48 Hours in Alghero

With its illustrious history and array of natural wonders, Alghero is certainly a place with plenty to explore. Marina Spironetti unlocks the secrets that belong to this sun-kissed Sardinian city. The light. The most special thing about Alghero, in my opinon, is the light. Especially in the evening, when the sea-facing walls seem to catch […]

Favignana Island

favignana

Captivating Favignana island in the Egadi archipelago is known as ‘the butterfly of the sea’ and boasts an array of natural wonders… Favignana is part of the Egadi Islands, located west of Sicily in the province of Trapani. In ancient times it was referred to as Aegusa, meaning ‘goat’s island’, adopting its modern name from […]

Dizzy on the Fizzy – The Prosecco Story

Think Prosecco and you may think of Bellinis and Spritzers, but there is so much more to the wine than that, as its producers are keen to point out. Kevin Pilley treads the Prosecco Road in Italy’s far northeast…   One for the shade,” said Francesco, handing me an ombra of fizzy San Giuseppe Superiore […]

Homes in Cities

Italian cities get it just about right. They’re usually not too big, they’re always full of beautiful buildings, and they tend to favour pedestrians over motorised traffic. They’re also excellent places in which to buy a property, says Fleur Kinson…   Italy’s famously glorious countryside is rivalled in appeal only by its opposite: the nation’s […]

The Luson Valley

luson valley

Known as the Gateway to the Dolomites, the Luson Valley is a hiker’s paradise with a number of trails leading from here into the mountains that surround it… The Germans call it Lüsen, as do its inhabitants. Though we are well inside the modern Italian border here, some 40km northeast of Bolzano, roughly the same […]

The Three Peaks of Lavaredo

The Three Peaks of Lavaredo – Tre Cime di Lavaredo – are perhaps the most photographed mountains in all of Italy, and certainly the country’s most famous mountainscape scene… The Three Peaks – Tre Cime – of Lavaredo are one of the most recognizable symbols of the Italian Dolomites. They stand on what is today […]

Bella Vista: Cinque Terre

Italy’s Cinque Terre is the stuff of postcards, and its colourful coastal railway is as pretty as a picture. Tristan Rutherford takes a train journey of discovery along the Ligurian coast. Central Italy is snowbound, so it is a shock to see La Spezia Station in radiant green. Palm trees run alongside the tracks in […]

Wildlife of Lucca

Alison Barnett, Suffolk “We fell in love with the magic of Lucca – and the wildlife. We would look out for our friend each evening on our stroll along the walls. Don’t you just admire his wonderful Italian charm?!”  

Panettone Review

A good panettone can make Christmas in an Italian household. Notoriously difficult to make at home, most are bought ready made. We taste some high street examples… Whether you consider panettone to be a cake or a bread – strictly speaking it’s a sweet bread – the origin of this traditional Christmas and New Year’s […]

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

A spectacular example of 19th-century architecture, the elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II arcade in Milan had a central part to play in the birth of the modern-day malls in which we shop today… Gazing up through the central octagonal glass dome of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to the blue skies above gives a whole new […]