Wild hop risotto

foraging - wild hops risotto

Enjoy this recipe for risotto con bruscandoli by Mario Matassa – it’s a fantastic way to use wild hops… Serves 2 Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 20 minutes Ingredients: • 180g risotto rice • a bunch of wild hops, roughly chopped • 1 small onion, peeled, finely chopped • 600-750ml vegetable stock • 30g Parmesan, grated […]

Tagliatelle with ricotta and walnuts

Tagliatelle

Mario Matassa’s recipe for tagliatelle con ricotta e noci is a tasty early winter treat that can be found in restaurants across Italy Serves 2 Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time 15 minutes Ingredients: • 160g egg tagliatelle • 100g walnut halves • 150g fresh ricotta • 2-3 tbsp whole milk • 2 tbsp Parmesan • salt […]

Zuppa di castagne (chestnut soup)

foraging - chestnut soup

Mario Matassa shares a simple but flavoursome recipe for chestnut soup with mushrooms – an Italian autumn classic… Serves 2 Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 30 minutes Ingredients: • 200g ready prepared chestnuts • 200g fresh porcini mushrooms • 500ml vegetable stock • 100ml single cream • 2 tbsp olive oil • salt and freshly […]

A taste of Italy: food for free

wild greens

Mario Matassa celebrates the start of the autumn foraging season with a set of Italian recipes that all contain ingredients that can be gathered for free Photos by Mario Matassa Italians are simply wild about wild food. Whether it’s chestnuts, borage leaves and mushrooms in the autumn, truffles in the winter, asparagus, wild hops, nettles […]

Piedmont regional property guide

If you’re thinking of a new life in Italy, Piedmont could be for you. Fleur Kinson discovers the property potential of this spectacular northern region… Photos by Getty Images   Piedmont lies in the far northwest of Italy and gets its name from its location at the ‘foot of the mountains’. It is bordered by […]

Homes in Piedmont

Langhe Piedmont

Snow-dusted Alps, vine-striped hills, elegant towns and some of the best food and wine on the planet – Piedmont has an embarrassment of riches and is a superb place to buy a home… Words by Fleur Kinson. Photos by Getty Images   With some of the shortest travel times between Italy and the UK, Piedmont […]

Italy’s five best small islands

Italian islands - Elba

Surrounded by sapphire seas and fringed with golden sand, Italy’s small islands make perfect holiday destinations – here are five of our favourites Photos by Getty Images and iStock 1 With the Tyrrhenian Sea lapping its shores and a mountainous inland terrain, Elba in Tuscany offers both the pleasures of lazy beach life and the challenges of […]

Past Italia! Pisa Cathedral

pisa cathedral

This fine example of Romanesque architecture is largely ignored, thanks to a mistake that occurred in its grounds… Photo by Getty Images Ask anyone what they know about Pisa and they’ll mention its Leaning Tower, the freestanding campanile of the city’s Cathedral, on which construction began (on dodgy ground) nearly a century after the Cathedral […]

Italia! photos of the month: October 2019

venice

We’ve got lots more wonderful photos of Italy to showcase this month. Enjoy these marvellous shots from Italia! readers… This month’s winner:  “It could only happen in Venice! A truly theatrical backstreet.” by Anita Hashtrudi, Aberlady   More of our favourites this month… “Isola Bella, view from Stresa. Photo taken in April 2019, just after receiving […]

Casa Celeste, Le Marche

casa celeste

Casa Celeste is the complete package, at a great price. A lovely brick house, recently rebuilt on the site with material from a house dating back to 1826. It has a gorgeous arched portico, a 10x5m swimming pool, great views, an excellent location, plus five bedrooms and four bathrooms. It enjoys a simple, unpretentious interior, […]