LIFE & PEOPLE

“Fatta l’Italia, bisogna fare gli Italiani,” famously said Massimo D’Azeglio shortly after the unification of Italy. And he was right: in those faithful last decades of the 19th century, when Risorgimento reached its apogee and political ideas of unity and …

As we look at the history of humanity, we often focus on the individuals who made fundamental discoveries and enabled us to advance our knowledge, by challenging directly the system of beliefs they lived in.   A remarkable example of …

For a number of years, I have wondered why Easter Sunday falls at different times of the spring season. Although Easter usually comes in the month of April, it can come as early as March 22nd or as late as …

Walking down Mulberry Street, gelato alla nocciola in hand, I couldn’t help but watch the old man wearing a vest and a coppola animatedly talking to his friend in Sicilian. If I had snapped a picture, you would have guessed …

Tucked inside a 17,000 square-foot building, with vaults protected by a high security system of checkpoints and keypads, lie the treasures of a corporation that has changed the very world in which we live. The collection includes four million photo …

In the summer of 2015, the city of Bologna hosted in its town hall a successful exhibition titled Emilia-Romagna, terra di cineasti (Emilia-Romagna, a land of filmmakers): inspired by an eponymous essay written in 1990 by the influential film critic …

We made a brief stop at Grassano, one of the two small southern villages where Mussolini exiled Carlo Levi to silence him during the fascist’s ruinous reign.  But the real story of both Scotellaro and Levi is found in Matera. …

It goes without saying that good eating is the one thing most Italians would never be willing to compromise on. Countless Hollywood reenactments of banquet-like family meals have helped reinforce the collective image we’ve longed to establish of ourselves as …

If you’ve ever visited the Apulian countryside, you’ve walked amongst the giants. The majestic ulivi secolari (centuries-old olive trees) have stood the grueling test of time. Imbued with a sage elegance and peaceful tiredness that only comes with old age, …

The first memories I have of Fabriano paper are of the A5 notebooks we used in elementary school: each page was heavier and thicker than average, making it perfect for the daily wear and tear imposed by the hands – …