Winter in the Valle di Gran San Bernardo

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 […]

Homes in Lombardy

The stylish region of Lombardy combines romantic Alpine lakesides and elegant little cities. It’s long been loved by foreign property buyers, and with good reason, says Fleur Kinson Lombardy photos by Getty Images   With an annual GDP that’s double the size of Italy’s next most productive region, Lombardy has been rightly dubbed the ‘economic […]

Italia! Photos of the month: December 2019

Here are our favourite photos of Italy from Italia! readers this month. Read on to find out our photo winner and runners-up for December… This month’s winner:  “Beautiful crisp winter morning on Lago Trasimeno with the snow-capped hills in the distance seen through a memorial sculpture, best view in all Umbria!” by Stuart Moore, Rochdale […]

Homes in Veneto

Romantic little cities, sleepy hills, shimmering rivers and long Adriatic beaches – Veneto has no shortage of enchantment. Seekers of urban apartments and of rural retreats should take a closer look, says Fleur Kinson Photos by Getty Images   You’re a well-travelled italophile. You know all about Venice, and Romeo and Juliet’s Verona. But you […]

The Amiata effect

Tuscany isn’t all about sipping wine and watching the sun set, as Amy McPherson discovers on an e-bike tour around Monte Amiata, in the region’s south Photos by Ciclica Foto, Mario Llorca   Giant moss-covered boulders rise in vertical stacks, as if someone was attempting to build a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It […]

Homes in Abruzzo

Wild, unspoilt and uncrowded, Abruzzo holds huge appeal for lovers of the outdoors. As well as mountains and beaches, it offers astonishingly affordable properties, says Fleur Kinson Photos by Getty Images   Abruzzo entices visitors with the call of the wild, or at least the call of the great outdoors. Dominated by leafy highlands and […]

Parmigiano Reggiano: the king of cheeses

Chris Allsop flies to Emilia Romagna to tour a Parmigiano Reggiano dairy and discover how this world-famous cheese is created…   “When I have French groups, they have many excellent cheeses, but they do not have Parmigiano Reggiano.” Our guide, Helena, puts her fingers together and gestures aggressively. “They have to accept.” Only five minutes into […]