An Interview with the Slavic Faith Association (by the Odinic Rite)

This was a text interview from either in late 2009 or early 2010, which was not conducted by us, but was published by the Odinic Rite. However, since the OR has removed it from their press service website, and we were able to retrieve it, we wanted to post it here so it would not be lost.

It's so interesting to examine how certain pre-Christian traditions overlapped one another. For example, how the old Gallic paganism (what we call "Cernism") overlapped with Odinism in the north and east or with the British Isles. Also, in this case, how Slavic paganism overlapped with Odinism. There are many common themes and symbols.

One interesting term used by the interviewee was "native believer," or anyone who believes in their specifically ancestral faith. Also interesting is a reference to the Celtic people who lived in Poland in ancient times. Especially around Slenza mountain, as he mentioned. Celtic roots are such a common thread among European peoples, hence the Celtic solar cross found all over from the ancient world.

An Interview with the Slavic Faith Association

OR: What is the name of your organization and what is it’s purpose? What are it’s aims?

SFA: The full and official name of our organization is The West – Slavic Denominational Association “Slavic Faith” (ZZW “Słowiańska Wiara”) but we’re commonly known as “Slavic Faith” or “Slavonic Faith”. Our aim is to deepen our Slavic beliefs, to create a unique philosophy of life and sustain our heritage. Over the past few years we have created an inimitable community of people dedicated to this aims.

OR: When was your organization formed?

SFA: Unofficially the organization was formed nearly 3 years ago. First ideas had been in our minds since about 2004. It took time to find other really devoted neopagans from all around Poland. I became a native-believer about 12 years ego. And I don’t remember such a successful enterprise over the previous decade. This has taught me to be patient.

OR: What are the beliefs of the Slavic Faith?

SFA: Let me quote the first point of the Denomination of Slavic Faith, the most important of our declarations:

“We believe in the Slavic Gods. We believe in the wisdom, goodness and beauty hidden under their countenances. Slavic Gods are the founts of life, power and happiness. Belief in our Gods is the heritage which we continue.”

OR: What are the values of the Slavic Faith?

SFA: The eighth point says:

“We are the defenders of our values, families and community. We defend the right to live on our own territory; we defend the space of our civilization. This duty arises from the most obvious laws of nature.”

The whole 12 paragraphs of Denomination of Slavic Faith is available here:

www.slowianskawiara.pl/wyznanieanglia.html

OR: What are some of the symbols used in Slavic Paganism?

SFA: We have just sent some documents to the polish ministry of internal affairs (MSWiA). these include lists of Slavic pagan symbols. We want to create official documents which specify these symbols and allow us to protect them by law, like the Christian cross, the Star of David or the Crescent. These symbols in most cases have a Solar origin. Some of those aren’t widely known, for e.g. God’s Hands. Picture below:

OR: What is the relevance of the fylfot/swastika to Slavic Paganism? What about the triskelion?

SFA: Of course the swastika was widely known and has been used in Poland for hundreds of years. It has appeared on house ornaments, carvings, costumes. Before World War Two it was even used as an ornament of distinction by some polish corps. But one of the Solar symbols is specially important for us. This symbol is the Swarzyca. A carved Swarzyca symbol appeared in a wall stone on the outside of a collegiate church in Kruszwica (central Poland). We think that this stone block was part of pagan temple from around a thousand years ago.

The Triskelion has also been used in Poland. The Triskelion from the picture below comes from Plock (Central Poland) from the XII century.

OR: What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them?

SFA: During the year we celebrate 5 of the biggest ceremonies in Poland. 4 of them are: the autumnal/ vernal equinox and the summer/winter solstice plus Ancestors Day which is around 1st November.

In addition to these five we also celebrate two more international festivals. The most important celebration in Slovakia is Peruns Day at midsummer and the Mokosz celebration in Czech Republic (autumn).

We also have some special events such as the swearing in of a new member of the association as well as Slavic weddings and many more. The Slavonic Faith organizes them all.

OR: What types of rituals do you perform?

SFA: Every celebration contains different types of rituals, prayers, songs and offerings.

