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With its long warm days and smorgasbord of iconic sights to tick off every world-traveler’s bucket list, summer has always been the hot time of year to visit Florence – it was often packed to bursting point pre-pandemic. Yet each season has a beauty of its own, with a stack of top sights to see and things to do whatever the time of year and your in...

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We are between 1547 and 1555. Michelangelo sculpts the Pietà in a single large block of white marble. It depicts the Virgin and Mary Magdalene receiving the body of Christ, deposed from the cross by the elderly Nicodemus. Buonarroti, in his seventies, thought that the sculpture could be placed on the altar where he wanted to be buried. But then, un...

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The Uffizi in Florence has come first in a list of the best museums and galleries in the world according to Time Out magazine. The Uffizi, the only Italian museum in the global top 20 list, saw off heavyweights such as the Louvre and the Tate Modern to claim the top spot. "There are so many dazzling classical works in the Uffizi that some visitors...

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For centuries, Italy was the preferred destination for poetically-minded nobles from across northern Europe. The “grand tour” was an exercise in communing with the ancient Roman world at a time when it was considered the height of culture to contemplate its romantically crumbling relics and vine-clad temples. But these “grand trippers” gave little...

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Torre del Lago, a small town between Lake Massaciuccoli and the sea, is famous as the place where Puccini had a villa and for the Puccini festival held in summer in the outdoor theater overlooking the lake. Puccini called this area by Lake Massaciuccoli paradise and it’s still a very peaceful place for a relaxing vacation or a short day trip from n...

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In 2021 rose to 58 the number of Italian sites that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now the ranking of the 10 most famous and visited has come out, thanks to the analysis of reviews on Google. All categories have been evaluated: cultural sites, natural sites (5) and cultural landscapes (8) that are part of the 58 UNESCO wonders. However...

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The country has taken yet another small step towards normality, with the celebration of the Carnevale di Viareggio, after the cancellation of the 2020 edition because of Covid-19. While times are still difficult across the globe, the rise in the number of vaccinated people and the overall efficacy of the jab means we may start looking at the future...

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n recent months in Italy, there has been a real escalation in the requests for recognition of extra virgin olive oil with a Geographical Indication. The novelty lies in the attempt to replicate a successful model, that of Olio Toscano PGI. An exemplary case as even before the EU certification it has focused on a production area such as Tuscany, whi...

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Many people fantasise about moving to Italy to start their own B&B business, but few manage to make that dream a reality. The Local spoke to three couples who took the plunge. For George and Linda Meyers, it happened slowly, then fast. For years the pair travelled throughout Italy on holiday exploring small towns and villages. George, a retired Ame...

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A three day Symposium on the occasion of the Metropolitan Museum exhibition: “The Medici Portraits and Politics -1512-1570”. Tuesday, October 12, 2021. From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm. Italian Cultural Institute of New York, 686 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065. Free Entrance. Book here. Delicacies and poisons: the Art of the Table during the Medici Era - F...

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