All Around Italy

The small town of Palazzolo Acreide, nestled along the rocky slopes of Sicily’s Iblei Mountains about 25 miles north of Siracusa, is a charming gem, combining opulent baroque architecture, several archeological ruins and a sophisticated gastronomic scene that belies its …

The city of Sabbioneta (Mantua) was designed and built by the Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna. Here stands the Olympic Theatre, the first theatre bulding designed for entertainement in 1500. Vespasiano wanted Sabbioneta to be a strategic town, so he hired …

Everybody knows about the leaning tower in Pisa, but how many people have ever noticed that Bologna has two of them and that they are even older? In fact, it appears that the buildings affectionately known by the Lord-of-the-Ringsesque name …

On the first weekend of September the wonderful, historic city of Verona, in northern Italy, celebrates a special birthday. The party sees singing, dancing and lots of fancy costumes. And this year it’s commemorating the 1298th birthday of Verona’s most …

Even though everybody in the world knows about Leonardo da Vinci’s great genius, relatively few people ever think about paying a visit to the Tuscan hometown from which he got his name. But in the tiny medieval hamlet of Vinci, …

The oddest-looking buildings in Italy are the arcane “trulli”, unique circular dry-stone buildings typical of the region of Puglia, the ancient Apulia. There is nothing like them anywhere in the world. They dot the valley of the Itria river in …

Regattas have been popular in Venice since at least the 13th century when the first one was documented. And the water races probably date back much further as Venice has always, by virtue of its location, been a spectacularly successful …

We are in Montegrotto at the Grand Hotel Terme, a very famous SPA centre in the north of Italy, in the region Veneto for a Slow Tour in the wellness of spa waters! Earth, water, fire and air meet here: …

If you have good reporting skills and are available to travel to Italy next week, we’ll get you on a flight to Italy with all travel expenses paid as our magazine’s ambassador to follow Saint Francis’ footsteps from Assisi to …

Chess is a fascinating game of strategy, tactics and mental power. And nowhere is it played out on a grander scale than in Marostica, northern Italy where people in costume take the parts of each chess piece in a vibrant, …