All Around Italy

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

There are well-kept secrets hidden behind the southern Appennine Mountains in the remote, charming village of Muro Lucano, set amid the rugged beauty of the Basilicata region. Here in the “instep” of Italy’s boot, which borders Campania to the west, …

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 …

Photography is an incredible versatile form of visual expression, yet there are instances when only painters, with their brushes, charcoals and colors, can truly capture the essence of a place or the soul of a person. There is something so …

Italy’s towers are an integral part of her appeal, yet comparatively few remain. At the height of its development, Lucca boasted 250 towers; today has only 3. The hilltop town of San Gimignano holds the honor of best representing what …

She lies just south of Siena, this stark yet soft and wizened land. Her sensuously rolling landscape is ever-changing — breathtakingly alluring when bathed in the play of shadows and sunlight, moody and dark when clouds obscure the sky. Iconic …

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 …