The Legend of the Black Rooster (Gallo Nero)

Picture this: You’re at a picnic table in a hilltop town in the beautiful hills of with a bottle of Chianti Classico wine. As you take your first sip, you mouth explodes with a variety of spices and the taste of fresh red fruits. While this wine is perfectly light to go with fatty Italian meats, it is full of a rich history. 

You may have noticed that some wine bottles here in Chianti are marked with what the Italian's call Gallo Nero. Curious the meaning behind this symbolic black rooster?

photo by kelsey gibson

The black rooster has been a symbol of power, victory, and pride for the Florentines since the 1200s. Siena and Florence were in constant dispute over their territories, but when the rich soil of the Chianti region was up for debate, both sides were willing to race for it. Both Siena and Florence each got to pick one horseman and one rooster. While Siena chose a plump white rooster that was well-fed and nurtured, the Florentines picked a black rooster deprived of both food and daylight.

Once each side chose their rooster, the rules were determined. On the morning of the race, the horseman could begin to ride when their rooster crowed. Then, wherever the two horsemen met is where they would define boundaries.

photo by kelsey gibson

Here’s the exciting part: the night before the race, the horsemen were ready to go…all that was between them and riding for victory was the simple sound of their rooster’s call in the morning. As the anxiety built up throughout night and even before the morning light, the black rooster, hungry and sleep deprived, crowed well before Siena’s rooster giving the Florentine rider an extravagant head start. On the other side, the white rooster with a full belly woke up much later from a deep sleep and caused Siena to lose much time and land. By the actual time the two horsemen met, Florence had conquered almost all of the land in the Chianti region and won it over Siena.

Ever since this day, the black rooster has become a well-known symbol for great quality wine and Florentine victory.

So, Salute to Chianti, Florence, and of course… the Black Rooster!

Want to try some fabulous wines? Then Join one of our trip or let us plan a trip for you!

Traveling Abroad with Your Family: 13 Quick Tips To Save You Time and Money!

Guest Post By: Jenna Greenspoon and Lisa Korbin, Owners of Savvy Sassy Moms

Family vacations are such a special time and being able to take our families around the world is something we are so grateful for. We both began traveling with our kids when they were young, as young as 6 weeks old.

While traveling with young kids is amazing, preparing for the trip brings on lots of anxiety! What to bring and how much, where to begin?! Over the years, we have compiled a list to assist us in acclimatizing our children to time differences, climate changes, and combating boredom.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL ITALIAN STYLE | WOMEN'S AMALFI COAST TOUR 2015

1. Get plenty of rest before your trip. Often times a family excursion is exhausting, you may be on the go for most of your travel and you can’t count on sleeping on the plane with children in tow!

2. Preparation and organization are key to successful travel with children. Select travel bags that have multiple pockets, keep games and activities in the front compartments for easy access. Ensure all of your children’s favourite items are in those front pockets! And don’t forget to leave room for the additional clothes you are wearing that may need to be thrown into the bags.

3. Load up on dollar store items such as; no-mess crafts and activities, water painting, scratch away crafts, sticker books with loads of stickers and notebooks.

"Buying small inexpensive activities at the dollar store will provide entertainment without breaking the bank, since you’ve attributed all extra funds to the trip itself!"

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL ITALIAN STYLE

4. Where are you traveling to? Consider what can be purchased there or ordered ahead of time to arrive at your destination such as diapers, wipes and other children’s items that you may need. This will save space!

"Ask your children to help you pack. This way they know where everything is and hopefully good packing skills will be instilled when they have to pack for themselves later on! "

5. Ask your children to help you pack. This way they know where everything is and hopefully good packing skills will be instilled when they have to pack for themselves later on! For the little ones, have them select 2 or 3 toys that they want to bring along so that they when they arrive, they know what has come from home.

6. Pack outfits in order to eliminate unnecessary clothing. Try not to throw anything in at the last minute, it will probably never be worn.

7. For young kids, pack their clothes in outfits as well and put them in big ziploc bags to save space in your suitcase!

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAVVY SASSY MEDIA

8. Pack snacks that are easy to travel with and containers that are reusable and easy to clean. You will be grateful to have snack containers with you on your trip!

9. Dress in layers for travel. It may be hot in the morning but the second you board the plane or are in the car for prolonged periods of time, you may be cold. If you are traveling to a warm climate, you will immediately want to enjoy the warm weather and shed a few layers upon arrival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRAVEL ITALIAN STYLE

10. Bring travel wet-wipes to keep your hands clean. Your children will be touching everything and so is everyone else. Travel tissues are also a good thing to have on hand!

11. Do not wear anything white on the plane, in the car or at anytime with children on your trip!

12. Make sure that anything important, such as medications, are packed in your carry-on bag. You will never know when you will need it.

13. If you are traveling with young children, make sure to make any arrangements for items needed such as a crib or car seat, ahead of time. Call the place you are staying and be specific about what you need!

"Most importantly, remember the Italian mentality: Take a deep breath, enjoy your time with your family and have fun!"

