francesca bezzone

The peaceful majesty of the Dolomites is what comes to mind when we think about Trentino Alto-Adige. The region is popular among lovers of nature, trekking and skiing, as well as a favorite for gourmets, who enjoy its Mittel-Europa-meets-Italy take …

Stereotypes are hard to die and they are more complex than we may think. Because if it’s very easy to dismiss them as superficial nonsense, sometimes they do hold a grain of truth, under all that silly fluff.  I don’t …

Prosciutto crudo, known simply as “prosciutto” or “Parma ham” in English-speaking countries, is one of our Made in Italy’s most renowned products. Who doesn’t know it or hasn’t tried it in a sandwich, on a pizza or layered delicately on …

In Italy, you don’t find only nice stores, you find very old ones, too. Mind, trade and commerce have a long history everywhere in the world, but there aren’t many places where you can find ateliers, restaurants, or cafés operating …

The 13th of December is a special day across the country, where the cult and worship of Santa Lucia is very alive. It is a day that feels a lot like Christmas already: the bright blue skies of December, the …

Eggplant parmigiana: when I used to live abroad, it was one of my culinary cavalli di battaglia. Simple to make enough to be thrown together on a weeknight, yet full of Italian va-va-voom. Eggplant, a staple of our national cuisine …

Selinunte did not exist for long, just over two centuries. Yet, the mark she left in the history of the Mediterranean is great and she, just like a beautiful ancient goddess, keeps of giving and surprising, as very recent archaeological …

Life expectancy in Italy is among the highest in the world: with an average of 84.01 years, the Belpaese is the 6th longest-living country in the world, after the famously long-living Far East (Hong Kong and Japan top the list, …

If you think of the cities of Tuscany, Livorno may not immediately spring to mind. With “rivals” like Florence, Siena and Pisa, it couldn’t be more difficult to stand out! Yet, the quaint port city that the great Amedeo Modigliani …

This is the time of the year when we tend to make a balance of our life and of the experiences we’ve enjoyed – or not – in the twelve months about to end. The Fondazione Migrantes, a pastoral organization …