In 1963, renowned Genoese singer-songwriter Gino Paoli, author of some of Italy’s most iconic hits, was staying in Capo d’Orlando, in the province of Messina. He was a guest at the home of the Milio barons, located in the Bay …

Versilia occupies the northern coastal strip of Tuscany within the province of Lucca. Stretching from the Apuan Alps down to the Ligurian Sea, it includes four key municipalities – Forte dei Marmi, Pietrasanta, Seravezza, and Stazzema – known as “Old …

There’s a different feel in Parma, that town in Emilia-Romagna noted for such culinary masterpieces as Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma. Traveling northern Italy’s 2,000-year-old Via Emilia, Parma sits as a distinguished jewel midway between Milan and Bologna. These days, the Via’s original …

Just a few hundred meters off the Calabrian coast, opposite the town of Praia a Mare, lies the Isola di Dino, a small island that many Italians have heard of, but few have actually visited. With its sheer limestone cliffs, …

Castel Gandolfo is a small but historically rich town located in the Alban Hills, about 25 kilometers (just over 15 miles) southeast of Rome, overlooking the waters of Lake Albano. Despite its size, this village is internationally known as the …

Just steps away from the grandeur of the Roman forums, between the Quirinal, Viminal, and Esquiline hills, the Suburra was a neighborhood that never quite fit Rome’s polished image. It was dense, noisy, working-class, and essential, home to those who …

If there’s one thing Italians hold dear, it’s their local traditions. Whether you live in a tiny village or a major city, there are customs, rituals, and habits that feel impossible to give up. Secularization has, in many cases, erased …

On one hand, we celebrate major successes like the widespread promotion of Italy’s beaches through the Blue Flag awards. On the other, we face a pressing issue: overtourism, and the urgent need to protect sites of cultural and environmental value …

On a rocky cliff above the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Calabria’s province of Vibo Valentia, we find the town of Pizzo. Small in population but rich in reputation, it is known across Italy as “the town of gelato.” Its fame, however, …

The Festa dei Ceri, or Saint Ubaldo Day, is a centuries-old tradition held annually on May 15 in the medieval town of Gubbio, in Umbria. The festivity honors Saint Ubaldo Baldassini, the town’s patron saint, who died in 1160. Central …

Discovering — or simply knowing — that you have a relative living on another continent, in a country different from your own, and that your ancestors came from somewhere else, inevitably sparks a touch of curiosity. That faraway place becomes …

Italy is beautiful year-round, but if there’s one season that truly sparks the desire to travel, unwind, and finally take that long-awaited trip to the Bel Paese, it’s summer. From the sea to the mountains, from art cities to countryside …

Just outside Assisi, in the hamlet of Castelnuovo, a quiet transformation takes place every summer: for four weekends between late June and early July, the local Lavandeto di Assisi, a family-run lavender farm and nursery, opens its gates for the Festa …

Every winter, town squares and natural snow-covered stages across northern Italy come alive with the voices of male choirs wearing the distinctive feathered hats of the Alpini corps: these are the Cori Alpini, ensembles rooted in the traditions of Italy’s …