La vita italiana

Bologna is famous for its towers, among other things. In fact, it is also known as “la turrita”, the town with many towers. Of the 100 that dotted the historical center in the Middle Ages, only 20 remain today. One …

All culturally literate people know who George Frideric Handel was, yet the man who gave him his biggest career boost as well as being one of the great composers of his age and more, is largely unknown.  It was, in …

I stand in a small square at the end of Via del Governo Vecchio, a stone’s throw from Piazza Navona. Poised on blocks of ancient concrete, I lean against a corner of Palazzo Braschi, home to the Museo di Roma. …

There was a time, in Ancient Rome, when it was customary to eat with only three fingers, while leaving the ring finger and little finger uninvolved.  Only a person lacking sophistication and grace used all five fingers. With the morphing …

I dropped my husband off at Malpensa in the pre-dawn light, plugged Corso Vittorio Emanuele 135 Naples into my rental car’s GPS, and drove off with one last giddy nervous wave. I still remember the look on his face as …

Where I grew up in New York, we lived in a community comprised mostly of Italian Catholics. Our neighborhood bordered a Jewish community and I had many Jewish friends with whom I attended school, but none of them were Italian. …

Bypassing  the strong visual power of the romantic canals of Venice, the breath-taking views inside and outside Tuscany, a portrait of Rome by night and a snapshot of the emerald Sardinian sea, it is not an easy goal.   From …

We all have our vacations. But where on this earth will you find one nation who closes down, packs up, and goes off to rejuvenate all at one time? In the month of August, Italy does just that and of …

One of my earliest recollections of my father’s town in southern Italy was at nine-years old. The town of approximately 12,000 inhabitants is called Mugnano del Cardinale and it is surrounded by the Irpini Mountains, located just 45 miles from …

Italy has long been one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, and many a person has diligently saved to make the trip, but few can claim to have given up as much as Queen Christina, who renounced the kingdom …