Top Picks – Easter Treats

Not just for Easter, the humble egg provides nourishment and inspiration in equal measure – but this is not a chocolate-free zone Eggs-travaganza!   The Antico Castello Milk Chocolate Easter Egg is made of delicious thick milk chocolate and inside each egg is a small toy or gift! Visit Something Italian and if you buy one get the second […]

La dolce vita in Sicily

Join us for a tour around the Donna Coraly Resort: a glorious Sicilian country escape… Drifts of snowy white roses fringe the approach to Donna Coraly Resort, where the sleek lines of the wide verandah offer shelter from the glorious Sicilian sun. And there’s an even warmer welcome from charismatic Lucia Pascarelli, owner of this […]

Play it cool

Our love affair with Italian gelato Whether you believe that Marco Polo brought back the idea of ice cream to Italy from his travels in China (along with pasta, but that’s a different story), there’s no doubt that gelato is close to every Italian’s heart, and we’re in love with it too. Italian gelato is different from the […]

Ski in Abruzzo

Jon Bickley makes his way to the slopes of mid-Italy, where he discovers the area offers a surprisingly satisfying ski break to rival its northern counterparts As we entered the final few miles of our transfer from Rome Ciampino to Roccaraso in the L’Aquila province of Abruzzo, my slight concern turned to mild panic. We […]

The Gondola: Part 1

Mario Matassa reveals the inside story on the gondola as he visits the workshops and discovers a tale of tradition, craftsmanship and politics… It’s as Italian as spaghetti al pomodoro. It’s an icon of our times. It’s a 10.87m long symbol of a city, a country and a people. It’s 900 years of history and […]

Top 5 Great Lakes

Italy is blessed with several spectacular lakes that are beloved worldwide. So many lovely destinations to choose from – which is the best? Italia! picks five favourites… Lake Maggiore Piedmont & Lombardy Peeking into Switzerland and bridging the Lombardy-Piedmont border, Lake Maggiore is one of Italy’s beloved northern lakes. Traditionally the uglier sister of Como, but […]

Christmas in Venice

Visiting Venice at this time of year will offer you an experience quite unlike the one you would have if you were to join the throngs of tourists in mid-summer Local woman Sara Scarpa describes the atmosphere of a Venetian winter and shares with us some secrets about what Venetians will be enjoying in their […]

48 Hours in Parma

Mario Matassa spends a packed weekend discovering a captivating world of fine food, elegant locals and compelling history right on his doorstep      Everyone knows Parma. Or, to put it another way, everyone, at some point, has tasted a little slice of Parma. It is a city whose reputation precedes it, synonymous throughout the […]