Traditions

When Juno, Queen of Olympus, needed to vent her spleen, she visited Aeolus, god of the winds, on his draughty island off Sicily. Juno was outraged that the fugitive Trojan prince Aeneas was destined to found Rome and destroy Carthage, …

For Italians, the piazza or square, is not just the architectural space that characterizes cities and villages, but an open air, urban living room. It is the heart of each Italian town where history, architecture and social relations become one. …

Every time the month of October rolls around, many people think about the change of the seasons, from summer to now true fall. The holidays are just ahead, and so we all gear up to see how and where and …

We are in that time of the year again. The summer is over, we’re all going back to our daily routines and embracing the comforting colors and sound of the fall, yet, it’s hard not to think about another holiday, …

Milan is one of Italy’s most metropolitan and contemporary cities. Attracting travelers and business people from all over the world, it has become one of Europe’s most popular destinations. Among the new mirrored-façade skyscrapers and designer boutiques, old Milan hides …

More than sixty years ago the Italian writer and painter, Carlo Levi, wrote a series of essays about Rome that were published posthumously. These short essays, published in 2005 under the title Fleeting Rome, must rank among his best works, …

The exodus begins in early August. Factories in the Tiburtina Valley grind to a halt. Executives abandon EUR’s corporate offices. Shops on Via del Corso and cafés in Piazza Navona shutter their windows and post signs. Surveying the deserted centro …

With rain forecast for the next few days, and as 1st November is a public holiday here in Italy, why not spend some time in the kitchen making a traditional Tuscan slice known as castagnaccio. It is very easy to …

Sometimes clothes tell me about humanity more than philosophers, scholars or gurus. I love fashion, and if you want to live and breathe fashion, you have to be connected with Italian style. Italy remains the country with the most brands …

It’s only the 2nd of September, today, yet the sounds and scents of summer seem far. The weather has been helping to get into the mood, treating us with the beauty of violet skies filled with softly round clouds, heavy …