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As your plane begins its descent towards Rome, off to the north you will often see a blue teardrop nestling in the hills of northern Lazio, with two tiny islands close to its southern shore. This is Lake Bolsena, Europe’s largest volcanic lake – only an hour from the capital. For those familiar with the lakes of northern Italy, Bolsena will be some...

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If you’re trying to find long lost relatives, I hope you’re better at it than I am. Last week, I walked the streets of San Vito Lo Capo, on the northwest tip of Sicily, looking for roots and branches of the family tree. But I didn’t have much to go on, and it didn’t help that I don’t speak Italian, or that few people in San Vito speak English. Find...

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Summer is here, and there is still time for you to plan a holiday and visit Europe. If you are still wondering about where to go in Europe, and you are considering Italy, Puglia is the answer! The heel of Italy, the eastern gate, the Tuscany of the South, are just three names to talk about the same ancient magical place: Puglia. The easternmost reg...

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Tourism in Italy is a growing industry. The country was a holiday destination for 420 million visitors in 2017, smashing records by 4.4 per cent compared to the previous year. According to Istat figures, this is 5.3 per cent above the European average.  Rome remains the most popular destination, attracting almost 27 million of these visitors, or 6....

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Artena, Italy is approximately 25 miles from Rome. Despite their proximity to each other, Artena is a much sleepier, old-world village, not encumbered by Rome’s foot traffic or consumerism. The beauty of Artena is in its organic simplicity, and its rebellion against the capricious whims of technology that have influenced city planning and developme...

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Geographically isolated from the mainland, Italy, yet at the center of Mediterranean trade routes since ancient times, the island of Sardinia boasts a rich culinary tradition, influenced and enriched through the centuries by populations of traders and invaders: the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Genoese, Catalans, Pisans, Spanish and Pi...

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In my long life time I’ve visited some 35 countries, especially when I ran for the U.S. government the international Fulbright Scholars’ Program.  Whenever I was asked, “What’s your favorite country?” I responded faster than immediately: “Italy”! No other country was in close second place — and I don’t say this just because I’m writing this piece f...

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Italian monumental and historic sites are vast in number and several of them are, in fact, part of the UNESCO World Heritage. From top to bottom, the country hosts r5 sites chosen by UNESCO as part of their exclusive list of the world’s most amazing beauties. Organizing your trip to Italy based on its UNESCO Word Heritage Sites can be a lovely and...

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AT FIRST GLANCE, THE APUAN Alps of northwest Tuscany’s Carrara region are pure white. Alison Leitch first saw them from a train window when traveling through Italy in the early 1980s. From a distance, she writes, their dazzling tops looked like snow. Her seatmate told her otherwise: The blinding whiteness was actually marble dust, a powdery byprodu...

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Udine, the historical capital and second largest city in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, is an overlooked gem. With its Renaissance squares, Venetian villas and Tiepolo frescos, the city has an impressive artistic heritage, along with a vibrant contemporary edge thanks to its large student population and world class modern art museum.  Its dis...

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