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Given the distances to be traveled and the imperfect roads, conventional wisdom stipulates that even ambitious short-term visitors to Sicily stick to either side of the island. There’s no wrong choice, though it’s the eastern coast that’s home to the majestic Mount Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano. That was also the side favored by the Greeks,...

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As more travelers see Sicily as an integral part of an Italian holiday and look for places beyond Palermo, Taormina and the Aeolian Islands to visit, the beautiful cities and towns of the Val di Noto are turning up on a greater number of itineraries and enjoying a new buzz. Although they have been luring visitors since the days of the Grand Tour, t...

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For as long as I’ve known my friend Val, she has never had any trouble shopping … until she joined me on a trip to Italy. A new designer wardrobe would have been as simple as a credit card transaction in Milan. In Sicily, you might need to slip a few extra euros under the table to get a perfectly tailored suit. But I’ve dragged Val on a road trip a...

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Many readers may have been already to the cinema to watch one of the most anticipated movies of this Summer, the modern take on classic comic and 1970s’ tv series Wonder Woman. Those a bit more familiar with the lands of Italy may have recognized a couple of pretty popular locations – Palinuro and Castel del Monte above all, backdrop to some of the...

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Nearly 500 years of myth and history have done nothing to dull the magic and mystery of the glorious Villa d’Este in Tivoli, the famed Tivoli water-and-wind garden, a haven for princes and lovers of the humanities, and arguably one of the most beautiful villas in all of Italy.  And that is saying much, considering the breathtaking beauty and lush d...

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The hilltop village of Caltagirone rises like a mirage above the parched landscape of central Sicily. Scrubby plants and olive trees eke out their existence in the sand-colored earth, along with the hardy residents of this town. When the heat reaches toward triple digits Fahrenheit on a typical summer afternoon, the dozens of Caltagirone’s artisans...

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Italy offers endless sights and historical attractions; I could list a hundred just in Rome alone. There’s so much to see no matter where you go. But part of the pleasure of “la dolce vita” is combining sightseeing, with unique only-in-Italy experiences. Here’s my 10 things to do, that take you beyond a list of sights, to truly living “Italian styl...

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“Bacchus amat colles, as the Romans observed, so the wine god must adore the Abruzzi,” wrote Burton Anderson in The Simon and Schuster Pocket Guide to Italian Wines in 1982. “Between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennines, which reach their highest point in the snow-capped Gran Sasso range above the regional capital of L'Aquila, there is little else bu...

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The choice of Matera as 2019’s European City of Culture will have astonished Italians of a certain age, although not those who have ever visited it. Fifty years ago, the city was designated the ‘national shame’ of Italy, embodying everything that was wrong with the impoverished south. But it was not true then and is little more than a hazy memory t...

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The Unesco-inscribed town of Sabbioneta between Mantua and Parma is considered a true model of an ‘ideal city.’ Over the course of a few decades, what had been a small fortified village was entirely rebuilt by nobleman and condottiero Vespasiano Gonzaga, according to the Renaissance principles of proportion and the ideal of harmony as symbolized in...

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