All Around Italy

May is a month rich in events, reflections, and remembrance. Traditionally dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, it is also known as the month of roses and the fragrance of spring flowers. It brings with it longer days, as …

With its beautiful mountains and sunny valleys, Valle d’Aosta is one of Italy’s most dream-like places, at least for those who would rather spend time surrounded by the majesty of the Alps, rather than on a beach  — yes, that’d …

The Catholic Church is preparing for a historic transition following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88. His passing has set in motion the historical process of electing a new pope, with the …

Welcome to Umbria, the “green center” of Italy — home to St. Francis’ stunning Assisi, the university (and chocolate capital) town of Perugia, swaths of alluring forests where wild truffles hide, and the world-famous wines of Montefalco. But there is …

Spilimbergo is a small town sitting along the banks of the Tagliamento River, in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Known as Italy’s City of Mosaics, it has recently earned the distinction of being one of the country’s Borghi più Belli d’Italia, an …

Italy is known for many wonderful things: art, architecture, opera, hand gestures, and an enviable approach to coffee. But tucked among these cultural icons, there is something just as incredible: its delightfully peculiar laws. Some are old, some still enforced, …

Just a few hundred meters off the Calabrian coast, opposite the town of Praia a Mare, lies the Isola di Dino, a small island that many Italians have heard of, but few have actually visited. With its sheer limestone cliffs, …

The twin cities of Gorizia in Italy and Nova Gorica in Slovenia have been jointly designated as the European Capital of Culture for 2025, in an unprecedented move that created the first cross-border capitale della cultura since the initiative’s establishment …

In the eastern part of Sicily, south of Catania and north of Ragusa, lies Syracuse — the capital of its namesake province and a city steeped in centuries of history and culture. It’s also the birthplace of Archimedes, the famed …

There’s a different feel in Parma, that town in Emilia-Romagna noted for such culinary masterpieces as Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma. Traveling northern Italy’s 2,000-year-old Via Emilia, Parma sits as a distinguished jewel midway between Milan and Bologna. These days, the Via’s original …