Culture

Holidays are all about sharing and making memories if you ask me. Sharing, because we end up spending a lot of time in the company of our family, definitely more than the rest of the year,  and that means sharing …

Tutte le strade portano a Roma,  we say in Italian, “all roads lead to Rome.” Of course, that was the case in ancient Roman times, when the capital was the heart of the known world. Having a well-conceived, well-built road …

To be fair, this habit doesn’t belong to Italians only, but it’s so popular we may well see where it comes from! Kissing under the mistletoe, or baciarsi sotto al vischio, is a must of the festive season in every …

AH! Il Presepe! Quintessential tradition of the Italian Christmas, it brings together Faith, history, tradition, and art. The first was created by Saint Francis of Assisi, our Patron Saint, to represent the birth of Christ and offer another way to …

“Would you like fries with that?” may not be as modern a phrase as we think. You’ve probably seen the recent headlines extolling the full excavation of a gloriously intact fast-food joint, or thermopolium, in Pompeii. Virtually undisturbed save for …

Panettone: soft, fragrant, with its melt-in-the-mouth texture, it is perhaps the most popular cake we eat at Christmas. Traditional with candied fruit and sultanas, or reinvented, with chocolate, fruit, nuts, and creams of all types, it has several contenders across …

Italians live longer, we know it: the people of the Belpaese are among the longest-living in the world, along with other Mediterraneans like the Spaniards, and the eastern masters of longevity, the Japanese. There are some parts of the country …

There is a place in Tuscany’s Mount Amiata region, where Christmas is synonym with fire. In truth, the connection between the two is quite common across the country, with ritual fire celebrations like those in Nemoli (Basilicata), Agnone (Molise), and …

Milan, the beating heart of Italian economy and fashion, the trendsetting city, the birthplace of Manzoni and panettone, the home of the most famous gothic church in the country, the Duomo, and of one of Leonardo’s most precious works, the …

Just like panettone, torrone is a classic of Italy at Christmas, that you’ll find in every household. But while panettone is almost a synonym of Milan, torrone is more ubiquitous, even if many associates it especially with Cremona. As we …