francesca bezzone

A couple of weeks ago, we learnt about Florence, right on these pages, right off the pen – well, keyboard – or yours truly. Today, is Venice to conquer the headlines for the same reasons. A short recap for those …

It’s only the 2nd of September, today, yet the sounds and scents of summer seem far. The weather has been helping to get into the mood, treating us with the beauty of violet skies filled with softly round clouds, heavy …

Regardless of their age, Italians have one huge preoccupation these days: retiring. With income taxes among the highest in Europe and pensions often just covering the costs of bare necessities, many citizens of the Bel Paese have been jumping on …

A beautiful article appeared a while back on the renowned pages of the New York Times. It was an incredibly entertaining and informative account of the author’s voyage to one of Italy least known corner, Basilicata, a region mostly associated …

When summer passes the torch of seasons to fall and people start getting back into their routines after weeks at the beach, Italy enjoys one last sparkle of glamour on her most famous Lido, that of Venezia. Between the end …

This is what many came to think, when the Florence city council emitted an ordinance, which took effect on September 4 and will last until January 6 2019, banning people from eating on the sidewalks and on front of the …

Rome, caput mundi and glorious mother of western civilization, wasn’t the first power to rule over the peninsula. Naturally enough, a lot happened before that faithful April 21, 753 BC, the date selected by Latin historian Varro as the beginning …

America: its name alone has been enough to bring a sparkle in the eye of several generations of young Italians. A sparkle of hope, initially: hope for a better life, hope for a future free from hunger and poverty, just …

The lighthouse, a mysterious and poetic place, cherished by artists and writers: Virginia Woolf set one of her most popular novels, To the Lighthouse, around one of them, and the immense James Joyce once lived and wrote for days on …

Today, I feel like to write about Rome and Italian heritage, but for once – our regular readers may be aware of my penchant for classical history – I won’t delve into the depths and beauties of the Empire, but …