Weekend Wanderlust: Chiavenna, where hospitality is a way of life
A crotto is a type of mountain grotto, and Chiavenna is the lovely mountain town in Valchiavenna, above the northern end of Lake Como, where you can find them. The name Chiavenna comes from the Latin clavis, key, a reference to the fact that the town lies between three mountain passes: Maloja Pass, Septimer Pass and Splügen Pass. These three passes...
Rome unearths ancient Roman kiln in Trastevere
Rome archaeologists have presented the well-preserved remains of a ancient Roman workshop with large-scale furnace, or kiln, used in the commercial production of glazed ceramics and tableware, at Palazzo Corsini in the city's Trastevere district. The hidden treasure, complete with earthenware bowls, pots and kitcheware, was discovered under the law...
In Emilia-Romagna, Finding Relatives and a Way To Help Others Learn About Family History
For our series ‘Back to Your Italian Roots,’ where we share stories of readers who have traveled to Italy to reconnect with relatives and visit their ancestral towns, we’ve talked to Laura Ventimiglia, whose grandparents emigrated to America from two tiny villages in the province of Cento in the early 1900s, Renazzo and Dodici Morelli. Laura didn’t...
Nutella, i 55 anni della crema spalmabile più famosa al mondo
Nel 1964 entrava in commercio il primo vasetto di Nutella, la celebre crema spalmabile di Ferrero. Il primo barattolo uscì dalla fabbrica di Alba il 20 aprile e il prodotto riscosse un successo istantaneo. In questi 55 anni è stata celebrata in tantissimi modi, dagli omaggi nel cinema e nella musica ai francobolli personalizzati, a testimonianza de...
Arches of Bread Festival
Easter is one of the most important holidays in Italy, and many cities and towns across the country are known for their spectacular festivities. But when it comes to food, perhaps no celebration rivals the “Arches of Bread” festival (also known as the “Easter Arches”) of San Biagio Platani, in Sicily. Every year, in the months leading up to Easter...
Easter in Italy: The most curious traditions in Italy North to South
Easter in Italy is surely one of the most suggestive periods in which to admire and enjoy the ancestral side of the country’s culture. The Easter traditions in Italy are many and have fascinated locals and tourists of every generation for thousands of years. On occasion of Easter, cities and villages in Italy prepare for the celebrations of the Hol...
Buying an Italdesign ZeroUno hypercar could be a great deal
Over the last few days the crowds at Milan Design Week have been queuing patiently to be let into Italdesign's temporary showroom in Via Tortona 31 to admire, alongside many objects designed by the company's industrial design division, the fascinating 4-door DaVinci coupe. With its original stylistic features and electric platform, it celebrates th...
500th Birthday of Catherine de' Medici: Behind Florence's Most Powerful Dynasty
It was a political dynasty that produced queens and popes, strengthening its influence and wealth in Europe over the course of more than 300 years – sometimes using bloody or ruthless methods. The Italian Medici family was an extended banking family that also contributed to birth of the Renaissance. April 13, 2019, marks the 500th birthday of Cathe...
Leonardo da Vinci saw in animals the ‘image of the world’
About six months ago I stopped eating meat. I was teaching a graduate course at UCLA that investigated how Italian Renaissance writers conveyed their concepts about the human through writing about the nonhuman – plants, animals, objects, angels, demons, gods and God. As weeks passed, I found myself becoming more and more attuned to the nonhuman ent...
Bologna travel tips: 14 essential things to know before you visit
It might not have the canals of Venice, the quaint cliffside villages of the Cinque Terre, nor the ancient ruins of Rome, but that certainly hasn’t held Bologna back from being one of Italy’s most unique, beautiful, and underrated cities. Often overlooked in favour of Italy’s other tourism heavy hitters, Bologna, capital of the northern Emilia Roma...
There's more to Easter than eggs: Italy's delicious alternatives to Easter chocolate
In many countries Easter means chocolate. Bags of pastel-coloured mini eggs, tin-foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies and the classic hollow egg, ready to be smashed to pieces. These cocoa-based confections are available in Italy – though not in the same aisle-filling quantity – but chocolate simply isn’t the go-to Easter treat it is in other parts of th...
Seminario di Palermo/ Il sistema della rappresentanza degli Italiani all’estero
A Palazzo dei Normanni, nel corso dell’Assemblea Regionale Siciliana tenutasi questo pomeriggio in concomitanza con il seminario per la Creazione di una Rete di Giovani Italiani nel Mondo, dopo i saluti istituzionali, la firma di un protocollo d’intesa tra ARS e Cgie, e un focus di Delfina Licata sul Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo, la chiusura è stata...