A stray dog naps in the sun in Pompeii. I write this post on the first of May, a public holiday in Italy. Primo Maggio is also known as Festa del Lavoro, a day to celebrate workers. May Day. While the day is often used as a day for parades…
1 May 2020
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.”
15 September 2016
A month-by-month, personal account of my first year living in Italy.
5 August 2015
It’s been called the “shame of Italy” and for good reason. The A3 autostrada, a 443km highway that is to connect Salerno to Reggio Calabria, has been under construction since 1966. Faulty construction and mafia meddling by both the Camorra and ‘Ndragheta factions have caused numerous delays during the nearly…
23 May 2015
In 2011, UNESCO inscribed Italy’s newest World Heritage sites: The Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power (568-774 A.D.). Treated as one entity, these seven sites stretch from as far north as Castelseprio, Lombardy to as far south as Benevento in Campania. All seven of these sites represent, according to…
26 July 2011
Italy is full of scenic drives. There are the honey-colored sunsets of Tuscany, sepia-toned ruins of Ostia, and the snow-capped cityscapes of Torino. But if you want a ride with the bluest of blues then the only place to find yourself is along Campania’s La Costiera Amalfitana, The Amalfi Coast.…
12 August 2010
With its rough coastline, deep blue ocean, and color-drenched markets and hillsides – think bougainvillea, oleander, lemons, and orange blossoms – the Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana in Italian) is one of the most sought-after seaside destinations in Italy. Similar to Liguria’s Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, just south of Naples,…
7 July 2010
No matter if you’re a devout Catholic or a curious non-believer, you should make a point to check out a few of Italy’s unusual religious relics. More than 2,000 years of Christianity have produced numerous fascinating, if not gruesome, stories. And it seems that for every Biblical tale, there is…
12 November 2009
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,…
23 June 2008