La vita italiana

Author’s note: This is the first installment of a serialized story that recounts my return to Italy and my grandfather’s journey to the U.S.    My grandparents poured into me all the Italy they couldn’t fit into their children.  To …

Islands: is there anything concocting more perfectly together thoughts of wilderness, mystery and beauty? An island is a world apart, secluded from the rest of humanity by an endless sky-like expanse of water. Land surrounded by water than looks like …

Ancient Romans and Greeks adored the human form, sculpting and painting it in all its nude glory. Renaissance artists who followed centuries later were captivated by the purity of the ideal ancient forms and revived classical values to fill contemporary …

In the heart of Sicily, there was once a town called Corleone, the birthplace of a mafia boss of the likes of Bernardo Provenzano; his bloody history, in reality and on screen, has transformed this place into a stereotype of …

True confession: up until about 6 years ago I gleefully lived my life believing a truffle was a delectable orb of chocolaty goodness surrounding a mystery filling of something gooey and delicious. This type of truffle does exist, but to …

2018 will be a special year for Italy. 2018 will be the year of Italian food, as announced by Dario Franceschini, minister of Culture and Tourism, and Maurizio Martina, minister of Agriculture. The initiative has been received positively worldwide, with …

“There has to be irony, both in design and in the objects. I see around me a professional disease of taking everything too seriously.  One of my secrets is to joke all the time.” Achille Castiglioni This year’s Design Week, …

Whether you choose to drive through the heel of Italy, from Lecce to Otranto, or from the Ionian to the Adriatic coast, the breathtaking town of Poggiardo – delicately hued, simply yet uniquely elegant – is a pleasant stop for …

In a world like today’s, in which social media rule and, generally speaking, the virtual aspect of our relations is predominant over the traditional face-to-face meetings, I AM Books – Italian and Italian-American bookstore and cultural hub – brainchild of …

Never as before the topic of immigration has been affecting the socio-political life of Europeans, and Italians in particular. However, considering the current situation a novelty would be a mistake, as the phenomenon has been part of the very history …