chiara dalessio

If you’ve been to Tuscany, you may be familiar with pizzicagnoli and their stores, which are pretty much the equivalent of a good deli, but also double as a local corner store in small villages. Pizzicagnoli stores are common all over …

When you’re on vacation, it’s easy to get caught up in tourist traps and buy generic souvenirs that don’t hold much meaning. We’ve all been guilty of it. Fake, made-in-China Venetian mask? Check. Plastic copy of the Colosseum? Check. Anything …

If you grew up in an Italian home, you definitely had a bunch of them hidden in some drawer or, if they were particularly pretty, making a good display of themselves somewhere in the sitting room. Yes, I’m talking about the bomboniera. …

Who discovered the New World? The canonical answer is, of course, Christopher Columbus, but many among you probably already know that there are other interesting theories: some historians believe that the Vikings had already reached the northern part of the …

In Italy, as in many other parts of the world, churches are traditionally built with their main altar facing East. In Rome, San Pietro, San Giovanni in Laterano, and Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri all face East. In Florence, the …

For Catholics, Easter is the most important celebration of the year. So it doesn’t surprise that in Italy, where Christianity and Catholicism marked so much of the country’s cultural and artistic heritage, Easter celebrations are a pretty grandiose affair. From religious re-enactments …

If you love Italian sagre and fairs, then you must have tried panino con la porchetta at least once. Indeed, the slowly-roasted, then-sliced delicacy is a staple of Italy’s most traditional street gatherings, so much so it has become almost synonymous with them. And …

Telling an Italian not to be superstitious is a losing game. Even when we generally don’t believe in old-fashioned tales of misfortune and malocchio, I can guarantee you we probably still avoid opening an umbrella indoors and wince in horror …

It seems an established trend, especially after the pandemic: the more we progress from a scientific and technological point of view, the more we yearn for living simply. We all read about young up-and-coming professionals leaving the city during the …

Who doesn’t have a jar of honey in the pantry? A naturally healthy and versatile product, honey has a place in many a recipe but it is often used as an eco-friendly ingredient to keep our skin supple, too – …