Every stanza, every word, every gesture expressed by the priests (we call them Kaplan) has a deep meaning. It’s all based on mythology and our reflections. There is no place for improvisation. When someone is coming to our ceremony unprepared, he might only see… well I would say “poetic performance” and nothing more. But even for people without the necessary knowledge, those festivals always make a big impression.

OR: How important are your ancestors?

SFA: Two of the most important festivals in our calendar are: Slavic Spring (March equinox) and Ancestors Day. Ancestors are very important indeed and I’m not talking only about our community. For all Polish people, the memories of our ancestors is something extraordinarily important. There were so many thousands of martyrs in our history, that the memories of them are still alive. This has really nothing to compare with Western Europe. 1st November is National Ancestor Day. On this day all Polish people go to the graveyards to light candles on the tombs of relatives. If you could see satellite pictures from Poland on that day, it would looks like the whole country is burning.

OR: How important are your folk (tribe/people)?

SFA: I became a native believer because these things were the most important in my life. My community provides me with an environment where I can be a better person. I want to be a better person to help and to support my community.

OR: How are men and women viewed in Slavic Paganism?

SFA: "Slavic Faith is an Oak (symbol of male element in nature) and Linden (symbol of female element) braided together, it’s family it’s union”. Women and Men have different roles to fulfill. I’m glad there are more and more women in our community every year (it was always less women than men). In this way we pursue the full harmony. Of course we are against mixing up the natural roles of both sexes in society. We’re traditionalist.

OR: What do you believe about death and life after death?

SFA: I must refer again to the Denomination of Slavic Faith:

“We assume that the death of a man ends a certain stage. It is the condition of the transformation into a new form of existence. It is the shedding of the old, exhausted form. The noble and persistent ones will be rewarded with entering into continuously higher and higher levels of existence, more conscious, more significant and closer to the Gods.”

It’s a very complex problem (of course it is), but what we try to avoid is giving people simple answers. This is the Holy Book, read it, do what we tell you and you gonna be saved – at least that is how monotheistic religions work. We don’t know exactly what happens after death. The core of pagan philosophy is to keep trying to understand the world around us. We have to improve our knowledge. If you want achieve something you must refer to your strength and will, you won’t get anything valuable for free. That is why our religion is never gonna be very popular. We don’t give simple answers for everyone.

OR: Are there any sites which are particularly holy to Slavic Paganism? Could you tell us about them?

SFA: There is many of these places. But I wish to tell about one specific place. It’s the Slenza mountain, 30 km south of Wrocław. It is only 718 meters above see level, but it’s an absolutely magical place. It’s the pagan heart of Poland. It’s a place where you can find remnants of Celtic tribes, a place where pagan rituals have been performed for hundreds of years after the christening of Poland. And a place with a few thousand years old Solar Altar, even an armed cross carved on a big megalithic block hidden somewhere half-way up the Mountain. At the foot of the Slenza, the Slavic Faith organize ceremonies.

OR: How do you see Slavic Paganism in the modern world? Is it relevant to today?

SFA: It is relevant. Relevant for my community and in a cultural aspect relevant for my country. I would say it’s also relevant for Europe. European culture is slowly dying. Careless about heritage and our roots, Europe is becoming another cosmopolitan place. We are probably one of the last bastions of tradition and culture. And I always emphasize, that we are not pagans from Xth century. We are modern living people. We not trying to live the way people lived thousand years ago. We struggle with today’s problems and the neopagan religion helps us deal with the present.

OR: How does your faith affect your day-to-day life?

SFA: I’m one of the fifteen sworn members who are trustees. We have a lot to do. Sometimes the Slavic Faith is like a second job for me.

OR: What do you see for the future of your faith? What role will it play?

SFA: I think the future is bright for us. As an organization we are growing up quickly. We are going to buy some land which will let us organize celebrations without any permission. We want to publish books about our beliefs in the near future and also to persuade the government to enlarge the content of school books about paganism. We want to officially register the Slavic Faith as a legal entity. We also want to strengthen cooperation between pagans from all Slavic countries and also cooperate with other European native believers. (We were thinking about creating an international association to help people to cooperate all around Europe) And many other ideas.

OR: How does society react to you? You are based in a country that is known for it’s Catholicism. Does that create any problems? Have you ever had to deal with discrimination or persecution? If so how do you deal with it?

