Liguria regional guide

Liguria is a beautiful region of Italy famous for its tantalising food, historical port and cliffside villages. Discover more about the amazing coastal region in our regional guide… Photos by Getty images and iStock Situated in Italy’s northwest, Liguria is the third smallest Italian region, after Molise and Valle d’Aosta. It borders France to the […]

Cinque Terre hotel Abbadia San Giorgio

Abbadia

Which do you prefer? The five-star touches of a boutique hotel or the warm, welcoming embrace of a family-run B&B? You don’t have to choose at Abbadia San Giorgio on the Ligurian coast, says Sally FitzGerald.   Abbadia San Giorgio is an exclusive boutique hotel nestled in the heart of a peaceful town called Moneglia […]

The Song of Dolomites

dolomites

Sarah Rodrigues enjoys outdoor opera in the soaring Dolomites, where the dress code is hiking boots and walking gear. Hiking up a mountain is definitely not for everyone, but even the most reluctant of up-hillers (and there are a few of them around me, if the heavy panting and ragged gasping I can hear is […]

Fast Culture: The Stag on the Rooftop

palazzina di Caccia

Just outside Turin stands a pleasure place built for Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, who commissioned it as a hunting lodge. Image: Facade of the Palazzina di Caccia by Patricial Gartman It all started with Humbert the White-Handed. I don’t know how he got his nickname, but I’d guess that his hands, though white, weren’t […]

Southern Belle: The L’Andana Resort

Head to Tuscany’s beautiful south and relax in style at L’Andana Resort, an historic and welcoming Medici villa overlooking the tranquil Maremma landscape. Image © L’Andana Under expansive, ever-changing skies, the Maremma in southern Tuscany is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. From its woodlands and wide plains, where the butteri (cowboys) still drive […]

What News on the Rialto?

With its iconic bridge and elegant architecture, the Rialto district of Venice is steeped in history. Joe Gartman tells the story of Fondaco dei Tedeschi with images by Patricia Gartman Sunset view over the Rialto Bridge to Grand Canal from the roof of Fondaco dei Tedeschi It may be on a spring day, when the […]

6 ways to make the most of a trip to Florence

Florence at night

María Castellarosa takes us on a tour of one of Northern Italy’s favourite cities with six top tips for the trip of a lifetime… Florence is known as the golden age city. What makes it my favorite is the Renaissance cathedrals, beautiful buildings, windy streets. If you are a lover of art (like me), the […]

Winter in the Valle di Gran San Bernardo

san bernardo carnival

Rachael Martin arrives in Aosta’s ‘cold valley’ just in time for carnival, as well as taking advantage of the snowy weather to explore the region Photos by Rachael Martin unless otherwise stated   It’s carnival time on a cold February morning in the Great St Bernard Valley in northern Italy’s Aosta Valley region. I’m in […]

Private island paradise: Isola Santa Cristina

Isola Santa Cristina

In the heart of the Venetian lagoon lies a private island that has long been a mystery, but after years of renovation Isola Santa Caterina is now an eco-friendly luxury retreat Photos courtesy of Isola Santa Caterina   Settled in the fifth century as part of a group of garden islands known as Ammiana, Santa […]

Hidden depths: the Venetian lagoon

Camilla Purdon discovers the secret world of the Venetian lagoon with a culinary cruise on board one of the region’s last historic fishing vessels. Photos by Camilla Purdon unless otherwise stated   I’m standing on the deck of Eolo, one of Venice’s last historic fishing boats, looking out across the limpid green waters of the […]