Culture

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

“Sweetie, where are you going on that bike?” If you like oldies made in Italy, you are probably familiar with the refrain from the 1951’s eponymous song, Bellezza in Bicicletta – incidentally, an interesting story, that of this song, but …

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 …

Whenever disaster strikes at home or abroad, the Red Cross springs into action. It’s a story many of us learn as school children: Clara Barton, nicknamed the Angel of the Battlefield because of her selfless medical service to Civil War soldiers, established the American …

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 …