LIFE & PEOPLE

A traditional Sicilian pasta recipe which I absolutely adore is pasta con le sarde – pasta with sardines. If you have a keen eye though, you’ll notice that in my photos I used fresh anchovies instead of sardines. This was simply …

“Industrial city of the 20th century:” this is how Ivrea has been recently introduced to the UNESCO World Heritage List, at the beginning of the month of July. Ivrea is little known outside of Italy, but its most beloved son, …

Greeks and Romans offered spelt to the Gods, Aztecs considered chia seeds worthy of tributes, and farro is noted in the Old Testament. Today, approximately 70% of cultivated land is destined to the production of cereals, mostly wheat, barley, rye, …

There is a special sound that speaks of Italy, the same for thousands of years, a sound that becomes one with the country’s landscape, dotted with churches and belfries. Wherever you are, on the mountains or by the sea, the …

“Sicilian novels and memoirs that speak of food are more important to me than cookbooks,” says Mary Taylor Simeti, a grande dame of the vibrant Sicilian kitchen and culture. “Sicily’s culture, including its food, is a magnificent melting pot, an accumulation …

“The colonization of California began under the Spanish crown with Charles III, who found himself King of both California and Naples at the same time, a precious historical curiosity to remember the bond between Italy and California, between Naples and …

I stopped by the local farmer’s market this weekend and found myself in front of a beautiful basket of freshly picked arugula.  Memories of a beautiful Tuscan steak, perfectly cooked, sliced and laid atop a bed of simple arugula and …

Art and food, food and art: when thinking of Italian food, the liaison with art comes almost natural. That’s why some artists, photographers and chefs came together for a project that showcases how food and art can be combined to …

Prelude: Tonight, my wife caught me with my hands all over Fiona. That’s what we call our refrigerator. Fiona Frigidaire, actually. Caught in the act, there was no turning back: we made it a threesome. At first, it was all …

When Ape was born, Vespa was only two years old and had already found a place in the heart of Italians, who had been getting back on their feet after the tragedy of war. Piaggio asked engineer Corradino D’Ascanio yet …