Ischia may be one of Italy’s best-kept secrets (as far as international travelers are concerned), an 18-square mile volcanic island hiding in plain view—yes, that’s the hazy outcropping you see in the distance as you sail to its sparkly neighbor Capri in the Gulf of Naples. But there are many compelling reasons to visit. If you’ve done the sceney s...

More than sixty years ago the Italian writer and painter, Carlo Levi, wrote a series of essays about Rome that were published posthumously. These short essays, published in 2005 under the title Fleeting Rome, must rank among his best works, perhaps surpassing even his famous Christ Stopped at Eboli. The essays in Fleeting Rome focus on Romans’ uniq...

Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman, Swabian: throughout the centuries, Palermo was ruled by different civilizations and this is reflected in the city’s architecture, a mixture of Arabesque and Norman magnificence, of Baroque and Liberty styles. The multi-ethnic past of Palermo is visible in the Cathedral, one of the most important historic buildings and a...

Living the high life — Italian-style — is just 6,600 kilometres and $53,000 away. That’s the low-end cost of a week’s stay at Villa Besana on the shores of Lake Como, an upscale resort area in northern Italy. Few luxuries are left unoffered at the picturesque retreat in the foothills of the Alps, where a Michelin-starred chef, a cellar of fine wine...

Did you know that Italy has more sites with UNESCO World Heritage status than any other country in the world? Italy is in the top ranking of World Heritage out of 1,001 worldwide. 777 of them are cultural heritage; 194 of them are natural; and 30, mixed. Italy has 51 sites out of them, and is followed by Spain, which has 44 UNESCO sites, and by Chi...

Every year in Italy there are many local celebrations which re-enact historical events through staged costume performances. One of the most important is the one yearly held in Palmanova.. Here we will tell you about its history and in particular how this tradition began. We will also present some of the many side events taking place, and finally wi...

Rome is dotted with fountains – hundreds of them. From monumental to small, the city’s architectural landscape is very much characterized by the presence of ‘fontane,’ which for the past 2,000 years have decorated the squares and provided drinking water. During the Roman Empire, Rome had eleven aqueducts providing water for 39 monumental fountains...

L’Italia, ancora una volta, sembra essere la nazione più amata per le vacanze estive, tant’è vero che le statistiche parlano di quasi 86 milioni di presenze sul nostro territorio, addirittura oltre 1,6 milioni in più rispetto a quelle che si erano registrate la scorsa estate. Queste previsioni di agosto, che sono emerse grazie all’indagine condotta...

Today, it's one of the most astonishing places in Italy -- a city carved into a rugged hillside -- but just a few years ago, Matera was branded a national disgrace. Many residents still remember when the city had a reputation for squalor and its residents made their homes in dark grottoes that in some cases were originally used by their ancestors 9...

It’s easy to miss the ancient Tuscan town of Sommocolonia. Perched on the spine of a high ridge amid a wild expanse of canyons, ravines and chestnut forests 38 miles north of Pisa, there are no restaurants, inns or cafes there. Nor are there any banks, grocery stores, pharmacies or things that really make a town a town. The stone settlement isn’t i...