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A flight mix-up departing from Rome has left us with 24 hours to spare in Italy, so we decide to make the most of our time with a train trip to the historical hilltop town of Tivoli – a popular retreat for Romans. A beautiful hilltop town 30km northeast of the capital, Tivoli has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and ancient ruins are dotted...

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You may not hear about many celebrity sightings on Lake Maggiore; there are no Clooney-caliber stars who spend their summers here boating with their A-list friends. Instead, there are small towns, botanical gardens, lakeside beaches, ample opportunities for hiking, biking, and boating, and a decidedly laid-back vibe when compared to its posher sibl...

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In a quiet revival of Italy’s spiritual heritage, the Sicilian Via dei Frati trail has emerged as a powerful new magnet for travelers in search of solitude, natural wonder, and historical resonance. This 166-kilometre trail, recently restored and reopened to the public, winds through Sicily’s Madonie natural park—offering an experience that sits at...

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There’s no doubt that Italy is a feast for all the senses, especially the sense of taste. Italian food products and cuisine have infiltrated just about every corner of the globe, but there’s no comparison to trying classic Italian recipes at their source—and there’s so much more than pizza, pasta, and gelato. Italian cuisine is very regional, so do...

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With its neighbours Roero and Monferrato, the Langhe region have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014. Ancient castles, tiny villages framed by endless rows of vines, and rolling hills that produce some of Italy’s finest wines shape this generous land, home to truffles, hazelnuts, and the Slow Food movement. Every season has its charm, and...

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Twenty years ago, parts of Bari were a mafia stronghold. Today, thanks to a group of no-nonsense nonnas and an anticorruption mayor, the capital city of Puglia is Europe’s latest short-break star. With flights from Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh, here you can feast on superb pizza for under five euros in a 16th-century piazza bedecked by fairy lig...

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During the last few years, many small towns in Italy were faced with the issue of depopulation, as their populations aged, the birth rate declined, and emigration increased. In 2019, the United Nations reported that Italy was the only major European economy whose population was set to decline in the next five years, and this glooming prophecy came...

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“The quantity and determination of subjects active in the field of patronage both ecclesiastical and secular,” wrote art historian Cristina Acidini, characterized Florence “at the time of the free Communes and beyond over the centuries: the civil government, the Christian church and religious orders, the arts or guilds, banks, confraternities, aris...

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La Grassa. The fat one. Bologna has earned its nickname like no other place on earth. The old city is awash in excess calories, a medieval fortress town fortified with golden mountains of starch and red cannons of animal fat, where pastas gleam a brilliant yellow from the lavish amount of egg yolks they contain and menus moan under the weight of t...

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A beach towel is a staple for any trip to the seaside, as essential as sunscreen, sunglasses and sunhats. But Brits planning their summer holidays might be taken aback by a peculiar rule at one of Europe's most popular beaches. La Pelosa, a Sardinian beach renowned for its crystal clear waters, diamond white sands and a famous 16th-century tower ju...

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