Culture

Not many are familiar with the name Norba,  and the history behind it. Once upon a time, Norba was a flourishing, wealthy Latin town, some 30 miles south of Rome, perched on the Lepini Mountains. Its origins, much like those …

There are two countries within Italy. One, the Vatican, is the smallest sovereign state in the world. The other, San Marino, is the most ancient Republic still extant. There is something very magical about San Marino, a place which I had …

Today, most European countries share the same currency, the euro. I am old enough to remember lire and the pain of having to change money at the airport when you were traveling: honestly, I am happy those days are gone. What many people …

Dante Alighieri is a symbol of Italy and its poetry, but also of the city he was born, Firenze. A proud Florentine, Dante never kept the love he had for his hometown a secret, so why is he buried in Ravenna? Well, because …

Of all the provinces of Tuscany, Pistoia is, perhaps, the one we are less familiar with. Yet, it was Italy’s Capital of Culture only a handful of years ago (it was 2017), and it has one of the best-preserved and maintained medieval …

The day commenced like any other in the coastal Roman towns that hugged the Bay of Naples. Another hot August morning was underway as townspeople in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other smaller communities began to gather in public places as they ate, …

Only last week, our Prime Minister Mario Draghi, during his intervention at the Verso Sud forum, held in Sorrento to discuss the role of our Southern regions in the future development of Italy, emphasized the importance of the Mediterranean in our economy, and …

When legendary silent film star Rudolph Valentino died at age 31 on August 23, 1926 in New York City from a perforated ulcer, the announcement sparked scenes of mass hysteria. A hundred thousand mourners lined up the streets outside the funeral home, …

You know the rule: children inherit their father’s surname automatically in most countries of the world, with the notable exception, for instance, of Spain and South America, where both are given, but only the father’s passing on further. For a long time, …

If you’ve ever been to an Italian old-men bar, the one where your granddad would go spend the afternoon with his mates if that’s the type of thing he is into, or if you had the curse – or blessing, depending on …