La vita italiana

Nearly three hundred years after its proclamation — 1719, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s heyday — the Free Port of Trieste was re-launched by a decree of the Government. There was a need for new legislation to take into account the …

The last gasps of summer play out over the Italian landscape – a land grateful for the sun’s energizing warmth, but oh-so-ready for fall’s cooler temps and bountiful harvests. Undulating hillsides lay decorated with purple-red grape clusters dripping jewel-like from …

It was 1953 when Credito Emiliano, a relatively small bank based in the region of Emilia Romagna, started taking wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano as a collateral for small-business loans. Italy had just walked out of a war that had left …

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 …

My memories of the Fall are so stereotipically Italian they could go on a postcard. Those I cherish the most, of course, come from my childhood and are all about white truffles, wild mushrooms and vendemmia. Memories of handmade tajarin …

All roads lead to Rome as the old saying goes – all 1,243 miles of road when we’re talking about the Via Francigena, the ancient byway connecting Canterbury to Rome. While the serious-minded, contemporary pellegrini (pilgrims) consider walking the full …

Rome has the she-wolf. Sicily has the 3-legged Medusa. And Turin has il toro, the bull. Up in the northeast, however, the lagoon city of Venice chose an even more exotic, mythical icon to symbolize its power and stature. And …

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. …

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, …

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 …