Traditions

It appears that modern Italy was unified by literature long before it existed as a single nation on the map. Although up to a century and a half ago the Italian peninsula was still divided into many different territories, each …

October is a special month for Italian-Americans, dedicated as it is to their heritage and history. October is also the month remembering the coming of Christopher Columbus to the New World and, regardless to one’s personal view on the event, …

Venice at the height of its power conjures images of merchant traders, carnival masks and debauchery. But for all its decadence Venetian life was governed by a well-established democracy with strict standards of behavior that held society together. The State …

Rome’s Spanish Steps are famous around the globe. As too are Venice’s stepped bridges crossing her countless canals. And the Vatican Museum’s Bramante spiral stairway is one of the most photographed in the world. But Italy is also home to …

Every city has them, the so-called “hidden gems.” The places rarely visited by tourists, and the ones often forgotten about by locals. Living in a historical city like Rome, you struggle to run out of hidden gem possibilities, yet it’s …

Fall is my favorite season. Yes, I love chestnuts, truffles, cardigans, chunky scarves and pumpkin pies. But the real reason I love the fall is another, it’s the dark. The dark  brings about hints of wintry chill, mixed with the …

Stereotypes: there’s always a bit of truth in every one of them, positive or negative, and those about Italy are plenty: Italians are loud, Italians can’t stand in a queue, Italians always stick with one another, Italians always think about …

Used since ancient times for cooking, cosmetics and curative properties, saffron is the wonderfully aromatic queen of spices. The Greeks used it to fight toothache whilst the Romans used it in fish sauce recipes. And since the 1200s Italians have …

Water carries life within: nothing could be and exist without it. Water is also frightful, because of its power, which destroys and obliterates. A force and a blessing of nature, water is mirror of life and death, its very appearance …

No! Not another article about Italy and pasta, I hear you crying. Worry not, this time we’re going to tackle the “pasta issue” from an entirely different angle. Many angles in fact, as we’ll find out some little known historical, …