SFA: I must say, we never have any problems with Catholics. So far so good. We had one serious incident when the police didn’t allow us to celebrate the Spring Festival in a public park. (I don’t think that this was religious harassment, rather pure stupidity) But we know how to execute law, so this case is now being considered in the public prosecution service.

OR: Do you see any similarities between Slavic Paganism and Odinism? The mythology and/or Gods? The value systems? Etc.

SFA: I must say 90% of values represented by Odinism and Slavic Paganism are the same. Heroism, family, the maternal instinct, friendship, loyalty, bravery, honesty. It can’t be different, after all we descended from the same cultural circle . All differences are based on different cultural foundations. And of course these differences are very important. These differences make us unique. What is good for a Buddhist not necessarily must be good for an American. What is good for an American Indian is almost certainly wrong for a German. Monotheistic religions assume the all human kind is this same (at least ought to be). As children of one God we should learn from one holy book and have the same system of values. Sometimes it looks like some insane idea of mixing up everyone to create some amorphous cultural pulp. We should learn from each other, which doesn’t mean trampling out our own culture.

Similarities between Gods ? Well, there is so many common notions, and many of them are so evident. Thor – God of warriors, who sends thunder strokes from heaven. Slavonic God – Perun – God of warriors, who sends thunder strokes from heaven. I can give hundreds of these examples. Sometimes I’m really surprised by how much we have in common.

OR: Where can one find more information about your faith in general and your organization in particular?

SFA: Unfortunately there is no much English language literature about Slavic mythology. This is obviously the fault of the Slavs themselves. We know a huge number of really good scientific publications which have never been translated into English. As an association we have to take action; in the future we’ll translate the most valuable works into English and other European languages.

The simplest way to meet us is to click on: www.slavicfaith.com Here you can find the English (simplified) version of our website. For more news about our activities you can contact ours representatives via the e-mail addresses available on this webpage. We willingly provide information about our activities.

OR: Do you have anything you would like to add?

SFA: I really wish to see you one day at any of our festivals. As native believers we are a really small bunch of people. We don’t even compare to any of the monotheistic communions. That’s why it is so important to cooperate. And by cooperation I mean all kinds of intellectual, spiritual and moral support.

Slavic Faith Association

Przemysław Mrugacz – Executive Member

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The Milan Cathedral: Iconic image of Milan and Lombardy

The Milan Cathedral has long been the single strongest iconic image of both Milan and Lombardy. Incredibly, it took five hundred years to complete its construction. The history of it's construction is so long, and the architecture so complex, that I will not put the entire Wikipedia page here.

From Wikipedia -- Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano; Milanese: Domm de Milan) is the cathedral church of Milan in Lombardy, northern Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente (Saint Mary Nascent), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi.

The Gothic cathedral took five centuries to complete. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world.

The American writer and journalist Mark Twain visited Milan in the summer of 1867. He dedicated chapter 18 of Innocents Abroad to the Milan Cathedral, including many physical and historical details, and a now uncommon visit to the roof. He describes the Duomo as follows:

"What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems ...a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath!... The central one of its five great doors is bordered with a bas-relief of birds and fruits and beasts and insects, which have been so ingeniously carved out of the marble that they seem like living creatures-- and the figures are so numerous and the design so complex, that one might study it a week without exhausting its interest...everywhere that a niche or a perch can be found about the enormous building, from summit to base, there is a marble statue, and every statue is a study in itself...Away above, on the lofty roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond. ... (Up on) the roof...springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance...We could see, now, that the statue on the top of each was the size of a large man, though they all looked like dolls from the street... They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands."

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First Ever Pagan Metal Documentary

1 of 12 parts. Keep clicking for the next segment on the upper right >>> Part 2, and so on..

Posted on YouTube channel Valmarith

From the video description:

The first ever Pagan Metal Documentary.

By Bill Zebub

Featured Bands:
Korpiklaani,
Primordial,
Finntroll,
Ensiferum,
Leaves Eyes,
Turisas,
Týr

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Many times, folkish music can be a great way to reach younger people who many be looking for an identity and direction. It doesn't mean that someone really needs to be a pagan, but it can be a very deep, down-to-earth way of attracting them. The youth will be the future. Finer aspects of culture can come with maturity later, if necessary.

