Trulli houses, the dry-stone huts in Puglia
The Trulli are considered a historic site because of its history dating back to the 14h century. There are 1,500 Trulli houses located in the small town of Alberobello. According to National Geographic, “People began to settle in Alberobello around a thousand years ago, and the construction of Trulli in the area most likely began at that time.” Alt...
Quarantine and Other Words That Originated in Venice
You may not know it, but you have almost certain spoken Venetian over the past few months. Any discussion of the current world health crisis inevitably circles around to “quarantine”, which is derived from the Venetian term quarantena, or “forty days”. Quarantena was once used to refer to the 40-day period in which ships and their crew were requir...
How Italian charcuterie is becoming increasingly valuable abroad
During 2019, the sharp rise in raw material costs due to the boom in demand from China – following the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Far East – created a shock in the pork meat market. Italian charcuterie companies have therefore been faced, on the one hand, with raw material costs reaching record levels and on the other with a more d...
An Italian Summer Seaside Wedding in Positano
Ashley Sodano was visiting her friend’s beach house in Calabria, in southwest Italy, when she decided to approach the cute lifeguard on duty, Luigi Vorraro. “He spoke not a single word of English at the time, but thankfully, I understand Italian,” Ashley says. They ended up dating long-distance for two years before he moved to the States in 2016. A...
Fighting the Coronavirus With Innovative Tech
Dr. Cristiano Huscher has long used robotics and artificial intelligence for surgical procedures at the Policlinico Abano chain of hospitals in Italy. So when six doctors contracted Covid-19 at his hospital in Sardinia two months ago, he once again turned to technology — in this case, UVD Robots — to disinfect the rooms. The robot moves autonomousl...
Direct link from Sicily to Brussels on proposed European ultra-rapid train network
The EU's €2 trillion recovery package for economies blighted by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown aims to avoid a damaging and long-lasting recession. It proposes helping out industries particularly badly hit by the lockdown, such as tourism. And a report from the Vienna Institute for Economic Studies looking at ways of spending...
From Italy, Muti looks to reopen US classical music scene
Conducting a joyful Mozart motet, Riccardo Muti sent a resounding message Sunday night, that live classical music has returned to the Italian stage after the coronavirus lockdown. A full summer festival program is planned in his adopted home of Ravenna, even as the musical outlook remains grim in the United States, where he also conducts the Chicag...
Discovering Lambrusco, One of the Best Red Italian Wine
Forget everything you think you know about Lambrusco. Everything except the phrase that famous Italian singer Luciano Ligabue sings in his hit “Lambrusco & Popcorn” from 1991, where he says, “Come here, there’s a glass from the vineyard.” Because this is the essence of Lambrusco or, rather, of the Lambruscos, as there are eight DOCs that comprise t...
Rome: Italian architect Renzo Piano gets lifetime achievement award
Renzo Piano, the acclaimed Italian architect, received a Lifetime Achievement Award on 18 June during a digital marathon by Rome's MAXXI National Museum of the 21st Century Arts. The accolade, part of the Italian Architecture Award 2020, was organised by MAXXI and Triennale Milano, with the patronage of Italy's culture ministry. The award was prese...
Siena’s Magnificent Cathedral Reopens, and It’s Free
After a three-month closure due to the nationwide lockdown, the Cathedral of Siena along with the Opera Museum have reopened to the public. Access will be free until July 31; visitors may opt to make a donation, and any collected sum will serve to fund a study for the next conservation projects for the Duomo complex. The Cathedral and the museum ar...
Violin-makers tune in to tradition of Stradivarius in Italy's Cremona
Working in the shadow of the great masters, the violin-makers of Italy's Cremona are valiantly fighting a shrinking market and foreign competition as they seek perfection, one violin at a time. The birthplace of Stradivarius, Cremona is a veritable laboratory for luthiers from all over the world, where violin workshops seem to be everywhere you lo...
"ExplorePuglia", la mappa che unisce e connette i pugliesi nel mondo
Una mappa multimediale che promuove l’innovazione del sistema locale pugliese e le eccellenze della regione. Un’iniziativa per favorire una migliore conoscenza a vantaggio di chi voglia viaggiare con destinazione Puglia. Pensato in modo particolare per i bambini e le famiglie di origini pugliesi, con l'intento di rinsaldare i legami e rafforzare il...