Culture

It is impossible to visit Naples and not see the thousands of ceramic and plastic images of Pulcinella in shop windows lining Via Spaccanapoli that cuts through Naples’ historic center. A commedia dell’arte figure, dating back to the sixteenth century, Pulcinella served in his improvised roles …

Fine, traditional craftsmanship is synonymous with our country, Italy. Some of our most beloved crafts, those we consider a symbol of our very own artistic identity – and economy, we shouldn’t forget – are as old as history but, today, also as rare …

All it takes is nine balls, a flat surface, and two or more people to play. It’s second only to soccer in popularity in Italy…and around the world. Anyone of any age can play it.  We’re talking about bocce, that lawn bowling …

Who doesn’t love shopping? Online, IRL, at the mall or at the market. Food, clothes, books, trinkets, anything goes, really. True, in this day and age, spending money on futilities or “extras,” as we like to call them, it’s become increasingly …

Naples had many kings throughout its history: in the end, it was the capital of a kingdom bearing its name for centuries. But the city is also familiar with more prosaic figures, think of Totò or Diego Armando Maradona, who were …

Literally, a caffè sospeso is a “pending” or “suspended” coffee … but what does it mean and what’s the story behind this habit popular in Naples and, today, also here and there in other parts of the country? First things first, let’s …

We are finally in October, the month of apple picking and pumpkins, of spooks and Halloween. For Italian-Americans, however, it is especially the month dedicated to our heritage and to the contributions the community made to the US throughout its history. Between 1820 …

We Italians love playing cards, but our decks must be quality ones!  Modiano is a brand of our Made in Italy known around the world for the beauty and quality of its playing cards, so much so that, since 2015, it officially supplies the …

There are so many reasons to love Firenze, one of Italy’s most amazing cities: its history, its art, its food, its atmosphere. And it was the home of Dante Alighieri, so poetry permeates everything here: the cradle of Renaissance, Firenze is …

Leonardo da Vinci is possibly, along with Michelangelo and Dante, the most famous name in Italian art. His ingenuity didn’t only give us some of the most iconic paintings in the world – the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, …