Italia! has partnered with Smart Currency Exchange to offer our readers preferential exchange rates from the UK’s most trusted currency exchanger. Here, Smart’s experts reveal why no-one should be worried about buying in Italy. 10 simple steps So you love Italy, you know your Umbria from your Abruzzo and your orecchiette from your farfalle. But […]
Simple and satisfying, there is an amazing array of flavoursome filled pasta to be found on the market these days – we taste seven leading brands to find our favourite. While there is nothing to rival a melting mouthful of freshly made filled pasta, these delicious shop-bought parcels and their precious cargo are a welcome […]
Indeed, Rome was not built in a day… Work on St Peter’s began in 1506, but the church wasn’t ready to be consecrated until 1626… Like many other buildings in Rome, St Peter’s uses stone recycled from the Colosseum. As is usually the case when a building takes longer to finish that one might have […]
The name of Monza is known to motor racing enthusiasts around the world, but Rachael Martin finds that there is more to the city than its famous race track… Mention the word Monza and most people immediately think of the city’s motor racing track. And, of course, they wouldn’t be wrong. Designed by architect Alfredo Rosselli and […]
Venice celebrated its world-famous Murano glassmaking heritage in an exciting programme of citywide events this September. Sitting in its own sea of glass, the city of Venice and its islands has long held a tradition of glassmaking. Thanks to its strategic geographical location, the Republic of Venice was a cultural and political hub for travellers […]
We talk to David Bickerstaff, filmmaker for Exhibition on Screen about the genius of Michelangelo and the challenges of telling his life story on film. The mission of Exhibition on Screen is to bring exhibition-based art to our cinema screens, working with notable galleries and museums like the National Gallery, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh […]
Joe Gartman pays a visit to the home of the Brownings and reminds us of their path to love and fame… The courtship of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning may be the most thoroughly documented in history, because it was conducted almost entirely by letter. And Robert was certainly a very impetuous wooer; in his very […]
Matt and Shirley Partridge from Leicestershire own a small country house in the far south of Puglia. They enjoy month-long visits there several times a year, and plan to retire there permanently later this year. What drew them to Puglia? “We’ve both had careers in catering and hospitality,” Shirley explains, “and this contributed to us […]
Striking, sun-washed Puglia is a very distinctive bit of Italy, with landscapes and building styles like nowhere else. Beautiful, orderly and affordable, this far-southern region rightly continues to enchant foreign buyers, says Fleur Kinson. Forming the graceful high heel of the Italian boot, Puglia strikes a distinctive shape on the map. And it’s no less distinctive […]
The Sicilian city of Catania had always been unknown to Lorenza Bacino, so when the opportunity arose to visit with a local, she jumped at the chance… With open hearts, Sicilian journalist Francesca Marchese’s family welcomed me into their home in the Catania hinterland and I felt like a prodigal daughter returning after a long […]