Tre Bicchieri - Identifying Italy’s Best Wines
Italians take their wines very seriously, and no wonder when wine is produced in all 20 regions of the country. To keep abreast of all the selections available, at least a half dozen wine guides are published in Italy each year, rating thousands of wines in all price ranges and styles. The best known Italian wine guide is the one published by Gambe...
Auto review: The Ferrari 488 Pista brings racetrack performance to the freeway
Companies that build performance sports cars, trying to sell steak and sizzle at the same time, continue to offer vehicles that increasingly erase the space between street cars and track cars. McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche all build vehicles now that are street legal but track-ready, for the driver who either wants to take his or her Eu...
Magna Graecia or California? No, it’s Metaponto
Golden beaches and crystal clear sea, a rich surrounding countryside and an archaeological park that recalls a glorious past: Metaponto, a touristic place in the province of Matera, is a truly unmissable destination for those who want to discover the richness of Basilicata. Metaponto overlooks the Ionian Sea and lies between the two rivers Bradano...
In Rome, life goes on
Roma non si ferma. Rome doesn't stop. There are several ways to translate or interpret this slogan - the title of a new promotional video - whose no-nonsense message conveys a mixture of resistance and hope; a full-steam-ahead, business-as-usual approach. In short, life goes on in Rome. Over the millenia, Rome - Caput Mundi - has been the stage of...
Grapes and Heroes: Winemakers of the Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre in northwest Italy has won the hearts of millions of travelers the world over. What very few visitors realize is that this area is much more than just five colorful villages dotting a picturesque stretch of the Italian Riviera; the true heart and heritage of this region are found on its steep hillsides in its terraced vineyards. B...
Newly attributed Artemisia Gentileschi painting of David and Goliath revealed in London
Ahead of the first major UK exhibition of the work of Artemisia Gentileschi, a London conservation studio has unveiled a painting newly attributed to this best-known female artist of the Italian Baroque. The large oil on canvas depicts David and Goliath, a favourite Biblical subject for both Artemisia (1593-around 1654) and her father, Orazio Genti...
Coronavirus, la speranza nella vernice italiana che uccide i batteri
Si applica sui muri come una normalissima vernice e - a contatto con i batteri presenti nell'aria - li uccide in pochissimo tempo. Ma, sospetta il suo inventore Massimo Bernardoni, potrebbe tornare utile anche nella lotta al coronavirus. Sempre che le istituzioni rispondano alla sua richiesta di testare il prodotto con campioni di Covid-19. Il prod...
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome
Until 1960, the building was a college for Jesuit fathers, and the Italian State took over ownership, in 1981. At this point, the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme transformed from a college to the headquarters of the National Roman Museum. On four floors the museum houses its extensive collection of artwork and artifacts from both of the ancient Greek an...
Age Is Beauty: The Confounding Case of Italian White Wine
In general, it’s relatively easy for wine drinkers to wrap their heads around the idea that certain red wines improve with age. Offering restaurant-goers or wine shop patrons a 10- or 20-year-old bottle of Bordeaux, Barolo, or Burgundy might come with sticker shock, but the concept won’t be scoffed at. Try to do the same with white wines, and you’r...
Bormio: What and Where to Eat
There are no highways nearby. The railroad stops in Tirano, then you have to take a bus for an hour to get there. At 4,000 feet above sea level in Valtellina, getting to Bormio is a bit more difficult than reaching Cortina or St. Moritz. “What a shame,” the locals say. But the true mountain enthusiasts, those who can’t wait to reach the wide valley...
Olive oil production, or olive oil from branch to bottle
The olive is enjoying a surge in popularity, so it’s the right time to talk about olive oil production. The Mediterranean diet, which uses oil from olives as its principal fat, is being touted by health professionals, dieticians and fitness instructors around the world. Italians have been attuned to the wonders of olives and olive oil for centurie...
Italy's Forgotten Palazzos Make for an Opulent Road Trip
In Vetralla one night I was introduced to a friend of a friend who reached into a coat pocket and removed a number of jagged, colorful ceramic fragments. He had uncovered them that afternoon in his garden in Ischia di Castro, not far away. “Nothing special,” he said. “Probably late 17th or early 18th century. But quite nice, don't you think?” I tho...