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Minnesota: "Beltrami Country"

Although we have covered the history of Giacomo Beltrami, the famous explorer from Lombardy, it's worth noting that Minnesota has a number of place names in his honor. Like so many subjects, it always seems like we can't quite do them justice. Beltrami lived an incredible and adventurous life.

First, there is Beltrami County, Minnesota, in the north of the state. Next, there is the city of Beltrami, Minnesota, in the northwest of the state. Lastly, there is a neighborhood named Beltrami in the state's largest city, Minneapolis.

There are likely many other names of streets, parks, etc., which bear his regional iconic name. Beltrami explored the American frontier starting in the 1820s. This country wasn't very old at that time, and Minnesota was largely unexplored by Americans. It's hard to imagine that today, but it had really been less than fifty years since the Revolutionary War.

Now, as we look back today, from a "Lombardian-American" perspective, it's ironic that there was significant later immigration from Lombardy to that Great Lakes region. Places like Duluth, Minnesota and Iron Mountain, Michigan; and other places more eastward, on the American and Canadian sides of the lakes. There's a whole history that we need to dig through. We're really just painting some very broad strokes here. There were a couple of notable Lombard Catholic missionaries in the Wisconsin area, who were sent to teach and convert the local natives. One even wrote a book to help preserve their disappearing language. I don't recall their names offhand, but I can see a definite pattern, over a long period of time, of Lombards in this northern-Midwest area.

[Left: Early Duluth]

I know that I've repeated this theme a number of times, but getting information in this area of study is like pulling teeth. As patterns develop, it's both exciting and frustrating. I can say with reasonable certainty that nobody has written about Lombardian history in North America, except Lombardi nel Mondo in Italian-only publications.

One local exception is a book about "The Hill" in St. Louis, I don't recall the name offhand, which was a Milanese/Lombardian district within nineteenth century St. Louis. I had posted a very interesting article about the history of The Hill in an earlier website, which dealt with specifically Lombard culture there, but I may have lost it unfortunately. However, there is the book, and we can eventually find the information again.

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Ruth Buzzi

Ruth Buzzi, although not much in the spotlight today, was a very well-known comedienne and actress in the 60s and 70s mostly. Her comedic style was very over-the-top, similar to Jim Carrey. I recall, although I was too young to really understand the humor, of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in the 70s with some of the most famous entertainers of that time, like Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Carol Burnett, Angie Dickinson, and many others that I don't recall offhand. She really stood out among them too. She was a regular on all of those 70s variety shows. She was definitely famous, although it's likely that many younger people haven't heard of her, although she is still somewhat active in her career.

Ruth Buzzi is of Ticinese descent on her father's side, and I'm guessing probably standard East Coast Italian-American on her mother's side. From her Wikipedia page: "Her father was born in Arzo, Switzerland, in the Ticino – Italian section of the country. He carved the marble eagles at Penn Station in New York, the granite Leif Erikson memorial in Providence, Rhode Island, the animals seen in relief on the Natural History Museum in New York City, and made thousands of tombstones." Just the Leif Erikson memorial, carved by Angelo Peter Buzzi, is very interesting in of itself, and we should make note of it.

I came across Ruth Buzzi's Lombardo-Ticinese heritage by sheer accident. This is what I have been going on about recently, our lost heritage in America. Had her father's place of birth not been mentioned, another interesting piece of our heritage would be lost in time. I have said it before, and I'll state it again; for all of our Lombardian-American heritage, for at least well over two centuries; from Paolo Busti, to Giacomo Beltrami, to the present day; if we had just one single office space to conduct research and provide some sort of direction, then we would have something.

Ruth Buzzi (Wikipedia)

Ruth Ann Buzzi (born July 24, 1936) is an American comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.

Early life

Buzzi was born at Westerly Hospital, Westerly, Rhode Island, the daughter of Rena Pauline (née Macchi) and Angelo Peter Buzzi, a nationally recognized stone sculptor. She was raised in Wequetequock, Connecticut, in a rock house overlooking the ocean at Wequeteqouck Cove, where her father owned Buzzi Memorials, a business still operated by her older brother, Harold. Her father was born in Arzo, Switzerland, in the Ticino – Italian section of the country. He carved the marble eagles at Penn Station in New York, the granite Leif Erikson memorial in Providence, Rhode Island, the animals seen in relief on the Natural History Museum in New York City, and made thousands of tombstones.

