All Around Italy

Even in the time of the Ancient Greeks, Calabria’s s soil and climate had already proved ideal for growing long, thick and sweet licorice roots. Skilled expertise and then an industry grew up around licorice in Rossano, a beautiful hill …

Although the city of Bologna is located almost a hundred kilometers from the nearest sea, one of its most recognizable symbols, namely Neptune with its trident, is clearly related to water: so much so that, as far back as the …

We hear Tuscany and, of course, we think Florence, Siena, the leaning tower of Pisa,  Lucca’s medieval walls. If idyllic settings and wine are your thing, then it’s all about the region of Chianti, and the towns of Montepulciano or …

Springtime is on the way in Zafferana Etnea, the pearl of Etna. Buds on the cherry trees are plumping up and soon the first will burst, starting a spectacular floral extravaganza of fields speckled with wild flowers: The Mount Etna …

Part of the intrigue of Tuscany is the abundance of small hamlets and villages. Scattered across the rural landscape like precious gems awaiting discovery, the charms and beauties of these ancient borghi are many. Off the SR2 thoroughfare from Siena …

Early one morning in 1959 a ceramic artist from Turin known simply as Clizia arrived in Bussana Vecchia, a medieval hilltop village about five miles northeast of Sanremo that had been a complete ghost town for 72 years. On Feb. …

For some reason, I like to compare cities to beautiful female figures: Turin, which I know very well, is an elegant and haughty princess with a knack for the occult. Venice is coquette, colorful and well aware of her unequalled …

The nature of mystery is manyfold and there is certainly more to it than supernatural events, haunted locations and unsolved murders. Mystery, sometimes, lies also in our impossibility to interpret a habit or a specific moment in history, to understand …

From North to South, from East to West, Italy is a beautiful chest filled with mysterious treasures. Bones of dragons and alchemic doors, secret symbols to warn against the Devil and dark ladies of the Renaissance, our trip through the …

For centuries ancient Romans have built roads and bridges connecting all of their conquered territories, triumphal arches celebrating their victories, aqueducts supplying water to the new settlements. Alongside their military achievements they also built squares, villas, theaters, and – last …