Vittore Carpaccio's "St. Augustine in His Study" would make first-rate "Where's Waldo?" fodder. In the large painting, dated around 1502, the saint — per legend — realizes he is penning a letter to a man who has just died: St. Jerome. Carpaccio peppers the scene with books, ecclesiastical paraphernalia, sculptures, an hourglass, and a shell, among...

When winter rolls around, there’s nothing quite like cozying up to a bold bottle of red. And Italian red wines are particularly delicious picks when it comes to pairing them with your warming winter bowls of polenta, pasta or roasted meats. So, grab your plates of braised short ribs, Risotto alla Milanese or orecchiette with greens and sausage, and...

Famous in Italy and in the world, the mini-cruise between the Venetian Villas of the Brenta Riviera (that is, from Padua to Venice and vice versa) aboard the Burchiello is romantic, unforgettable, exciting and above all unmissable. In the past, the Burchiello was a typical Venetian boat used for the transport of passengers equipped with a large woo...

Growing up, I was pretty convinced that my mum had magical attributes. In Italy, that’s quite a common conviction to hold about one’s mamma. In the endless list of her superpowers, her ability to appear behind my back–particularly at times when I would have thankfully avoided her gaze–was quite high up. Her voice, coming unannounced from an indefin...

Carnival Cruise Line is bringing over an Italian cruise ship from their sister line Costa Cruises. Costa Venezia will join Carnival’s fleet in 2023 and sail year round from New York City.  Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to take a cruise on Costa Venezia and it quickly became one of my favorite ships I have ever sailed on.  It is a Vista c...

The exhibition "Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice," at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, has opened. The exhibition focuses on the figure of Vittore Carpaccio, a Renaissance artist who lived in Venice between the 15th and 16th centuries, and is part of our all-out effort to promote the masters of Italian paint...

For us New Englanders the cold weather has arrived and we're awaiting the snow days to arrive. Some of us are excited about it and many aren't. Of course it's more common for folks to get into the mindset of drinking rosé wines when the weather is warmer. If you're lucky enough to have fantastic weather year round than you may always have rosé in m...

The ones we will talk about today were the homes of eminent families. They are primarily Venetian palaces on the Grand Canal. However, you will also find a few more 'secluded' buildings overlooking 'corti', 'campi' and 'campielli'. These are the names of the squares in Venice. The only square is, in fact, Piazza San Marco. Strolling around the city...

Carnival Cruise Line is teaming up with Costa Cruises to create a new concept for Carnival’s North American guests. Costa by Carnival will debut in the spring of 2023, with Costa Venezia joining the Carnival fleet and sailing from New York. Costa Venezia will be followed by Costa Firenze arriving in the spring of 2024 to sail from Long Beach. “This...

Sea levels in Venice may temporarily stabilize in the coming years, thanks to the achievement of a delicate balance of processes involving the North Atlantic Ocean. Described in the journal Earth and Space Science, this hypothesis was formulated by scientists at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, who examined relative sea level fluctuations in the V...