Traditions

Around the first half of the 19th century, during the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lent days were called giorni di scammaro and people had to eat quite frugally, avoiding meat and rich foods. It is in this period that …

Italy is all beautiful, but it’s undeniable that outside national borders some regions are more popular than others: topping the world’s preferences are usually Tuscany, Sicily and Umbria, followed by the regions where our most famous cities are: Campania for …

Italy is always associated with pasta so I thought I’d write about one of it’s most celebrated pasta dishes which is a traditional Roman recipe, and often made incorrectly around the world.  I’ll confess that for many years I was …

Ask anyone around the world to name a classic Italian dessert and many will answer tiramisù. We tend to think that tiramisù has been around for centuries (like many of Italy’s traditional recipes) but you may be surprised to learn …

For a little town just off the A16 autostrada, east of Naples, Nola has some big claims to fame. Spartacus once conquered it, Hadrian tried and the first Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus died here. Nola also famously introduced bells to …

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,” …

Usually, in Italy, you’d sense electricity in the air before the soccer World Cup begins: the country’s passion for calcio is well known, and when it comes to the national team, you can bet even the least likely among us …

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 …

Only naming them brings to mind mystery and divination, the magic aura of the unknown surrounds them: but are tarot cards really that difficult to decipher? They may be – for those who believe in such things – at least …

Even though present-day hospitals all around the world are basically centers providing medical assistance and rehabilitation of the sick, the forerunners to these institutions were originally conceived in a broader sense as “places of hospitality:” hence the similarity between the …