One Day In...

Bagheria is a curiosity, a literary space in the most exotic place in Europe: Sicily at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, part of Europe and Africa, yet belonging entirely to neither. Sicily remains a unique land with an Arabic vibe, …

After Cascia and Todi, the journey to re-discover the customs and traditions of Umbria and its local saints stops in another astonishing medieval town, Gubbio. Nestled at the feet of Mount Ingino, in the northern part of the region, our …

In the summer of 2015, the city of Bologna hosted in its town hall a successful exhibition titled Emilia-Romagna, terra di cineasti (Emilia-Romagna, a land of filmmakers): inspired by an eponymous essay written in 1990 by the influential film critic …

Without cars, buses or other vehicles, Venice is a pedestrian paradise—until you get lost. As I discovered on a recent visit, you need more than a map to navigate the Venetian labyrinth: You need a new vocabulary. As in other …

The pristine medieval village Civita di Bagnoregio has paradoxically found a boom in tourism due to its slow, steady collapse down a jagged cliff of volcanic rock. Its nickname is Il Paese che Muore because it has actually been collapsing …

During the early Rena-issance, the noble Malaspina family became so powerful that it managed to rule over the border region between Tuscany, Liguria, and Emilia for several centuries. Instrumental to this success was their control over the Apuan Alps surrounding …

Ever since Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, Christians have sought solitude as an act of devotion and dedication to peaceful prayer. Devout and secluded Christian communities began to spring up across Europe as early as the 3rd and …

We made a brief stop at Grassano, one of the two small southern villages where Mussolini exiled Carlo Levi to silence him during the fascist’s ruinous reign.  But the real story of both Scotellaro and Levi is found in Matera. …

After three eventful days in Naples, we rented a car and drove over the mountain pass to the Amalfi Coast, the iconic site of southern affluence and prosperity. The Amalfi Coast is another of those iconic, idealized images of the …

After visiting Fellini’s hometown of Rimini, our journey through the cinematic roots of the Emilia-Romagna region leads us to the city of Ferrara. Besides being known as one of the “capitals” of the Italian Renaissance, as well as because of …