Traditions

Back in the day, one of our favorite places for a nice affordable meal close by our apartment in central Rome was Taverna Parione. Located on a small side street off tourist-mobbed piazza Navona, despite its location it was the …

What comes to your mind when you think of Sardinia? Azure sea, sandy beaches, VIP resorts. If you are a bit more knowledgeable, your thoughts may also go to the island’s beautifully wild inland, or to the interesting features of …

While they may not be as trendy as their broody, ultra-dark mates, the vampires, werewolves have been certainly enjoying a bout of popularity in recent years, courtesy of a popular series of trashy, young adult novels — and subsequent movie …

There seems to be a shared fascination with lighthouses the world over. These austere pillars of hope and guidance, most often planted on precarious ground, seem to speak to our need to be watched over, protected, guided through life’s storms. …

During this past summer, I attended my friend’s bachelor party in New Orleans. Prior to visiting the Crescent City, I had made preliminary arrangements to mix some business with pleasure and schedule an interview with Lena Prima, daughter of Louis …

Vedi Napoli e poi mori, once you’ve seen Naples, you are free to die. It may sound unsettling at first, but whoever visited the city can testify it is so special, so unique and so precious it could well represent …

My relationship with Piedmontese, the dialect of my region, has always been ambivalent. Growing up in a small rural community, I learned it without even noticing, because everyone around me would speak it. Even my parents, who would always speak in Italian to me, often switched to Piedmontese …

Florence’s streets are filled with secrets and curiosities: some of them are known to those into history and local legends, others are so obscure only locals can tell you about them. This is not so unusual, when you think of it, all old cities …

A debate on whether a man in a suit generates appeal might last a minute or two. The same debate on a man in an Italian suit would be over before I finished typing this sentence. Given the fact that …

The very fact you’re reading this article right now means you are or feel connected in some way to Italy and that you, very likely, love this amazing country. Sure, it’s far from being  perfect, but what place really is?  …