1. Rome: population 2,750,000 Italy’s brash, loud, vibrant capital is a confident, thick-skinned place, secure in its achievements and completely unsurprised to receive 12 million visitors a year. For all Rome’s expense and congestion, a high proportion of ex-pats who settle down here ‘for a while’ never go home again. Property prices are, as you […]
Introduction Restorations in Italy can often take longer than you thought and cost more than you budgeted for – it is simply the nature of Italian laws and working practices. But with that in mind, Italy does provide excellent property renovation potential. The piano casa, introduced in 2009, allows property owners to enlarge their homes […]
With a cooking culture that is unequalled in the world, many people take gastronomic holidays in Italy to enjoy and learn more about the country’s cuisine… Ecco La Cucina One of the best ways to truly experience a country as beautiful and diverse as Italy is by taking a culinary tour that fully immerses you […]
Tuscany is rightly recognised as being one of the world’s most beautiful regions – here we highlight ten of our favourite destinations that justify this claim… 1. BAGNO VIGNONI HOT SPRINGS, VAL D’ORCIA While traditional towns may have a main town square in their centre, in Bagno Vignoni it is simply a huge thermal pool. […]
Start the New Year with a dose of all things Italian with the new issue of Italia!, on sale now. Many consider the winter to be the best time to visit Venice; a time of year without the crowds and the humidity. In this new issue of Italia! we’re guided around the city by resident […]
The olive harvest is something everyone should see at least once. If you have never experienced it yourself now is the time to earn your share of this year’s crop… Spirit of Italy Holidays Guests will visit an olive pressing facility and bring home a bottle of oil. Harvest Italia 2014, presented by Spirit of […]
Italia! 119 is on sale now, with Artisan Florence, the Sound of the Dolomites, 48 Hours in Taormina, Puglia property, and the best Italian food and wine. We discover how Florence is maintaining an ancient artistic method of using stone as an art form; we visit an unusual music festival that takes place every year […]
OUR LIFE ON LAKE MAGGIORE Michael Bennington owns a two-bedroom apartment on Lake Maggiore, in a converted fin-de-siècle period villa. He and his wife Sarah make regular visits there from their home in Cheshire, and offer weekly holiday rentals on the property at other times. “Italy is where we first met!” Michael says. “Sarah was […]
Michelangelo’s David still standing… on fractured ankles Bad posture can lead to joint problems in the fittest of us, and standing slouched against a tree stump for over half a millennium seems to have caught up with Michelangelo’s statue of David. Scientists have discovered “micro-fractures on the lower part of both legs”, likely caused by […]
My mother in law remembers shopping for shoes at Ferragamo in Florence many moons ago and Salvatore Ferragamo would be there with his leather apron around his waist. The shop is still the same, located in the magnificent Palazzo Spini Feroni, built in the 13th century by Geri Spini, in the most elegant area of […]