Conegliano, the small but mighty queen of world women's volleyball
Italian volleyball is on top of the world. At the peak of this success is Conegliano, a small town in Veneto with only 35,000 inhabitants. The Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano has claimed the Italian women's volleyball Serie A championship, securing their eighth Scudetto, the seventh consecutive one. This is an extraordinary achievement that highlight...
Video game industry in Italy sees significant growth in 2024
Video games in Italy have a turnover of 2.4 billion euros. This is what emerges from the latest annual report on gaming in Italy. These are very significant and important numbers, providing positive signals about the gaming sector's performance in Italy, not only regarding hardware and software. Indeed, the number of national video game companies i...
The Best Italian Wineries to Visit Near Naples
Naples has grown ever more popular as a tourist destination in recent years. But after several days of the city’s glorious chaos — and, admittedly, the best pizza on earth — heading out of town into the surrounding countryside to visit some of the great wineries of Campania might come as a needed break. You can even venture further east to sunny Pu...
Postmodernism and the rise of "Arte Povera"
The rise of "Poor Art" in Italy: around the years 1960’s in Italy a bunch of young artists choosen to create a new form of artworks using “poor” elements: shredded clothes, rags, wood, clay, plaster, rusted iron, straw, wicker etc... Step by step this strange use of elements evolved into an interesting develop of new languages. They were going acro...
How an Italian American discovered her ancestor’s painting in Urbino
How many Americans have Italian origins? Many. But not all Italian Americans can boast an ancestor like Ventura Mazza, a student of Federico Barocci, the Urbino painter who was a key figure in Italian Mannerism and the art of the Counter-Reformation, considered one of the precursors of Baroque. The protagonist of this story is Maria Theresa Siclare...
Santa Maria Maggiore: why Pope Francis decided ‘this is my place’ to be buried
As a priest, and then cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would always call into Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, during his regular visits to the Italian capital. The fourth-century basilica with its distinctive bell tower is perched on one of Rome’s seven ancient hills in Esquilino, a neighbourhood tha...
Pope Francis’ love for Italy
The final farewell to Pope Francis is bringing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from every continent to Rome, many Romans, and 170 delegations of royals, heads of state and government from around the world, leaders of supranational organizations, and representatives of other religions. All in Rome, for a day once again as the "caput mundi." But wh...
April 25th, Italy's Liberation Day: thanks to the American soldiers who made a huge contribution to our liberation
Today is April 25th, and every year on this day, Italy celebrates its liberation from Nazi-fascism. This year, the anniversary marks a round figure: 80 years since April 25, 1945. That day became the symbol of the liberation of much of the national territory by the partisan forces and the Allied forces, ending the Nazi occupation and the Italian So...
New travel book on Italy: A Catholic's Guide to La Dolce Vita
For those wishing to experience this remarkable country to the fullest, just knowing where to start can be overwhelming. In Italy’s Shrines and Wonders: Discovering Sacred Spaces, Fascinating Places, and Destinations off the Beaten Path, bestselling author, media personality, and Italy aficionado Teresa Tomeo provides the choicest sites, routes, an...
Mediterranean megaflood carved out hills in Sicily, study reveals
The event that refilled the Mediterranean basin 5m years ago is thought to have been the largest flood in Earth’s history, with water surging through the present-day strait of Gibraltar 1,000 times faster than the Amazon River, filling the basin in just a couple of years. Now jumbled rock deposits on the top of hills in south-east Sicily provide th...
The Italian (and Latin) language at the center of the world: the words of the Conclave
In the majestic Sistine Chapel, inside the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the 135 voting cardinals under 80 years old will choose the successor of Pope Francis in the coming weeks. The word “Conclave” comes from the Latin cum clavis, meaning “under lock and key.” It refers to the meeting of cardinals from all over the world to elect a new pope. I...
Italian 'hidden gem' is perfect summer destination – and cheaper than Amalfi Coast
For all the travel enthusiasts out there, one avid globetrotter is singing the praises of an Italian destination that's perfect for your next getaway. As Europe begins to bask in sunnier climes and pleasant warmth, the allure of escaping the mundanity of daily life beckons. While jetting off can often come with a hefty price tag, this period offers...