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Across the world, there are few countries which have such a strong cultural connection and association with espresso as Italy. After water, espresso is reportedly the second most consumed beverage in the country. In fact, espresso is so integral to its cultural identity that Italy’s Ministry of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies has filed se...

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Italian opera singing has been added to the United Nations' cultural heritage list, a prestigious accolade for the four-centuries-old art mixing costume drama and music. U.N. culture agency UNESCO said on Wednesday it had included opera under its category of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which already features other famed Italian practices such as...

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Sabbioneta is a peaceful town rich in history and art, located within the lush plains of the Lombardy region in Northern Italy. It belongs to the province of Mantua, a city as steeped in history as Sabbioneta itself. Located about 30 kilometers north of the well-known city of Parma, and not far from the northern bank of the Po River, Sabbioneta enj...

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Le Cinque Terre (or Five Lands), a string of picturesque towns along the northern Ligurian coast, is known for its steep, terraced vineyards and olive groves, cliffside hiking trails and unique ecosystem. But the colorful, charm-filled towns — which collectively make up a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — have also been at the forefr...

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Every year, UN officials reveal a plethora of new landmarks and landscapes that will be added to their prestigious World Heritage List. Being included not only raises awareness of these cultural and natural sites for tourism, but also offers these important areas greater protection. For years, Italy has reigned supreme with the most UNESCO World He...

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Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, the city of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of Veneto, as well as the historical center of Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and the Aeolian Islands. The Sassi of Matera, Mount Etna and the Dolomites, the Cinque Terre, and the wine landscapes of Piedmont. These are just some of the 59 sites in Italy that have been included i...

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The moment I first set foot along the craggy coast of Monterosso al Mare, the westernmost village of the Cinque Terre, I knew I had discovered a unique paradise. It was early October 2007 and far off in the distance, the clifftop villages belonging to this unparalleled Ligurian landscape beckoned with their vivid colors, illuminated by the late sum...

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If you are planning a nice trip to Veneto you absolutely can’t miss the unique and suggestive panorama of the Prosecco Hills, a territory being part of Unesco heritage since 2019 located in the heart of the region, in the province of Treviso. Here, among green hills embellished with iconic castles and above all rich vineyards, whose grapes are the...

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To find the place I’d like to show you today, we need to leave behind Tuscany’s iconic rolling hills with their vineyards and olive groves, and venture deeper into the Val d’Orcia region. Between the historic towns of Siena and Montepulciano — approximately 50 kilometers south of the first — and just a stone’s throw away from the UNESCO World Herit...

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We rarely think about it when we see on Italian roads hundreds of sheep following their shepherd. Yet that ancient rite, transhumance, is a fundamental piece of Italy's agricultural culture. UNESCO has now also recognized this, yesterday proclaiming transhumance in the Alpine and Mediterranean regions, and its 38 breeds of sheep, an "intangible cul...

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