Some ceramic pots await the kiln outside an artisan pottery in Puglia… This is a scene that an inhabitant from 2,000 years ago would readily recognise as a symbol of her homeland… The region of Puglia has been famed for its ceramics since the days of the Ancient Greeks – ie, some time before the […]
Jane Keightly discovers the wonderful world of truffles at perhaps the most famous truffle fair in all of Italy: The Alba White Truffle Fair… One of Italy’s most interesting seasonal events is the truffle season in Piedmont, when food lovers from all over the world descend upon the town of Alba for the International White […]
The use of stone as a medium for Western art dates back at least as far as Imperial Rome, yet it has not always found favour. Joe Gartman discovers, however, that it is alive and well in Florence… You might be tempted to pass by. It’s just a bright little storefront in the grey façades […]
Living in Italy, restoring houses, rescuing horses and selling handbags, Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs considers herself to be very lucky… WHERE IN ITALY IS YOUR HOME? I live in Le Marche with my husband and two of my four children, experiencing things I never thought I would. I have always loved life, adventures, challenge and hard work, […]
Some women will argue that you can never have enough handbags, but maybe they’d change their mind if they owned one of Appassionata Boutique’s beautiful pieces, handmade using leather sourced from Florence. Appassionata Boutique combines the creative vision of owner and interior designer Dawn Cavanagh- Hobbs with the exquisite workmanship of the Ribichini family, who’ve been […]
WHAT TO SEE AND DO ➤ Palazzo Ducale & Galleria Nazionale delle Marche Entrance on Piazza Duca Federico +39 0722 32262 www.palazzoducaleurbino.it Hours: Mon, 8:30am-2:00pm; Tue-Sun, 8:30am-7:30pm ➤ Casa Natale di Raffaello< Via Raffaello, 57 +39 0722 320105 www.accademiaraffaello.it Hours: Sun, 10:00am-1:00pm, Mon-Sat, 9:00am-1:00pm and 3:00pm-7:00pm ➤ Oratorio San Giovanni< Via Barocci, 31 +39 0722 910259 >Hours: […]
The busy university town of Urbino is often called ‘the perfect Renaissance city’ – and indeed the birthplace of Raphael rivalled Florence and Siena in its day. Joe Gartman returns to find out if they have got any of their loaned out paintings back yet… Standing at the Punto Panoramico, near the walls of the forbidding […]
With his old homes turned into museums and an annual festival to celebrate his work, Lucca is the perfect place to delve deeper the history of the great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, as Charlie Lyon discovers… Tonight, the usual tranquility of the banks of Lake Massaciuccoli is broken. On the open-air stage of the Gran Teatro all’Aperto, which […]
Marina Spironetti visits the intriguing city state of Seborga in western Liguria. Fiercely independent, it still boasts its own currency, its own passport and, yes, its own prince… Small countries have always fascinated me. From Andorra to Liechtenstein, from Monaco to San Marino – tiny states with their own history, proud to be different. I […]
Whether you’re a complete beginner or want to brush up your existing Italian skills there’s a course out there to suit you. Here’s our Italian Language Guide Review… There has never been a better time to learn a language. Gone are the days when you’d have to rely on a fusty old phrasebook to teach […]