Buzzi attended Stonington High School where she gained experience as head cheerleader performing before crowds. At 17, she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts and graduated with honors. She studied voice, dance, and acting, and took courses in cosmetology in case the acting career failed to attain success. Before graduation from college however, she was a working actress with a union card in musical and comedy revues. She moved to New York after graduation and was hired immediately for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical, the first of 19 such revues in her career.

Career

Before leaving New York for a career in Los Angeles as a TV star, Buzzi appeared in a Bob Fosse classic Broadway hit, Sweet Charity, with Gwen Verdon. Between New York musical variety shows, Buzzi made numerous national television commercials, some of which won awards including the coveted CLEO.

Buzzi's first national appearance on television came on the Garry Moore Show just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. Ruth Buzzi saw her first taste of national fame as "Shakuntala" the silent, bumbling magician's assistant to her comedy partner Dom DeLuise as "Dominic the Great". They were an instant hit with the public.

Buzzi was a member of the regular repertory company on the CBS variety show The Entertainers (1964–1965). In 1966–1967, she was in the Broadway cast of the musical Sweet Charity, playing a role that was not in the film version. In the late 1960s, she was featured as a semi-regular on the sitcom That Girl as Marlo Thomas's friend and in a comedy-variety series starring Steve Allen. Her character parts in the Allen sketches led her to be cast for NBC's new show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Ruth Buzzi was the only featured player to appear in every episode of Laugh-In.

A versatile comedienne, she played everything from Southern belles to flashy hookers. Among her recurring characters on Laugh-In were Busy- Buzzi, Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Sidebottom, a cocktail-lounge habituée who always got riotously smashed with husband Leonard (Dick Martin); and one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses, teaming with Debbie Reynolds as two totally inconsiderate flight attendants.

Her most famous character is the dowdy spinster Gladys Ormphby, clad in drab brown with her bun hairdo covered by a visible hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. In most sketches, she used her lethal purse, with which she would flail away vigorously at anyone who incurred her wrath. On Laugh-In, Gladys most often appeared as the unwilling object of the advances of Arte Johnson's "dirty old man" character Tyrone F. Horneigh.

In a typical exchange, Tyrone accosts Gladys and asks, "Do you believe in the hereafter?" "Of course I do!", Gladys retorts defensively. Delighted, Tyrone shoots back: "Then you know what I'm here after!"

NBC collectively called these two characters The Nitwits when they went to animation in the mid 1970s as part of the series Baggy Pants and the Nitwits. Buzzi and Johnson both voiced their respective roles in the cartoon.

Buzzi, as Gladys, later became a regular part of Dean Martin's "Celebrity Roasts", usually punishing Martin for his remarks about her unappealing looks and poor romantic prospects. In one such exchange, Gladys accusingly questioned Martin about who had been chasing her around a hotel room in the wee hours; Martin's response, "The exterminator!" earned him a beating as he broke up laughing along with the audience. Gladys then declared to the audience that, when Martin and other men looked at her, only one thing came to their minds. Martin, still laughing, could barely get out the answer, "Rabies!" which earned him an even fiercer beating from Gladys.

Buzzi starred with Jim Nabors in The Lost Saucer produced by Sid and Marty Krofft which aired September 6, 1975. Buzzi also guested as Chloe, the usually never-seen but often mentioned wife of phone company worker, Henry Beesmeyer on Alice. Martin's producer, Greg Garrison, enjoyed Ruth Buzzi's work and hired her for his comedy specials starring Dom DeLuise.

In 1986, she voiced for the character Nose Marie in the Hanna Barbera animated series Pound Puppies. She voiced "Mamma Bear" in the Berenstain Bears and did hundreds of guest voices for cartoon series. She is still seen frequently on Sesame Street in comedy sketch clips from her seven years on that show, and is often heard as the voice of outlandish failed torch singer, "Susie Kabloozy".

