Culture

“In Italy the most important person who, thanks to his genial intuition, managed to change the archaic organetto into the more powerful and complex accordion instrument, the fisarmonica, is Mariano Dallapè”. This is how, in a few words, the Italian …

This time of year, Aosta, Italy hosts the Fair of Saint Ursus (Sant’Orso in Italian and Saint’Ours in French). This thousand-year-old festival will showcase the work of local artisans in the city center’s ancient quarter January 30-31. With the beautiful …

S.F. Vanni, the oldest running Italian bookstore in the United States, has released news of its end-of-January reopening in New York City.  The bookstore was first founded in 1884 by the Sicilian (Caltagirone) Sante Fortunato Vanni in Greenwich Village at …

Can anyone possibly imagine an ancient Roman ship floundering in heavy seas off the coast of what is now South America?     There are some who theorize that such a ship still exists, after having been blown off course …

What’s Made in Italy? The perfect combination of elegant taste, high quality products, and skilled craftsmanship, which is recognized and celebrated worldwide, has its roots in centuries old traditions from all across the Italian peninsula. In our modern era, when …

When I heard the news of Mario Cuomo’s death this past month, I reflected on a moment that I had with the former New York State Governor.  He had retired from public office after he was defeated for a fourth …

January is my favorite month in Rome. Consecrated to the god of beginnings, it is the best time to recapture the magic those British lords on the Grand Tour must have felt, when they arrived from the grey north to …

On Saturday, January 17th, it took place the third edition of the Italian National Dialect and Local Languages’ Day, jointly organized by The National Union: Pro Loco, Lazio Legautonomie, the Documentation Center For Dialect Poetry “Vincenzo Scarpellino”, the International Center …

The ancient Maya considered chocolate the Gods’ drink, and through the centuries the “black gold” with its many ancient properties has created rich and fascinating history. In Perugia, at the heart of Umbria in Italy, there’s a magical place where …

The Vatican Museums, Musei Vaticani, were officially founded by Pope Benedict XIV in 1756, although Pope Julius II started the collection in 1503 when he set the statue of Apollo in the inner courtyard of Pope Innocent VIII’s Belvedere Palace. …