Living in Bologna: real life in ragù land
Located in the Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna is a city of real substance. With a population of just under 400,000, it feels lively and important without the intense tourist crowds you might find in Florence or Rome. The city is famously known by three nicknames that perfectly capture its spirit: La Dotta (the Learned), for its ancient university; ...
At 86, she still makes limoncello the old-fashioned way: the recipe from a restaurant on the Sorrento coast
Nonna Giuseppina is 86 years old and in Massa Lubrense she prepares a very special limoncello, using lemons from her own garden, along with their leaves. Lemon groves strongly characterise the landscape of Massa Lubrense, a small town on the Sorrento Coast. Lemon cultivation began here in the 17th century with the Jesuit Fathers, who designed the t...
The Italian sculptures every art lover must see once in a lifetime
Italy has a boundless artistic and cultural heritage, its works bear witness to centuries of creativity. Sculpture is the most intriguing of all artistic applications, transforming matter, giving it a shape, giving it a story, making it alive is one of the most evocative artistic acts, delivers the artist's genius to the observer. The art of sculpt...
Google partners up with Italian startup Energy Dome for long-duration clean energy storage
Google has taken a major step toward supporting the global transition to clean energy by partnering with Italian startup Energy Dome, a company known for its innovative long-duration energy storage technology that uses carbon dioxide. This collaboration aims to advance the deployment of sustainable energy systems and tackle one of the biggest chall...
Rome to Gain Special Powers
In a landmark decision, Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a constitutional reform that will grant Roma Capitale both legislative authority and financial autonomy, redefining the role of the capital within the Italian Republic. Central to the reform is a revision of Article 114 of the Constitution, expressly naming “Roma Capitale” alongside regi...
Five reasons why Lago d’Iseo is the best Italian Lake
Glitzy Como, sporty Garda, refined Maggiore – these are the A-listers of the Italian lakes. Little Lago d'Iseo hardly gets a mention by comparison. The pages of the brochures are distinctly empty of its name. Therein lies the charm, the reason why this hidden S-bend of water in the Lombard Alps is surely among the best lakes in the country. Snaking...
Living in Udine: the guietly good life in Friuli
Udine is one of those understated places, full of elegant Venetian architecture and quiet, cobbled squares, but without the tourist crush you get elsewhere. It's tucked away in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a region in Italy's far northeast that borders both Austria and Slovenia. Living in Udine offers a rhythm that’s both relaxing and refined, revolving...
I quit my job, divorced my husband, and moved to Italy to retire. I miss my kids, but I'm happier and healthier here
In 2017, I was at a crossroads. A lot of people I knew were dying, and I started thinking: You really don't know how many days you get or what's promised to you. I figured I'd start traveling abroad. My company was kind enough to let me take a sabbatical while I sorted out my world. It turned out to be a mistake for them, because I decided I wasn't...
Is Favignana Ready For Its Close-Up?
Islands are appealing as much for what they offer as for what they don’t—24/7 access, a fondness for punctuality, the daily drama of mainland life with all its complex, shifting demands. Remoteness, or at least the idea of it, has always been integral to their allure, drawing everyone from backpacking nature lovers to high-profile billionaires in s...
More than 4,000 Venice residents buy ‘haunted’ Italian island known for horrific experiments – to keep tourists away
A group of more than 4,500 residents of Venice chipped in to buy a “haunted” island that once housed an asylum and a hospital for quarantined plague victims — to keep tourists away. The local investors are now due to take over the 18.5-acre island of Poveglia on Aug. 1 with a 99-year lease that will turn it into an urban park for Venetians that is...
Radda in Chianti: a magical village where time smells of wine and stone
In the truest heart of Tuscany, where the hills seem hand-drawn and the rows of vines trace the landscape like musical scores, lies Radda in Chianti, embraced by vineyards and guarded by ancient walls, perched on the ridge between the Arbia and Pesa rivers.Known as the "village of vineyards" by those who truly know it, Radda is a medieval jewel, sh...
Groundbreaking gene therapy helps blind patient regain sight in Italy
A 38-year-old Italian man has become the first person in the world to benefit from an innovative dual-vector gene therapy for a rare inherited eye disease. Treated in July 2024 at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” in Naples, the patient was diagnosed with Usher syndrome type 1B, a genetic disorder that causes congenital deafness and pro...