Program 770: Sagre Festivals of Italy; Rome Today; Eyewitness in Hungary 1956

Learn about Italy's sagre — traditional country fairs, often centering on the local harvest, that usually feature colorful historical pageantry. Then hear what's new in old Rome as it spiffs up for the coming Jubilee Year celebrations. Then listen in as venerated writer and editor Michael Korda recounts his experiences amid one of the Cold War's most dramatic events: the Hungarian uprising of October 1956.

• Cecilia Bottai, vintner and tour guide based in Rome and Orvieto, Italy
• Virginia Agostinelli, tour guide based in Rome
• Vanessa Nicol, tour guide based in Rome
• Michael Korda, editor-in-chief emeritus at Simon & Schuster

• Cecilia Bottai's family winery near Orvieto is called Tenuta Le Velette.
• Virginia Agostinelli is an instructor with the Rome in Residence program of the University of Washington.
• Vanessa Nicol can be contacted from her Facebook page, and through Active Odysseys, for those interested in including running in a marathon as part of their travels.
• Michael Korda is editor-in-chief emeritus at Simon & Schuster. His memoir of the Hungarian Revolution, "Journey to a Revolution," was published in 2007.  Michael's latest title is "Muse of Fire: World War I as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets."
• Rick's book of 100 essays from his travels, "For the Love of Europe," includes his reflections on visiting the Dachau concentration camp.