Traditions

Easter is a very important moment for the people of Italy: for those still actively practicing, it is a time of meditation and prayer, steeped in profound spiritual meaning; for everybody else, it remains deeply tied to memories of traditions, …

My region, Piemonte, is known for its good cheeses: Tùma, Raschera, Castelmagno, robiola di Roccaverano are only a handful of the many delicious and fragrant milk-based delicacies it has to offer. You understand that loving cheese and that other typical …

Many tourists rush through Italy, ticking off cities on an imaginary bucket list, zipping through museums and taking holiday snaps in front of iconic attractions. This is fine if you are happy to simply cross things off a checklist. But …

Crossroads and street corners have long been the haunt of peddlers, pickpockets and prostitutes. And as far back as ancient Roman times images of deities have been hung there to protect passers by from evil. Today over 500 statues and …

Italy is known all over the world for its ceramics. Indeed, handmade and hand painted pottery is common all over the country, from north to south: colorful and bold or understated and elegant, you can find almost everything made of …

The Alba White Truffle  is an old acquaintance of mine. Actually, is much more than that, is a real childhood friend. Born and bred on the luscious hills of Piemonte, with the silvery peaks of Monviso and Bisalta just outside …

Its simple name evokes history, ancient history …. and we’re not mistaken thinking that. Biroldo is a Slow Food protected cold cut, a product of Tuscan tradition, almost impossible to find nowadays. It’s made with the pig’s lesser parts like …

Living on an island presents a number of challenges. The first priorities are food, shelter and a reliable source of drinking water. The earliest settlers of the Venetian saltwater lagoon, however,  only had two out of three as freshwater was …

The Catholic Church has a lengthy tradition of collecting relics from saints and clerics dating back almost to its beginnings. Bones, clothes or artifacts from the person were carefully preserved in caskets, lockets and glass urns to commemorate and venerate …

The Easter celebrations of Sicily are as numerous as petals on daisy chains, with an endless procession of Holy Week festivities to choose from. Every small town has its Via Crucis which reenacts the final moments of Jesus Christ’s life …