chiara dalessio

Christmas is finally here and the heavens know how badly we need some seasonal cheer this year. It’s been a hard 12 months and we deserve some peace, quite and pandoro, let me tell you. What’s beautiful about this time …

Mistral made of Gragnano, a town of just under 30.000 not far from beautiful Naples, the historical heart of dry pasta-making in Italy. But we’re not talking about the dry wind born in the South of France that graces the …

What a peculiar summer this is: if it weren’t for the unbearable heat, it wouldn’t feel like a summer at all. Don’t get me wrong, Italians didn’t renounce to their Ferragosto-by-the-sea tradition, in fact, they’ve been letting loose a tad …

Ah! Beauty!  The gift of the gods to their subjects, inspiration to literature, poetry and art of all forms and colors. Its canons may change from decade to decade,   but its essence remains the same, lifeblood of human creativity …

Dozza Imolese is a quaint village of about 6000, that quietly sits on the rolling pre-Apennine hills outside Bologna. One of FAI’s most beautiful borghi, its name may fail to evoke any memory of important works of art or historical …

When current mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi was elected, she made it quite  clear that banning botticelle was one of her aims. These traditional horse-drawn carriages  are  as romantic as they are, alas, unjust. Throughout the years, episodes of animals …

If you love wine, you know the name Barolo: known as the King of Italian reds, Barolo is a DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or “controlled and guaranteed designation of origin”) wine produced with Nebbiolo grapes from the …

Delightful mandolino is a symbol of Neapolitan culture and music that, outside of Italy, came to symbolize the Bel Paese as a whole. Almost two centuries of migration towards all corners of the world, especially of people coming from the …

To non-Italians, the name Stromboli probably means very little. The 12-sq-km island is part of the Aeolian archipelago and is home to not more than 300 people, divided into two small villages. Most notably, though, Stromboli is home to the …

Have you ever heard of Atrani? Well, if you haven’t, you are in for a pleasant surprise.  Located a mere 1/2 mile from Amalfi (I am sure you are familiar with this one!), Atrani is one of  Italy’s Borghi più …