Travel

Venice at the height of its power conjures images of merchant traders, carnival masks and debauchery. But for all its decadence Venetian life was governed by a well-established democracy with strict standards of behavior that held society together. The State …

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 …

Water carries life within: nothing could be and exist without it. Water is also frightful, because of its power, which destroys and obliterates. A force and a blessing of nature, water is mirror of life and death, its very appearance …

It’s a scientific fact (as if we needed proof) that fresh salt air, serene blue seas, and sand sifting between our toes is the best stress busting recipe around. But when done Sicilian style, the experience elevates to 5-star gourmet …

When I still lived abroad, I once visited my brother in Rome with two Irish friends, who were astonished by the fact the city only had two underground lines (it’s three today). “Well, every time they begin digging, something archaeologically …

Indeed, at the times of the Empire, all roads led to Rome, especially when you think the Romans are behind the creation of the first Italian and European communication arteries in history. Don’t we all know about the Via Aurelia, …

Ferrara: oh, the tragedy of having overlooked this beauty of an Italian city for so many years! But we’re in the good company of a whole lot of other folks, it seems, with their heads in the Italian sand. Thankfully, …

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, …

String some lights, hang a wreath, decorate the tree, and deck the halls with every form of green and red imaginable – Christmas is nigh! But have you polished up your Urn of Fate – fattened your Fasson ox – …

Every city has them, the so-called “hidden gems.” The places rarely visited by tourists, and the ones often forgotten about by locals. Living in a historical city like Rome, you struggle to run out of hidden gem possibilities, yet it’s …