The full extent of the damage to L'Aquila and the surrounding area after yesterday's 6.3 earthquake is still not known. As of now, there are at least 179 confirmed dead and numerous buildings, including the Church of Maria di Collemaggio, lie in rubble. Even though this is still a developing ...

I just learned that today is Venice's 1,588th birthday, according to blogger and Venice Kayak businessman René Seindal. Here's a nice, brief history lesson: Dear Venice, happy 1588th birthday - René Seindal.

I was recently doing some research on Genoa (Genova) and found that the old city, known for its port and as the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, has several kid-friendly activities, almost all of which can be found around the port. From the port, families can take whale- and dolphin-watching ...

Romantic Rome is a very popular place for couples. Nearly every cobbled street in the Eternal City, at least in the city center, inspires a romantic gesture, a kiss, or even a proposal. It is folly to try to list all of the romantic spots in Rome. But here are nine places -- some obvious, some ...

From extensive catacombs to spooky church tombs, Rome is like an instant haunted house and is a great place to visit during Halloween.

Italian wine enthusiasts (that includes most of us, right?) may find this past weekend's 60 Minutes story on Italy's Antinori family intriguing. https://youtu.be/UcyqizOfAic "All in the Family" story on the Antinori wine family on CBS 60 Minutes. Also available here. Considered one of ...

Rome's leafy Protestant Cemetery is the final resting place for Keats, Shelley, and Gramsci.

Tuscany has more than a dozen wine routes. These are known collectively as Le Strade del Vino.

Time to add two more Italian sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In July, UNESCO inscribed the Po Valley towns of Mantua and Sabbioneta and the Rhaetian Railway, which passes through the Swiss Alps into Tirano, Italy. Both new sites are located in the region of Lombardy. Palazzo Ducale ...

Florence may feel like a fairy tale city for adults, but kids aren't always impressed. That's mostly because they've yet to study or appreciate the art, architecture, and history that have made the Tuscan town one of the world's most favored destinations for generations. Enter Context Travel. The ...

Skiing and sledding within a tank of gas from Rome.

Unlike Greece, Italy isn't a land of islands. Sure, there's Sicily, Capri, and the Tuscan Archipelago, which includes Elba. But there is also a small set of islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Rome and Naples that, according to Guy Dinmore of The Financial Times, "offer a safer and saner way to ...

Those who may have watched CBS Sunday Morning* yesterday probably caught the Allen Pizzey "Postcard: Abruzzi" piece, which profiled a castle in the village of Santo Stefano di Sessania, Abruzzo (or Abruzzi, if you will) that has been converted into "authentic" accommodations for those few tourists ...

Rome's famous Renaissance street, Via Giulia, is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year. And, the New York Times' Elisabeth Rosenthal provides the history and descriptions of the streets' sites in her article A Stroll in Rome With a Papal Pedigree. Usually an unharried street, Via Giulia is ...

Large parts of Italy were once united under the Spanish flag, with conquests in Naples and Sicily by the houses of Aragon and Bourbon, among others. Even Milan and Parma were under Spanish rule at one point. I confess that I am not an expert on Spain's influence on Italy, so you may want to read ...

A round-up of food festivals in Le Marche.

Earlier today, we wrote about the travel potential of the region Puglia, this year's emerging star of Italian tourism. Well, if Puglia is the new Tuscany then some years from now Abruzzo will be the new Puglia. Richard Norton-Taylor writes about Vasto, a largely "unknown" beach on the Costa ...

On April 24, the new tomb of Padre Pio was unveiled in the Puglian city of San Giovanni Rotondo. The new tomb now features the exhumed body of Italy's most recent homegrown saint, who died in 1968 and who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. According to Ian Fisher's San Giovanni Rotondo ...