And a Special Thanksgiving Pie!

Every week on the Flavor of Italy Podcast, we explore the food, wine, history, landscapes, and everyday stories that shape life in Italy. But every now and then, a moment calls for reflection — and today is one of those days.

Because today, Tuesday, November 25, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It’s a global day of awareness and remembrance, but here in Italy it carries deep cultural, social, and historical significance.

And yet this week is also Thanksgiving week — a time of cooking, gathering, connection, and gratitude, especially for my listeners in the United States. So today’s post brings both worlds together: reflection and celebration, activism and nourishment, Italy and the Thanksgiving table.

My Italian Winter Table Recipe E-Book Is Here!

Tomorrow, I’m releasing something I’ve been working on quietly — a brand-new recipe e-book titled My Italian Winter Table Recipe Collection. You’ll find 19 delicious, approachable dishes I rely on in my own kitchen here in Rome and in Riano — for Sunday lunches with friends, holiday meals, or simple dinners at home with just me and my husband.

Update Wednesday November 26: It’s available exclusively here now.

And for Substack subscribers, there will be a limited-time Black Friday discount of 30%, valid only for a few days — a thank-you for reading, cooking, and being part of the Flavor of Italy community.

The purchase link will arrive Wednesday 26 at 7pm CET in the Substack newsletter — so keep an eye out!

A Thanksgiving Dessert You’ll Want Forever

If you’re still deciding on a Thanksgiving dessert, here’s one that will absolutely steal the show: Weidmann’s Black Bottom Pie.

It’s a layered beauty — a gingernut crust, a silky chocolate filling, and a light, bourbon-kissed topping. Elegant, nostalgic, unexpected, and a refreshing change from pumpkin or pecan. Most ingredients are probably already in your pantry — just be sure to pick up gingersnaps, a good unsweetened chocolate bar, and a splash of bourbon.

I’ll be sharing the full recipe tomorrow in the Substack newsletter — don’t miss it!

November 25 in Italy — A Day of Remembrance & Responsibility

The United Nations officially recognized November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 1999. The date honors three Dominican sisters — Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal — who were assassinated in 1960 for resisting dictatorship. Their story has become a universal symbol of resistance to gender oppression.

Globally, one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. The numbers vary country to country, but the human impact is universal.

Italy is no exception. More than 100 women are killed here each year, most by current or former partners. Many more experience emotional, psychological, financial, or digital abuse — harm that leaves no visible bruises but long-lasting wounds.

Recognizing this truth doesn’t diminish Italy — it’s part of the country’s effort to confront, study, and change it.

Red bench -Nov. 25 — Photo credit: Di PROPOLI87 - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94208745

How Italy Observes November 25

Living in Rome, I see firsthand how the city approaches this day.

Last weekend, Non Una di Meno, Italy’s largest feminist movement, led a march from Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza di Porta San Giovanni. Thousands joined — students, parents, teachers, activists, neighbors — a reminder that gender-based violence affects entire communities.

Throughout the city, there are initiatives, conversations, performances, art installations, and educational events.

The Facciamo Luce campaign is hosting author talks and discussions at Mondadori Bookstore in Piazza Cola di Rienzo and inside Galleria Alberto Sordi.
At the Casa delle Donne, Rome’s longtime feminist cultural center, workshops continue through November 27.
Several cinemas are screening My Name is Nevenka, a Spanish film about the first woman to publicly accuse a politician of workplace sexual harassment.
Tonight, the Farnesina, Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will glow orange as part of the UN’s “Orange the World” initiative.

And throughout Rome, you’ll notice panchine rosse — red benches dedicated to women who have been killed. Several new benches are being inaugurated this week, often requested by schools or neighborhood groups. They are not just memorials — they are reminders.

On buses, metros, and trams, the national anti-violence hotline number 1522 is displayed — free, multilingual, confidential, and available 24/7.

Similar observances are happening across Italy — in Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Naples, Palermo, and beyond.

A Significant Step Forward in Italian Law

This week, Italy’s lower house of parliament unanimously approved a bill that redefines sexual assault by centering consent — meaning sex without consent would legally be considered rape, even without physical force or threats.

The bill now moves to the Senate, but the vote itself represents a milestone — a cultural, legal, and linguistic shift. It acknowledges what survivors and experts have long known: coercion comes in many forms.

Lina Merlin — A Woman Italy Should Honor Forever

As we mark this day, it feels right to remember a woman who changed Italy long before November 25 existed.

Lina Merlin was born in 1887 near Padova. She was a schoolteacher, an anti-fascist resistor, a constitutional writer, and ultimately the senator responsible for one of Italy’s most transformative gender-rights laws.

After World War II, she was elected to the Assemblea Costituente — the body that drafted the Italian Constitution — and fought fiercely to ensure gender equality was written into it.

Her most defining legacy came in 1958 with Legge Merlin, which abolished state-regulated brothels in Italy. For ten years she was mocked, dismissed, and told her proposals were unnecessary — but she persisted, calmly, intelligently, and relentlessly.

Her work didn’t just change laws — it changed the cultural lens through which Italy viewed women, rights, bodies, and dignity.

Lina Merlin died in 1979, but her impact continues — and on November 25, her name deserves to be spoken.

If You Need Help in Italy

Call 1522 — the national anti-violence and stalking hotline
Free, multilingual, confidential, available 24/7

More information: https://www.1522.eu

Wishing You a Beautiful Thanksgiving

Wherever you are — Rome, the U.S., or somewhere in between — I hope this week brings warmth, connection, gratitude, and something delicious on the table.

And tomorrow in my Substack Newsletter https://wendyholloway.substack.com/subscribe, don’t miss:
✅ the release of My Italian Winter Table Recipe Collection
✅ the 30% Black Friday discount for Substack subscribers
✅ the Weidmann’s Black Bottom Pie recipe