ferraris typically cost 300,000 euro, or about $360,000. Some members have had the chance to drive one.   "Driving a Ferrari is not an easy feeling to describe," says Pol. "I felt excited but scared at the same time because I went so fast.   As soon as I stopped, though, I wanted to drive one again."

- more


Don't Spill The Salt

- Magdalena Shellenberger

There is an unspoken rule about pouring wine in Cagli.   Pick up a bottle of wine and pour it backward with the thumb pointing away from you and palm toward the ceiling.   "No, stop, not like that!" you'll hear instantly.

In a town as small as Cagli, which has a history that dates back centuries, it is easy to understand how customs and behaviors can become ingrained in everyday life

- more