All Around Italy

For a new angle on Italy, ditch the car and try sailing off on the Ionian Sea along the coast off Rocca Imperiale, a bijou-size borgo that just joined the club of the most beautiful villages of Il Bel Paese. A sojourn …

“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, …

More than sixty years ago the Italian writer and painter, Carlo Levi, wrote a series of essays about Rome that were published posthumously. These short essays, published in 2005 under the title Fleeting Rome, must rank among his best works, …

Summer is on its way, or so we all hope here in Italy. The weather remains unstable, albeit temperatures are pleasant and I happily enjoyed my first seasonal swim in the sea over a week ago. In any case, with …

Even in a country like Italy blessed with immense beauty, the Aeolian Islands are a standout destination. The Aeolian archipelago – a group of seven islands and five islets afloat in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Sicily – …

For a little town just off the A16 autostrada, east of Naples, Nola has some big claims to fame. Spartacus once conquered it, Hadrian tried and the first Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus died here. Nola also famously introduced bells to …

Water: the locus where the world of the seen and the unseen meet, the origin of life, the strongest of protection against enemies, the most melodious of voices for lovers and poets. In Rome, water means Tiber and just there, …

Among the reasons that make the Tuscan region one of the most beloved of the whole Bel Paese, the fine arts, its unique landscapes and its delicious food are definitely on top of the list. What is more, the possibilities …

Stereotypes, stereotypes: we detest them but we can’t live without them, really. In the end, there is always a tiny grain of truth in those common knowledge bites that time and habit made more real than reality. And Milan, extraordinary …

For Italians, the piazza or square, is not just the architectural space that characterizes cities and villages, but an open air, urban living room. It is the heart of each Italian town where history, architecture and social relations become one. …