Heritage

Italian celebrations for International Women’s Day are, usually, rather cliché: journalists and TV hosts become experts of women history and sociology, bringing out their customary speeches for the occasion, only to forget it all the following day, when they focus …

The Easter celebrations of Sicily are as numerous as petals on daisy chains, with an endless procession of Holy Week festivities to choose from. Every small town has its Via Crucis which reenacts the final moments of Jesus Christ’s life …

Indeed, at the times of the Empire, all roads led to Rome, especially when you think the Romans are behind the creation of the first Italian and European communication arteries in history. Don’t we all know about the Via Aurelia, …

Any trip to Southern Italy is never complete without browsing through dozens of ceramic stores from the Amalfi coast, to Puglia and throughout the islands. There is a saturation of maiolica artist studios, each with their own decorations and interpretations …

For centuries ancient Romans have built roads and bridges connecting all of their conquered territories, triumphal arches celebrating their victories, aqueducts supplying water to the new settlements. Alongside their military achievements they also built squares, villas, theaters, and – last …

As usual, Cicero is illuminating: “a life without music is like a body without its soul.”  There’s an undeniable truth in his words the people of his motherland, glorious Rome, always kept in mind. Indeed, the Romans loved music and …

The expression Made in Italy itself is almost perfectly synonymous with Italian craftsmanship, or artigianato, to say it as we do. From culinary products to clothing, from jewelry to leather goods and fabrics, the importance of human hands and of …

Crossroads and street corners have long been the haunt of peddlers, pickpockets and prostitutes. And as far back as ancient Roman times images of deities have been hung there to protect passers by from evil. Today over 500 statues and …

When I was a child, Carnevale was the occasion to don some improbable outfit, usually involving satin gowns and glitter or, depending on the mood of the year, a musketeer hat and a plastic sword. Possibly already nodding to what …

For millions of Catholics around the world, the Pope is a spiritual leader. For the Romans, he’s a fellow Roman, regardless of where he comes from. We Italians see the Pope as one of our own, used as we are …