All Around Italy

It’s quite easy to toss around the term “magical” when referring to Italy’s vast number of charming, romantic villages. Some, however, wear the title a bit more earnestly than others. The tiny Umbrian borgo of Rasiglia is one such place. …

The readers of popular online food and wine daily All Food Sicily (www.allfoodsicily.it) selected the most beautiful place on their island: Militello in Val di Catania. The publication, which focuses on the rich and multifaceted world of Sicilian eno-gastronomic tradition, proposed a survey to …

This is the month of Saint Valentine’s Day and many are probably planning something special to do. Here in Italy, we are spoiled for choice: we have Venice, which fights with Paris to be the capital of love in the world, but how …

Juicy, sweet, and tangy, oranges are, along with lemons, a symbol of the bountiful land our South is. Their colors are those of light and the sun, their scent reminds us of fresh, crisp mornings. When burned on the fire, their fragrant …

If hope springs eternal (oh how we need a lot of that these days), so, too, do the enchanting thermal springs of Bagni San Filippo. These temperate mineral waters have warmed the bones of many a person for more than …

At age 9, Silvio Falato, now a retired professor of classics from Guardia Sanframondi, wrote an essay on his village that sounds like a love letter. The intro says: “There, it clings to the ruins of an ancient castle almost …

There is something akin to poetry in a nice trip by train: the landscape running fast outside the windows, the soft lulling of the carriage, the opportunity of daydreaming, thinking, and reflecting while you move towards a new destination. Of course, …

Montalto Uffugo is an ancient town in eastern Calabria that offers a gratifying choice for travelers looking for a lesser-known destination with abiding cultural clout in the region.  Its historic center sits on five hills facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, while downstream …

La Costiera Amalfitana. To borrow a few lines from a wonderful old song – “Say it loud and there’s music playing; say it soft and it’s almost like praying” – is befitting. Just the sound of the words hints at …

You can hike for miles in the mountainous Sila plateau through dark woods of pine trees dripping with lichen and moss. With the help of a local guide, you can watch for wolves, boars, and deer as you follow streams, …