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Just outside the village of San Giovanni d’Asso, a small medieval town nestled in the Crete Senesi landscape in Tuscany, lies an oasis of greenery and culture: the Bosco della Ragnaia. Once a place where birds were hunted using nets, today it is a most unusual sculpture park. At the entrance, a motto greets visitors: "If not here, where?" In this f...

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Not everyone is quick to believe that stone can make music — let alone sing. But in a small Sardinian village just outside of Cagliari, that’s exactly what happens. Spend just a few hours at the Sound Garden in San Sperate, and you’ll witness a one-of-a-kind experience where rocks truly come alive with sound. This remarkable place is t...

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On Thursday, June 19th, at 6.30 pm the Italian Cultural Institute in Miami (209 Altara Ave., Coral Gables) will host the talk From Carpentry to Masterpieces. How Italian-Made excellence creates extraordinary shapes, a special event dedicated to innovation in architectural design and the promotion of Made in Italy through the integration of advanced...

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We’ve all been there. Set off with grand plans of visiting at least two museums a day, over a three-day trip, to get the full-on cultural kick. Then other things inevitably get in the way. How long does the visit take? The line is how long? Tickets cost that much? Suddenly a museum checklist seems less like fun and more like being on a school trip....

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The half-century-long myth of the American dream has dominated the collective narrative of a nation built on the idea that success, freedom, and enrichment are attainable through individual effort and the ability to dream big. Don DeLillo's quote, ‘To consume in America is not to buy, but to dream,’ opens a door to a deeper level of this cultural a...

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Calling Michelangelo’s David iconic is something of an understatement: A monument of art history both literally and figuratively, it is undoubtedly the world’s most famous sculpture—and, with a height of nearly 14 feet and a weight of more than six tons, impossible to ignore. Fashioned from white Carrara marble and depicting its subject completely...

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In the Pauline Hall of the Lower Galleries of the Vatican Museums the entire collection, consisting of nearly five hundred specimens, of micromosaics belonging to the pontifical patrimony has been permanently displayed. This extraordinary collection, once owned by Domenico Petochi, was acquired in the early 1990s thanks to the initiative of the the...

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At the back of a police station in the Italian capital of Rome is a warehouse that holds one of the most valuable art collections in Europe. Behind the armoured door is a vault that looks like it belongs to a compulsive hoarder. But instead of being filled with trash, it is an Aladdin's cave of treasure. Works from Picasso, Banksy, Warhol, Modiglia...

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An unusual project is underway in front of the Santa Barbara Mission. Two artists are hard at work. They're on their hands and knees, using sponges to spread colored chalk on the ground. Cheryl Guthrie and Terri Taber are creating a billboard-sized artwork to be the centerpiece of the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival. It’s an image of t...

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Have you ever thought that your eyes could deceive you even during a vacation? Optical illusions in Italy are not just textbook experiments in psychology, but real attractions that combine art, science and mystery. From squares that seem to warp before your eyes to murals that play with perspective, our country hides amazing places capable of confu...

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