One of Europe’s most remarkable buildings, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is an icon not just of a nation, but of an entire continent… Along with the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, this is one of Europe’s most readily recognisable buildings. You might include the Colosseum […]
Rich and deep and made for ageing, Barolo is Italy’s most famous wine – and the one that brings producers up and down the country the most prestige… When people talk about Italy making truly world-class wines, when they start talking about Italy being on a par with France as a wine-making nation – and […]
In the post-war years, young Totò spends his spare time at the local cinema, where Alfredo the projectionist teaches him what he knows about film, love and life It was a flop when it first came out but now, more than 25 years since its initial release, Giuseppe Tornatore’s film is considered a masterpiece… The […]
They were originally constructed as temporary field shelters, and then affordable village housing – yet nowadays they can command quite a price… The trulli were first built by farmers and shepherds working in the Itria Valley, and would often be dismantled and reconstructed elsewhere as the patterns of agriculture shifted across the land. Then they […]
Hear one coming and you know why it’s called a Vespa – or ‘wasp’ as it translates into English. Italia! looks into the birth of a true Italian icon, the Vespa scooter… The years after World War II were harsh in Italy. Suffering from economic ruin, mass unemployment and the decimation of its military, the […]
A symbol of the very founding of Rome, the Capitoline Wolf – a bronze sculpture – has been housed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori since 1471. The story goes like this… It was as long ago as the mid-700s BC. Numitor, the grandfather of the twins Romulus and Remus, was usurped by his brother Amulius, […]