Five Favorite Obelisks in Rome
Rome is city of obelisks. Here is information on five obelisks that you’ll definitely see while visiting the Eternal City.
Culture & Living
Posts about culture in Italy. Festivals, religion, etiquette, language, and more.
Favorite Italian Words: The Sequel
So many people enjoy learning Italian. It is so melodic – it’s the language of beautiful poetry, music, and the closest to Latin, the “dead” language that spawned dozens of others. While not everyone can travel to Italy, everyone can try to learn Italian, which is the reason that the Five Favorite Italian Words post…
Beautiful Places in Italy for a Photo Op
Just about every spot in Italy is a lovely place to take a photograph. But there are some spots that are truly special, places that make friends and family go “Wow!” Here are a few of them.
Four Great Golf Courses in Italy
Italy may not be the first place one thinks of for a golfing vacation, but it does have some terrific courses set in stunning locations, many of which are near the tourist routes of Rome, Florence, and Milan. So if you’re a golfer interested in hitting the links in Italy, you’re in luck. Golf in…
Five Favorites: My Favorite Italian Words
What are your five favorite Italian words? In this post, an Italy-focused travel writer answers the difficult question.
Buon Natale
Like many of you, I have already started my Christmas vacation. So, I thought I’d check in one last time before December 25 and share with you some of the prettiest Christmas pictures from Italy this year. I’ve done this by creating a gallery on Flickr. My Buon Natale 2009 gallery will feature up to…
Five Favorites: Recipes from Rome
Five recipes from Rome that are easy to enjoy anywhere. Eleonora Baldwin shares her favorite Roman recipes.
World’s Biggest Christmas Tree in Gubbio, Umbria
Rockefeller Center has nothing on this tree. The biggest Christmas tree in the world is, in fact, in Gubbio, Umbria. But this is not any tree. No, this is not a tree at all. Gubbio’s Albero di Natale is a dazzling neon feat–and Guinness Book of World Records holder–that has been lighting up the hills…
Italy’s Most Unusual Religious Relics
For every Biblical tale and saintly life, there is at least one precious relic housed in Rome, the Vatican, or in one of Italy’s thousands of churches.
Vampires in Volterra: ‘Twilight’ Tourism in Tuscany
New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series, has some scenes set in the Tuscan town of Volterra. Learn more about Volterra, including its vampire tour.
True Crime in Tuscany: The Monster of Florence
The Monster of Florence is a true crime tale about a serial killer who terrorized the Tuscan hills around Florence for almost 20 years.
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How To Make Bolognese Sauce [Video]
Here’s a great way to bring Italy home – learn how to make Bolognese sauce! There are dozens of instructional videos out there on how to make hearty Bolognese sauce. This one from GialloZafferano, a well-known Italian cuisine website and YouTube channel, is one of the most authentic ones that I have found. And this…
Rumblings in the Wine World: The Brunello di Montalcino Wine Scandal
It has been a little under two weeks since Italy announced the findings in the Brunello di Montalcino scandal. In case you haven’t been following this case, Italian authorities — prompted by the United States — started an investigation to find out whether some renowned manufacturers of Brunello di Montalcino were making their wines with…
The Real Pinocchio
Last November, the New York Review of Books released Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio under its NYRB Classics imprint. The tale, as reviewed by Tim Parks in the latest issue, is much darker than the Disneyfied version. After the jump is Parks’ full review. As always, I urge you to subscribe to NYRB; they…
Farewell to Italian Historian Christopher Hibbert
Farewell to Christopher Hibbert, whose biographies of Rome and the Medici family established him as one of the foremost authorities on Italy’s history.
Keeping Up With the Antinori
Italian wine enthusiasts (that includes most of us, right?) may find this past weekend’s 60 Minutes story on Italy’s Antinori family intriguing. Considered one of Italy’s premier winemaking clans, the Antinori have been in the wine business for more than 500 years. Today, even the Antinori daughters are in on the act. To learn more…
Wine Routes in Tuscany
Tuscany has more than a dozen wine routes. These are known collectively as Le Strade del Vino.
A Snowy ‘Staycation’ in Rome
Skiing and sledding within a tank of gas from Rome.