La vita italiana

More than sixty years ago the Italian writer and painter, Carlo Levi, wrote a series of essays about Rome that were published posthumously. These short essays, published in 2005 under the title Fleeting Rome, must rank among his best works, …

Outside Caffé Sant’Eustachio students and cabbies, bankers and brokers, pundits and senators sip espresso and mock the news. Starbucks, the US coffee chain with nearly 27,000 locations worldwide, had opened its first Italian store in Milan. “Blasphemy,” pronounces an archivist …

Rimini has attracted a crowd in August since time immemorial. The internationally renowned summer holiday destination on la Riviera Romagnola is synonymous with long sandy beaches that are hard to beat, especially for families and party-goers. But this pre-eminent party …

We are in that time of the year again. The summer is over, we’re all going back to our daily routines and embracing the comforting colors and sound of the fall, yet, it’s hard not to think about another holiday, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

La donna Italiana: timeless like la Loren, mesmerizing like Milva, beautiful like la Bellucci, intelligent like la Montalcini, strong like la Fallaci. Good in the kitchen like all nonne, eternally charming, she knows how to be a leader without forgetting …

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 …

Once upon a time, about 600 years ago, the deep southern reaches of Calabria cradled the heart of Europe’s silk industry. Nestled in the Catanzaro hills, mulberry trees flourished in the mild Mediterranean climate, their leafy branches offering food for …