Italian culture and history: Crespi d'Adda, the Industrial Village
Crespi d'Adda, a genuine, ideal and picturesque village, was built by the Crespi Family in the 1800s and 1900s for the employees (and their families) of the textile factory that stands right next to the village. Crespi d’Adda - described as an "exceptional example of the company town phenomenon, the most complete and best-preserved in Southern Euro...
IT and US: Fire!
Oftentimes, the stories that change our life happen by chance. And it is by chance that this story too was born, in 2009. It was early March and, as always happens in this period, the historic news that appeared in the newspapers and on the internet was the one dating back to 1908 when, in the New York Cotton Factory, the owner Mr. Johnson decided...
Italian little italies: Giglio Castello, Toscana
The name does not derive from the beautiful fragrant flower (lily) but from the Greek word igilio (goat) that in Latin is Gilium. In fact, on this island, as well as on the others of the Tuscany archipelago, many wild goats still exist on Montecristo Island. Giglio Castello, that still preserves the walls that originated its name, was once called “...
The Italian American stars in US sports: Baseball 2 of 2
After World War II, American sports becomes a very important content for the television business, and everybody starts looking to buy sports television rights and also the market of image rights. Let's think about the commercial success of the trading cards: they were already widespread and sponsored in the early twentieth century, but after the wa...
Italian cuisine: Risotto with violets
Let's celebrate spring with this delicate and colorful dish, risotto with violets. Did you know that flowers are not only beautiful to look at, but also good to eat? There are many edible flowers. I recommend, however, to always purchase them from your greengrocers, ensuring that they have not been treated with pesticides.
Great Italians of the Past: Giuseppe Ungaretti
The poet of the pure word, sought for a long time, essential, perfect in its uniqueness and drama is without a doubt Giuseppe Ungaretti. Famous for his compositions, often very short and intense, Ungaretti was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in the suburb of Moharrem Bey, on February 8, 1888. His father, Antonio Ungaretti, was a factory worker, employed...
Italian traditions: Italian traditions Happy Easter, Buona Pasqua
A huge explosion detonated on April 16, Easter Sunday, in front of the magnificent green and white-marbled neogothic church in Florence's centro storico. Instead of running in fear from a terrorist's bomb, though, thousands of spectators will cheer the noise and smoke, for they will be witnesses to the annual Scoppio del Carro—explosion of the cart...
Italian land and nature: Cervinia and Its Valley
Everyone knows it as Cervinia, a ski locality renowned for its beautiful panoramas and diverse ski courses, but the label Cervinia includes a much ampler mountainous zone. The ski district of of Breuil-Cervinia expands from the 5,000 feet of Valtournenche to the 11,181 feet of Plateau Rosà, brushing past the 13,123 feet of Piccolo Cervino (Little C...
Italian wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
The town of Montepulciano is located within the region of Tuscany, about 70 miles southwest of Florence. Bring your walking shoes because it's a steep uphill climb to the top on via di gracciano, but take your time as it's lined with plenty of shops and cafes to stop and take a break at. My favorite are the quiet, picturesque alleys that break off...
Italian language: Help, Seeing Double(s)!
We talked about the Italian alphabet before, how it has only 21 letters and impossible vowels, and we started to look at some of the spelling rules. However, we didn’t look at one of the most feared feature, especially for its pronunciation: the doubles!
Italian art: The Royal Site of Carditello
The Bourbon Royal residences in Campania have been finding a new life in the recent months, thanks to a great job of synergy between the Campania region and the Italian Ministry of Culture. It is a group of more than twenty sites, all built between the beginning of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth by order of Charles of B...
Italian gardens: Villa Cicogna Mozzoni
Villa Cicogna Mozzoni was built in 1463 as a hunting lodge of the Mozzoni family, and renovated and expanded in the third decade of the sixteenth century commissioned by the brothers Francesco and Maino Mozzoni. In the 1580s Ascanio Mozzoni tried to revive, in the settlement of the land around the villa, the many ideas learned during numerous trips...