Historic Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, is the hub for a wealth of holiday delights… While the moneyed yacht set still chart a course for the Costa Smeralda in the north of Sardinia, many discerning visitors to this island in the very centre of the Mediterranean Sea fly in to Cagliari. The city’s centro […]
Isola Bella – or Ìsula Bedda, in the Sicilian language – is aptly named… The ‘Beautiful Island’ of Taormina isn’t the only place of this name in Italy. There is a perhaps more famous one on Lake Maggiore, but it is the only one in Sicily. It lies off the coast of Taormina and is […]
On the last weekend of May, Italy’s wine cellars will be open to visitors. The sight of hillsides strewn with vineyards is one that is repeated throughout Italy, and one that is notably celebrated each May in the form of the Movimento Turismo del Vino’s Cantine Aperte (Open Cellars) initiative. This year, Italy’s primary wine […]
This iconic view of St Peter’s Basilica and the Ponte Sant’Angelo that leads towards it is instantly recognizable as Rome, but 500 years ago this view began to change significantly… There are several reports of Roman travellers of the 16th century returning home after some time abroad to find a city they said they barely […]
The Amalfi Coast is a breathtaking stretch of glam resorts, picturesque towns and glorious views – a memorable destination for recharging your batteries If you’re going to take a drive during your Italian travels, the most stunning route you are likely encounter on the peninsula is the stretch that runs from Sorrento in the north, […]
Delicious wheels of Pecorino cheese wrapped neatly in red radicchio, leek and green cabbage – the pride of any Italian artisan food fair or market Photo by iStock Pecorino is a ewe’s milk cheese that, although pretty well known, often falls into the shadow of the nation’s far more famous Parmesan, for virtue of the […]
Mauro Staccioli is an artist who likes to connect himself to the landscape – a trip to Volterra in Tuscany will introduce you to some of his remarkable works By Royal Appointment. Question: What links a world renowned fashion designer (Armani) with a Prince (Charles)? Answer: A little bum or, put another way, Culatello DOP. […]
Looking upstream into a Florence sunrise almost the colour of the city’s beloved football club’s shirt, we are, in one very real sense, looking towards the source of the Renaissance itself… The River Arno divides Florence between the north side, where most of the famous bits are, and the Oltrarno, the ‘other side’, where most […]
A solitary market stall in Pomposa, near Ferrara, selling pumpkins of all shapes and sizes in late October of last year. It doesn’t get more Italian – and yet, of course, it’s not Italian at all… Like maize – another crop that is grown very extensively here in the Po Valley – and tomatoes – […]
This 16th-century windmill is a striking but silent sentry in the tranquil Laguna di Orbetello, and just one spectacular sight in an area of breathtaking beauty and scenery… This lone windmill in Orbetello lagoon is an evocative reminder of earlier times, when Spanish military power presided over the territory. Orbetello, in the enchanting countryside of […]