Hidden Milan by Marina Spironetti

Milan resident shares her Secret Milan addresses in Italia! issue 115, accompanied by these stunning photographs of her home city             For more information on issue 115 of Italia magaine, click here or see more from Marina at www.marinaspironetti.com

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

In 1659, the Medici family, now well and truly the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, sold their 1400s Renaissance home in Florence, where they had lived when they were bankers and the unofficial rulers of the Florentine Republic, to the Riccardi family. Understandably, the new owners immediately renovated. Possibly their most spectacular addition to the palazzo […]

Italia! issue 115 is on sale now

Which is the most most romantic city in the world? Ask the man in the street and they will probably say Paris. But if you ask an Italophile, chances are they will tell you it is Verona – or perhaps Venice. But here at Italia! we believe the music, history and architecture of Verona, as […]

Italian Word for the Week: Mazzo

Mazzo (n. m.) a bunch. That’s nice. A nice bunch of flowers for our word for the week. How kind. Well, don’t be too hasty because although this entry does begin with a nice bunch of flowers it ends with brutal and violent death. But for now let’s get back to the flowers – un […]

3 ore di Ascona

This June, guests of Hotel Eden Roc can become part of the sailing team for one of the biggest regattas on Lake Maggiore, the 3 ore di Ascona.  The hotel will provide an induction course in the form of a two-hour sailing lesson on the Friday in preparation for guests to join the Eden Roc […]

Sacca di Scardovari

Some 20km around and up to 2km deep in places, the Sacca di Scardovari is one of the wildest areas in the Po Delta and is home to the rare spring snowflake (Leucojum Vernum) flower. You will also see herons, and long-legged buzzards in the cooler months. The Sacca di Scardovari is also well known […]

Trait, by Ben Taylor

“This is my photo taken in September 2012 in a village called ‘Trait’ in the Italian Alps in Piedmont, near to Turin. The height of the village is 1700 metres. As we were walking through the meadows and forests this view struck me for two reasons. The first being the orderly fashion of the vegetable […]

Reading Dante

Reading Dante: From Here to Eternity Prue Shaw, Liveright, £20 (paperback) Dante Alighieri wrote an epic poem about the afterlife that, 700 years later, is still universally recognised as the greatest work in the history of Italian literature. In this introduction to the Comedy, Shaw not only interprets the text but also explains how it […]