Florence’s River Arno is in tranquil mood as it flows through the arches of the Ponte Santa Trinità, but these sleek still waters have borne witness to a more tempestuous history… What could be more restful than the River Arno at dusk with Santa Maria del Carmine and the Florence skyline in the background. Rising […]
Genoa might not be the first place you think of for a city break, but it has a special history with lots to see that you won’t find anywhere else, beyond all the boats. Jon Palmer sets sail… Genoa is the second busiest port in Italy, after Gioia Tauro, and the sixth busiest in the […]
This image arrives with us via a travel photography contest on Photocrowd in association with Alamy. It is by “Lucas” and it is called “Feeding the Soil”… Lucas explains: “Cultivating the land to get ready for winter and spring on a beautiful Tuscan vineyard in San Minato, Italy, between Pisa and Firenze. I volunteered on […]
Follow Marina Spironetti as she unveils the treasures of the cobbled city of Mantua, one of the most atmospheric places to visit in northern Italy… A year ago yet another earthquake shook most of northern Italy, causing considerable damage. When I went back to Mantua a couple of months ago, I did not know what to […]
Question: what do you do if you wish to take a holiday during which you will be spoilt rotten by a series of delicious meals, but from which you nevertheless wish to return home leaner, stronger, healthier and happier than before? Answer: you go a gastronomic hiking in Tuscany. It was to cater for just such demands […]
ITALIA! presents a special, in-depth Past Italia! as Freya Middleton explores the long-lasting influence of the Medici family… The Medici family is one of the most extraordinary families in Italian history. They wielded economic and political power in Florence and in Europe for three hundred years. They were one of the wealthiest families in Europe in […]
“And suddenly there is Cagliari,“ wrote DH Lawrence. “A naked town rising steep, steep, golden-looking, piled naked to the sky.” Adrian Mourby explores this ancient Sardinian city… You have to choose your angle these days to see the Sardinian capital as Lawrence did in 1921, but the Aragonese fortress (known as Castello) still towers over […]
Feeling inspired to book a trip to Cagliari this summer, after reading 48 Hours in Cagliari? Here’s our top tips on where to stay, where to eat and what to see and do. INFORMATION ➤ Meridiana (0871 222 9319, www.meridiana.it) offers direct flights from London Gatwick to Cagliari, outward on Saturdays and returning on Thursdays, from £178.45. […]
With his old homes turned into museums and an annual festival to celebrate his work, Lucca is the perfect place to delve deeper the history of the great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, as Charlie Lyon discovers… Tonight, the usual tranquility of the banks of Lake Massaciuccoli is broken. On the open-air stage of the Gran Teatro all’Aperto, which […]
As much as anywhere in Italy, the food of Montalcino is intensely local and dear to its residents. Wanda Djebbar explains the culinary heritage of this Tuscan town with her Gourmet guide to Montalcino… Sitting proudly on its hilltop at 567 metres above sea level, looking out over the Val d’Orcia and the Via Francigena, […]