Q+A’s: Ask the experts

Our experts are here to help with all your questions about Italy. This month, alternative Sorrento, travelling around the south, fractional ownership in Le Marche, and EU driving licences… Alternative sorrento  Q: I’d love to visit Sorrento, but still want to have that ‘authentic Italy’ feel. Are there any smaller hotels that might fit the bill? […]

Stirring stuff

Our editor Amanda Robinson discovers authentic Italian flavours and new friends at a hands-on cookery course in the Veneto hills… Total immersion: it’s the best way to learn, right? Speak a second language like a native, pass your driving test, swim like a fish, become a chef… It’s a tried-and-tested route to success. So, how about […]

My life in Venice…

Linda Little from Sydney, Australia, bought a two-bedroom apartment in the San Polo district of Venice in early 2016. It sits three floors up in a canalside townhouse, in a quiet area close to all the city’s major sights, and Linda gets to enjoy watching gondolas passing beneath her balcony. She and her partner spend […]

The Painting Medium

We talk a lot about what a painting is of, and what it means, but not so much about what is made of, and how it was painted. Often when we are talking about paintings, the materials used to actually make the painting rarely get a mention. However, just like the ingredients of a great […]

A family trip to Cefalù

Spring is an ideal time for visiting Sicily. The town of Cefalù on the northern coast is particularly charming before the temperature soars and the hoards descend. Lorenza Bacino and her family enjoyed the April sunshine exploring this delightful town and the nearby Madonie Regional Park. A few hardy northern European visitors braved the calm, […]

Italia! top picks: July

Here are our favourite products for you this month! Plenty of summertime inspiration, from al fresco essentials and personalised gifts to travel accessories and ideas for the home… Fishy on a dishy  This Italian ceramic platter is the perfect picnic accessory, £52, www.creativando.nu Discover calabria    Michelle Fabio’s snappy e-guide is crammed with essential info and tips, […]

Giotto: the Arena Chapel

Giotto shows the representation of human emotion, injects individuality once again in the people depicted and is interested in conveying a sense of realism. Back in the very early 1300s Padua was a very wealthy merchant city and the Scrovegni family was one of the most wealthy families in the city. Reginaldo Scrovegni had made […]

Homes in: The Lakes

Italy is blessed with an abundance of stunning lakes – from romantic giants with Alpine backdrops to crystalline volcanic beauties fringed by leafy hills to secret wild ponds in the middle of nowhere. Fleur Kinson helps you choose the right one for your taste and budget. When Italy isn’t busy wowing us with its stupendous […]

Aspromonte National Park: Where time stands still

The ruggedly beautiful Aspromonte National Park covers much of the bottom third of Calabria, the province that makes up the toe in Italy’s boot. Chris Allsop took a trip to this dramatic and often unfairly overlooked part of the country’s south. “They are like a net,” my guide in the city of Reggio Calabria told […]