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 …

Francis Albert Sinatra was the only child of two Italian immigrants. His father was Anthony Sinatra, a New York fireman of Sicilian origin, and his mother was Natalie Garavanta, called by her middle name, Dolly and was well known for …

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 …

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 …

Italy is becoming a country of old men and women. Or is it? True, Il Bel Paese does have the lowest natality rates of the continent, with only 7.8 children born every 1000 people, half of the rates in Ireland, …

Rarer than diamonds, more expensive than platinum and found only in a few secret Sardinian sea caves, seasilk is the stuff of legend. Its long silky filaments blaze like gold in sunlight and are gossamer light even when delicately woven …

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, …

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, …

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 …

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 …