La vita italiana

Rome’s Spanish Steps are famous around the globe. As too are Venice’s stepped bridges crossing her countless canals. And the Vatican Museum’s Bramante spiral stairway is one of the most photographed in the world. But Italy is also home to …

Italy is becoming a country of old men and women. Or is it? True, Il Bel Paese does have the lowest natality rates of the continent, with only 7.8 children born every 1000 people, half of the rates in Ireland, …

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 …

Francis Albert Sinatra was the only child of two Italian immigrants. His father was Anthony Sinatra, a New York fireman of Sicilian origin, and his mother was Natalie Garavanta, called by her middle name, Dolly and was well known for …

There is a place in southern Tuscany, just near the border with the Lazio region, to which vacationers, as well as art historians and culture lovers from all over the world, have long been attracted: its name is Porto Ercole. …

After our visits to Dante Alighieri’s native Florence and Francesco Petrarca’s hometown of Arezzo, the journey to discover the origins of la bella lingua would not be complete without one more stop in the very heart of Tuscany: this time …

Wander the back streets of Murano and you can hear the roar of furnaces behind blind factory walls. The air trembles and there’s a perpetual orange glow in the high clerestory windows that remain just out of reach. It is …

Stereotypes: there’s always a bit of truth in every one of them, positive or negative, and those about Italy are plenty: Italians are loud, Italians can’t stand in a queue, Italians always stick with one another, Italians always think about …

Throughout history, civilizations have come and gone from the Italian peninsula, each one leaving its mark. From the Etruscans’ stonework to Greek architecture, Arabic cuisine to French rule, all made an impact. And none more so than the Ancient Romans. …

In the US, the national debate on the country’s origins and heritage has involved also the Italian American community. At the heart of discussion, however, there is more than statues and celebratory days, there is the meaning itself of being …