Close

There are several walking routes for hiking in Italy, roads that have been used since ancient times and are still a destination for adventurers from all over the world. One of the most well-known is the Via degli Dei (path of the gods) that joins the cities of Bologna and Florence through the Apennines. Italian Traditions will guide you on the disc...

1421

It’s that time of year when Italians head to the mountains in northern Italy for what they refer to “La Settimana Bianca” or “The White Week” referring to week-long ski trips during the winter months. So, once again an excuse to put their jobs on the back burner in favor of “La Dolce Vita.” Their biggest dilemma is trying to decide between the Ital...

555

Central Italy’s Tuscany attracts locals and travelers thanks to all it has to offer – a diverse and breathtaking coastline along the Tyrrhenian Sea showcasing rocky cliffs, clear blue seas, white sandy beaches and an amazing underwater world. The Maremma coast, an area that stretches from Livorno to Grosseto, offers endless opportunities for a beac...

583

How to survive in such a place? Ancient Pantellerians, over the millennia, devised an amazingly clever fog-catching garden design now known as the giardino Pantesco (“Pantellerian garden,” in Italian), each one for the sole purpose of nurturing a single sprout. Giardini Panteschi are perfectly circular and are precisely calibrated to have walls of...

777

Nobody knows for sure the year the Romanesque Basilica of Santa Giulia di Bonate Sotto, in the province of Bergamo, was founded. It was built in the Lesina area, named after a nearby creek, probably in the early 12th century. According to folk tradition, it was founded by African martyr Saint Julia herself – although there is no proof that she ever...

644

Despite countless attempts at imitation by others, ceramics from Vietri (le ceramiche di Vietri) have proven themselves to be so unique that they can’t be duplicated. Thanks to the ceramics’ rich history and tradition, not to mention the specialized system used to produce it, Vietri’s ceramics really are in a class of their own. The process and the...

1246

Fabulous food, amazing art, rich language, dramatic and gorgeous landscapes -- we all know what makes Italy so special. Perhaps best of all are the scenic small towns and villages, where it's possible to enjoy all these while surrounded by picturesque coastline, mountains, valleys, rivers or volcanoes. Here are some of the most idyllic villages whe...

790

We were in the Cinque Terre for 4 days and got the 3-day pass for 41 euros. We arrived by train, and we purchased our passes to walk/hike the Cinque Terre trails at the La Spezia railway station. You may purchase passes at every station stop. Train times are listed at the stations and you receive a timetable with your pass. We also received a map o...

509

French Impressionist painter Claude Monet made it the subject of some of his famous paintings, and called it a “jewel of lightness.” Dolceacqua (literally, ‘sweet water’) is a typical medieval village of Val Nervia, on the hills of the Ligurian hinterland between Ventimiglia and Bordighera, in the western portion of the Italian Riviera, close to th...

607

Visitors caught snacking, sunbathing or taking a dip in Venice's canals risk being kicked out of the city and banned from returning, under the latest rules aimed at reining in disruptive tourists. The lagoon city reserves the right to punish ill-mannered visitors the same way that police tackle football hooligans: with an order that bans them from...

1751