3 Tips to Help You Plan Your Puglia Summer Accommodations
Planning a summer trip to Puglia? These three tips will help you avoid a hotel disaster.
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The Best Things to Eat in Palermo, Sicily
I Can’t Believe I Ate All of That On Such a Short Trip
From Foreign Language to Lingua Franca: Italian Immersion Programs in Italy
Take your Italian language skills to a new level with an Italian immersion course in Italy.
Finally Ferrara: Postcard From a City That Called Me Back
Ferrara is a gorgeous little city in Emilia-Romagna known for its Renaissance walls and palaces, the Castello Estense, and its rich Jewish heritage.
Five Favorite Flavors From Ferrara and Modena
To ring in the New Year, my family and I rented a farmhouse for a few days on the outskirts of Ferrara. Thinking back to the trip, the timing wasn’t ideal. Ferrara was freezing and on New Year’s Eve, the fog was so thick on our drive into town to watch the fireworks over Castello…
Who Was Saint Valentine?
Saint Valentine, a Christian bishop from Umbria, was martyred in Rome in the 3rd century AD. Learn more about his life, death, and legend.
More Than A Mocha: Turin’s Sweet, Rich Bicerin
The bicerin is an important part of the coffee culture in Torino (Turin). Learn more about the bicerin.
Italy’s Alpini Corps: The Traditions Beyond the Feathered Cap
The grey felt cap adorned with a black raven feather worn by old northern Italian men and some modern-day camouflaged troops is known as the Cappello Alpino. This recognizable cap signifies that the wearer is or was a member of the Alpini, an elite corps of the Italian army that is most closely associated with…
Best Places to Kiss in Rome
Before I tell you about the best places to kiss in Rome, you’ve got to really want to kiss and be kissed.
Five Lessons Learned While Living and Traveling in Italy
Reflection is part of the prescription for moving from one year into the next. So while I wanted to write a year-end round-up a month ago, I realized that such an article would not fully capture the joys, sorrows, and idiosyncrasies of being an expat resident and traveler in Italy. Five is an arbitrary number,…
Best Places to Live in Italy: The Quality of Life Index 2017
Considering a move to Italy? The annual quality of life index will provide you a starter checklist of factors to keep in mind.
Ancient Greek Temples and Mozzarella di Bufala in Paestum
If you tell a Roman that you are going Paestum for the weekend, invariably he or she will tell you: “Make sure you pick up some mozzarella di bufala.” Paestum and Its Greek Roots and Ruins Paestum is a sight to see without the culinary pit stop. A city known as “Poseidonia” when it was part…
Things Romans Love (and Hate) About Rome in August
Will you be in Rome in August? Here are some reasons to rejoice and lament your stay in the Eternal City during the hottest month of the year.
The Fortress of San Leo and Its Torture Chamber
The town of San Leo in Emilia-Romagna is known for its Renaissance era fort and torture chamber.
Church of Purgatorio in Terracina
Italy’s bigger cities, especially Rome, have plenty of churches to please those with morbid fascinations for skulls, skeletons, and saintly relics. Taken together, these churches and their contents provide a sort-of museum feel — creepy but not altogether isolating.
A Special Harvest: Exploring Anatomical Theaters in Padua and Bologna
Much of what we know today about anatomy was first discovered and documented in Renaissance Italy.
The Milano Duomo, Inside and Out
Get to know the Milano Duomo, the most famous landmark in Milan.
Will Work For Wine: Luca Signorelli’s Orvieto Duomo Contract and His Intoxicating, Apocalyptic Fresco Cycle
In 1499, Tuscan artist Luca Signorelli signed a contract to paint two remaining sections of the Cappella Nuova (new chapel) of the Duomo in the Umbrian town of Orvieto. By 1502 (or 1504, depending on which documentation you read), he had completed his “End of the World” fresco cycle in what is now known as the…