Buzzi was a semi-regular guest star on many television series including Donny & Marie, The Flip Wilson Show, The Dean Martin Music and Comedy Hour, the Dean Martin Roasts, The Carol Burnett Show, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and variety series hosted by Leslie Uggams and Glen Campbell.

Buzzi had a brief cameo in the "Weird Al" Yankovic video "Gump" and appeared in other music videos with the rock groups B-52's and The Presidents of the United States of America. She also appeared for seven years as a regular performer on Sesame Street (playing shopkeeper Ruthie, which also allowed her to revive her Gladys Ormphby character, and also voiced Susie Kabloozie), Saved by the Bell (playing Screech Power's wacky mother as an Elvis fanatic), The Muppet Show, You Can't Do That on Television (during its CTV-produced incarnation Whatever Turns You On), and numerous other television shows. She was also a voice actress for The Smurfs, The Angry Beavers and Mo Willems' Sheep in the Big City. Buzzi also played the role of the eccentric Nurse Kravitz on NBC's daytime soap Passions. In 2006 and 2007, she made guest appearances on the children's TV series Come on Over.

Buzzi had a successful nightclub act all across the United States including in Las Vegas at the Sahara Hotel and at the MGM Grand. She only performed the act for one year because she did not like the smell of cigarette smoke and disliked traveling all the time; her shows were all sold out and she was offered an extended stay in Las Vegas but opted out.

Buzzi has had featured roles in more than 20 motion pictures including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Freaky Friday, The North Avenue Irregulars, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Villain, and a number of westerns for the European market known as the Lucky Luke series in which she plays the mother of the Dalton Gang and other roles.

Awards

Buzzi is an inductee into the Television and Radio Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Hall of Fame. She has been nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Awards five times in several categories from comedy and variety to drama; she was recognized not only for making people laugh, but for her versatility as an actress; she is remembered for a guest starring dramatic role on Medical Center with Greg Evigan in which she played the wife of a fatally ill man played by Don Rickles.

Buzzi received the coveted Golden Globe Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for her work on Laugh-In.

Buzzi received a Cleo Award for Best Spokesperson in a television commercial for her series of Clorox-2 commercials, and was among the few White women to ever win an NAACP Image Award. Ruth Buzzi guest starred as a music and comedy performer on dozens of nighttime television specials with colleagues such as Jonathan Winters, Carol Burnett, Jim Nabors, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wayne Newton and Anne Murray, Dom DeLuise, and was in a show created for Debbie Reynolds called Aloha Paradise to name just a few. She appeared 8 times on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson and made more than 200 other television guest appearances.

In 2009, Buzzi was a presenter at the Emmy Awards along with several members of her debut series, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.

Pop culture references

American post-hardcore/metal band The Bled recorded a song entitled "Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back" for their album Pass the Flask, and later re-released on Pass The Flask (Reissue). The title of the song comes from a line in the movie Wet Hot American Summer.

Buzzi played the wife of her close friend Kinky Friedman in the satirical music video "Get your Biscuits in the Oven and your Buns in the Bed."

She is mentioned at the end of the Conway Twitty - Loretta Lynn duet "You're the Reason Our Kids are Ugly."

Nikki Dodo once impersonated her in "Sawdust and Toonsil" on Tiny Toon Adventures.

Personal life

Buzzi lives primarily in Southlake, Texas and enjoys spending time with her husband (a retired businessman) at their 220-acre (0.89 km2) ranch just west of Fort Worth, Texas where they raise Black Angus cattle and quarter horses; she has a horse named Gladys, a cat named Ratso Rizzo, and her hobby is painting. Buzzi does not offer paintings for sale to the public, but has donated paintings to charity where they have sold for thousands of dollars. She supports children's charities including Make a Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics, St. Jude's Hospital, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

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Wine with Tony #36: Nichelini Winery

From the WineWithTony YouTube channel:

Nichelini Winery, started in 1890 by Swiss-Italian immigrant Anton Nichelini, is the oldest continuously family-run winery in Napa Valley.

In addition to the Zinfandel it has produced since its inception, this Chiles Valley district winery ships red wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Syrah and a Bordeaux white called Sauvignon Vert.

All of the wines are produced and bottled in the winery.

Fourth-generation members of the Nichelini family manage the winery today.

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