Italy has a bounty of jewel-like cities – small-sized, liveable and packed with beautiful buildings. They make excellent places to buy a home, offering easy holidaymaking and superb rental returns, says Fleur Kinson. As if it weren’t enough to have heart-meltingly lovely countryside, celestial mountains and a glorious coastline, Italy also manages to squeeze in […]
Molise is the youngest of Italy’s 20 regions, and perhaps its least-known. Decidedly mountainous in the west (and quite hilly in the east) it is perceived as being inaccessible – which makes it the perfect destination for the intrepid Heather Crombie. Situated between sea and mountains, half way between the centre and the south of Italy, […]
Behind every recipe there is a secret and ours is to have and to know a typical Italian grandma! Who is more able than her to give advice and suggestions for turning a simple dish into something delicious? Nevertheless, if you want to meet her, you must go to the Emilia-Romagna Region in Italy, and more precisely […]
Join us for a tour around the Donna Coraly Resort: a glorious Sicilian country escape… Drifts of snowy white roses fringe the approach to Donna Coraly Resort, where the sleek lines of the wide verandah offer shelter from the glorious Sicilian sun. And there’s an even warmer welcome from charismatic Lucia Pascarelli, owner of this […]
There are so many fascinating sights in Florence, so many it could become overwhelming! Use this advice… Opera Di Santa Maria Del Fiore di Firenze A statue by Michelangelo, Brunelleschi’s death mask, a Magdalen by Donatello and the Baptistery’s original bronze-gilded panels are just some of the treasures in this dramatic new museum that displays everything that didn’t […]
Dive in to Sicily’s historic and picturesque Ionian Coast, today we visit Syracuse, an area featuring some fantastic ruins and beautiful lanes My final stop involved travelling south once again, to Sicily’s third city, Syracuse. Founded on the island of Ortigia in 734 BC by the Greeks, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a shining Baroque […]
Not only does Italy boast a fantastically distinguished and high-profile operatic heritage, the nation also has some stunning open air venues to match… Verona Arena, Verona, Veneto Built in 30AD, this incredible Roman amphitheatre is the third largest in existence and provides an out-of-this-world setting for the city’s three-month opera season, from June to August. Blessed […]
To begin with Chris Allsop took us on a journey through Taormina, today we look at more of the picturesque Ionian Coast On this island of five million people, Catania houses about 300,000 and is referred to as the ‘Milan’ of Sicily; a nod to its economic importance (second only to the capital, Palermo). About half an […]
Marine snails, Pecorino grapes and square spaghetti, we embark on a gourmet tour of one of Italy’s most striking regions The Abruzzo region is commonly associated with the words forte e gentile (strong and gentle), conjuring up images of the powerful mountains that tower above the tranquil sea just a few kilometres away. It is an area […]
Piazzas hold a special place at the heart of Italian life and Italy boasts some stunning examples. With so many it’s tricky to choose one, but we’ve narrowed down five favourites… 1. Piazza san Marco, Venice Famously dubbed “the finest drawing room in Europe” by Napoleon, Piazza San Marco is, quite simply, breathtaking. Even during […]