Traditions

When Ape was born, Vespa was only two years old and had already found a place in the heart of Italians, who had been getting back on their feet after the tragedy of war. Piaggio asked engineer Corradino D’Ascanio yet …

Every year hundreds of trees are cut down. They’re trimmed, sanded and hand-painted, then pile-driven into the dense mud of the Venetian lagoon. It’s a practice that has been going on for centuries for very good reasons, but few people …

For a new angle on Italy, ditch the car and try sailing off on the Ionian Sea along the coast off Rocca Imperiale, a bijou-size borgo that just joined the club of the most beautiful villages of Il Bel Paese. A sojourn …

The difference is tiny, yet it cannot be overlooked… “A sliced cookie, made with fine flour, sugar and egg whites:” this is the definition given by the Accademia della Crusca in 1691. Cantuccio, whose name comes from the word “canto,” …

The late July heatwave has been making sun, sea and sand lovers happy this year, with temperatures well into the high 80s and a gentle breeze caressing the land and freshening up the evenings. And even for those who find …

There is a special sound that speaks of Italy, the same for thousands of years, a sound that becomes one with the country’s landscape, dotted with churches and belfries. Wherever you are, on the mountains or by the sea, the …

We all know it: in Italy, we love bread! These very crunchy “bread sticks” were invented in Turin in 1679, by the Savoias’ personal baker, who created them appositely for king Vittorio Amedeo II, who couldn’t digest regular bread very …

Isn’t Summer the perfect season for trivia? I don’t know you, but when the heat hits I suddenly develop a thirst for curious facts and tasty tidbits about anything and everything: from history to literature, from food to gossip, anything …

Chinotto is a citrus fruit originally from China, exclusively grown on the Ligurian coast, in the Savona area since the end of the 19th century. These small, uniquely fragrant fruits, used to be sold candied and preserved in maraschino, after …

“Ciao, what are you up to?” Flavia says while looking at me and checking if I have any white hair, if my dress is this season’s or a couple of years old, and whether I have gained weight or not. …