Posts and pages with a map
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…
There won’t be a next time. Amatrice has been on my “next time” list for the past two years. We have talked about visiting the town for a Sunday lunch because of its famed amatriciana. But at a distance of approximately two hours from Rome, it was just beyond the range of our driving limits for a…
During the wee hours of the morning, an earthquake with a 6.2 magnitude struck central Italy. Italian news reports say the epicenter was near Rieti, about 1.5 hours north of Rome.
The town of San Leo in Emilia-Romagna is known for its Renaissance era fort and torture chamber.
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.
Turin has added another destination to Italy’s contemporary art scene. CAMERA, the Centro Italiano per la Fotografia will showcase Italian and international photography in a 2,000 square meter space just down the road from the Museo Nazionale del Cinema and other sights in Torino’s historic center.
Get to know the Milano Duomo, the most famous landmark in Milan.
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…
While hundreds wait in lines in the harsh sun to get into Saint Peter’s, the Archbasilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, also known as the Cathedral of Rome, is practically empty. San Giovanni is the oldest and largest papal basilica in Rome, although it has gone through many reconstructions over the years due to earthquakes,…
La Pioggia di Petali di Rose, or the Rain of Rose Petals, brings religious Rome and ancient Rome together in a moving and colorful spectacle.
Learn more about the ancient and contemporary history of the Jewish people in Rome with a tour through the ex-Ghetto.
About half an hour by train from Venice and even closer to Padua is Hotel Millepini Terme, a spa hotel that has the Guinness World Record for the world’s deepest thermal pool. The Y-40 The Deep Joy is 137-feet deep (40 meters) at its deepest, with four underwater grottos along the way. There’s a viewing tunnel at…
Italian cyclist Enrico Toti may have the most fascinating World War I story I’ve ever read.
Inspiration always seems to find me when I’m not looking and that is exactly what happened as I settled in to watch a few minutes of television last night. Lucky for me, I clicked over to Kenny Mayne’s Wider World of Sports, a show on ESPN that puts sports into a cultural context. One of…
About an hour and a half south of Rome lies Montecassino, an enormous Benedictine monastery whose environs witnessed a very costly battle of World War II.
With its rough coastline, deep blue sea, and color-drenched markets and hillsides, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most amazing destinations in Italy.
In the heart of Sardinia lies the village of Orgosolo, a sort of Sardinian “Wild West” known for years for its bandits, who would conduct brazen kidnappings and murders. During the first half of the 20th century, Orgosolo’s notorious reputation grew to such a point that it inspired the film Bandits of Orgosolo (1961). While…
Perugia, the picturesque capital of the region of Umbria, is a destination I like to recommend to travelers looking for a new place to explore in Central Italy. Perugia is an austere, university town – indeed, it’s one of Umbria’s hill towns – with several unique characteristics that make it ideal for discovery. Here’s my…