mariella radaelli

I brought with me a little sachet of salt, a time-honored remedy to ward off evil spirits, when visiting two Medieval borghi on La Riviera dei Fiori whose history includes a bizarre story of witchcraft, envy, superstition and power. The …

My dad had a bright red Moto Guzzi that in its day was quite sporty and cool, with its spreading eagle wings on the motorbike logo.  He was dating my mother, who rode sidesaddle like women did in the 50s …

I came across Monte Argentario few years ago and was mesmerized.  It amazed me with its beauty and variety — in some places rugged and others manicured, chic but discreet. Ninety kilometers south of the Pisa airport, Monte Argentario is …

“More than 5,000 people currently in the U.S. are of San Fratello origin,” says Professor Salvatore Mangione, historian and former mayor of San Fratello, a village in the province of Messina, Sicily. “In the old times, immigrant villagers from San …

Twenty years have passed since Angela Missoni took the helm of the family fashion house founded by her visionary parents Ottavio and Rosita, who debuted their revolutionary knitwear in 1953. The innovative and chic aesthetic of Missoni that made its …

Fubine is evocative in autumn with the deep reds, yellows and browns of fallen leaves. You hear the crackle underfoot as you walk the countryside around the small town set amid the first gentle hills of the Monferrato region. Vineyards …

In so many ways, the Romans are ingrained in our ways of thinking. Many of our fundamental thoughts about life have been shaped and tested by the Romans and their writing. Cicero is among those writers. A formidable Roman politician …

It has been almost 10 years since Luciano Pavarotti’s passing on September 6, 2007, but his legacy will live on forever. He has been one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar. “I would like …

There are well-kept secrets hidden behind the southern Appennine Mountains in the remote, charming village of Muro Lucano, set amid the rugged beauty of the Basilicata region. Here in the “instep” of Italy’s boot, which borders Campania to the west, …

Ironically enough, musical genius Frank Zappa and a 13th century poet, Cielo d’Alcamo, had some important things in common. These artists so vastly disparate in time and space share an iconoclastic spirit and the colors of two neighboring cities in northwest Sicily. The …