Meet the Authors |
Featured Guest Bloggers: Lisa & Jenna 

With a strong foundation in childhood education and a driving passion for their work and families, Lisa and Jenna are both prepared and looking forward to the next phase of their lives as working moms. Using their experience as mothers and educators, they will do their best to share their knowledge, the love of learning, and a wealth of valuable personal experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly – in dedication to the pursuit of happy, healthy families everywhere and creating a worldwide (and web) community of savvy, sassy moms.

Be sure to check out more on Lisa and Jenna at SavvySassyMoms.com, an online style magazine for moms. 

Inspiring Travel Stories: Erica Virvo

Interview and Written by Halie Taylor

Read one women's story about passion for travel and the change it is bringing to the world!

Over the years, we are seeing more and more of the  travel industry giving back. Those who use this privilege of traveling to inspire, motivate and help others with this same dream. We are lucky enough here at TIS to be surrounded by many just like this--Erica Virvo is one of those amazing, generous and bright spirited people.

Photo courtsey of erica virvo

Erica had gone into college  to study interior design in Virginia, her thoughts were to lead an average life in an average town.

It wasn't until one day that she woke up realizing she was set to do something special in this world, something bigger and she wanted to do this through travel.

Her immediate thought was to  join the Peace Corps. However, with a desire to complete her degree, she chose an alternative option. Instead she packed her bags and moved to Qatar, a location where she can continue her university credits and also learn about the world.

 "Traveling to Qatar changed my life and was one of the main things that set things in motion for me as a volunteer and a traveler."

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

From here Erica was more inspired than ever. Soon after her move to Qatar, Erica took a spring break trip to Cambodia with a volunteer group.

Falling in love with Cambodia, Erica then tried to take up residency in the country and teach English. However, with this desire not working out she was left with the question that many of us face when plans don’t work out, “what’s next?”

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. 

-Walt Disney

Instead of giving up when she didn't find a job in Cambodia, Erica lived her dream by venturing to rural Thailand to live with host family and volunteer teaching English to high schoolers. Then eventually she found herself in South Korea teaching English as a job. After traveling half way around the world at this point, she came to a realization.

She was not just traveling, she was learning and growing with others. Erica was loving every minute of this experience and knew she needed to take this gift of hers to the next level!

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

The adventure that followed South Korea was what changed her path. The money saved by teaching in South Korea was put towards a program with an international learning center located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

In this program, Erica spent 6 months in the Caribbean learning and living the culture of the town. Experiences ranged form working on a farm, cleaning up beaches, teaching in local schools and most importantly how to live in an area without running water or electricity.

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

These 6 months were all preparation for the time Erica spent in Zambia, where she traveled to next. In Zambia, life started to make sense. Everything she learned was bursting through with passion, love and light.

She was finally able to use all the skills developed over the years of travel to be a change of world to these people. And by people we mean, those of all ages, from 4 to 94 years. Erica was now one with the community!

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away"
-Picasso

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

Although her time ended in Zambia, she knew what had to come next--find an organization to continue to help her new family. An organization that would give them hope and light, even if she was back home--this is when she found  Charity: Water.

charity: water is a non-profit organization that provides clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Founded by Scott Harrison in 2006,this organization has helped fund 19,819 projects in 24 countries, benefiting over 6.1 million people.

Photo courtesy of Erica

An amazing factor of this organization is that not only is it helping those in need, it is also changing how the charities work. Their ability to bring about fast, lasting, measurable results, recruit reliable and honorable volunteers, as well show authentic love for the cause, is what makes Erica so proud to support and encourages others to donate to this foundation!  Best part: 100% of every donation goes directly to the field (they have consistent private donors that cover the organization's overhead), they primarily rely on local experts and partnerships, and they prove every project (you get an email with the GPS coordinates of the well you contributed to so you can see it on Google maps - or go visit it yourself!)

This tribe is what brings Erica to life!

"We are told so much about how life is, but if you don’t see thing for yourself you don’t truly know."
-Erica Virvo

Photo courtesy of Erica Virvo

Erica continues to purse her passion of travel within her career as she currently holds the  position of Director of Global Operations with Nomadic Matt. The wonderful part of her job is that she also gets to give back by working on Nomadic Matt's non-profit Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education, which sends American high school classes on educational trips overseas to bring their learning to life.  You may be familiar with them because we at TIS partner with FLYTE by donating 2% of our profits to the foundation!

Erica is one of those amazing women that will continue to inspire others to believe that if you can dream it, you can do it and when you do it--give back to those in need!

Point to take away: Live with passion and see how life only gets better each journey at a time...

If you would like to be a apart of Erica's journey we encourage you to donate to charity: water on her behalf!

For her upcoming birthday she is raising money for to bring clean water to rural areas of the world.  She was inspired to do this after she learned that her wonderful host family just lost a very special member of their family. Shaddy was just 4 years old. To contact Erica or to get more information on donating simply click on this link for more information.

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Halie is the Travel Marketing Trends Coordinator for Travel Italian Style and is currently a senior at College of Charleston in Charleston, SC where she is majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Living in Charleston, Halie developed a love for beautiful scenery and unique culture. This love led her to her passion for travel which allows her to discover beautiful scenery and unique cultures in places all over the world. When she is not daydreaming about her next traveling adventure she can be found redoing warn out furniture found on the side of the road, writing fiction and attempting Pinterest crafts.