Italy is known for embracing art in its many forms. While Italy is not the birthplace of ceramic making, it’s undeniable that the country is home to skilled artisans who have perfected this ancient tradition. Hand-painted ceramics are often referred to as maiolica, which references the tin glaze used on these pieces. The original spelling of this n...

When you see the “brioscia cu’ tuppu” (Sicilian brioche) for the first time you inevitably think: okay, what is this? Is it really eatable or is it a strange work of art to be admired and photographed for Instagram? Well yes, Sicilian brioche is instagrammable without a doubt, but it is also eatable, and how! It is one of Sicily’s most famous and p...

In the heart of Sicily, equidistant from Palermo and Agrigento, stands Palazzo Adriano. Many are surely familiar with this village because it was one of the locations for Giuseppe Tornatore's Oscar-winning Nuovo Cinema Paradiso in 1990. Indeed, the beauty of this village at the foot of Monte delle Rose, part of the Sicani Mountains, has been inspir...

Lena Camperlengo has found her haven for Italian food in downtown Ocala. “I know Italian food and this is it,” she said about the freshly made fare at the family owned Let’s Eat Fresh: Food to Live For, a dine-in deli and more located at 801 N. Magnolia Ave. Camperlengo discovered Let’s Eat Fresh when she visited the Ocala Downtown Market, where th...

Travel suggestions for those who wish to run along Italy from Friulian Carnia to the sea overlooking Africa. The freedom of a holiday in campervan in Italy is much more than a "different" idea of tourism. It is a lifestyle, the outdoor holiday par excellence but in the comfort of beds to sleep on and an engine under the bonnet. It is true full-mode...

The Association for the conservation of Popular Traditions, founded by Antonio Pasqualino in 1995 who was a surgeon and anthropologist, established the International Puppet Museum in 1975. Due to the changing economic and social landscape in Italy in the 1960s, many puppeteers abandoned their careers for something more lucrative. The association op...

As you twist and turn along the roads that head away from Rome, up and through the verdant hills that billow through Tuscany, castles begin to crown distant peaks like ornate figurines in a wedding cake shop. Even better, you can actually stay as a guest in some of those majestic Italian castles. Italy is not short on castles or villas or palaces o...

In Sicily, 8 km west of Siracusa, surrounded by orange trees and vineyards, is the Nature Reserve of Ciane river and Saline of Siracusa. The name Ciane has Greek origins and draws the blue-green color of its waters (Cyanos). The reserve includes the river, which originates in Cugno Cardinale and flows into the great harbor of Siracusa, and the wet...

Italy was ground zero for the Roman world (at least until it split into East and West) and is where many of the most impressive Roman ruins are found today. Italy is full of excellent ancient Roman ruins worth visiting. Some of them are well-known while others are lesser known (like the peculiar Mouth of Truth in Rome). Here are 10 of the best anci...

The discovery of new, previously unidentified artifacts pleased the archaeologists at the Archaeological Park of Agrigento (Valle dei Templi). The revelations today result from a protracted procedure of excavations that began in 2019 but were abruptly suspended for the COVID-19 emergency. According to recent reports, archaeologists have unearthed a...