2015 Italia Taste Awards

Throughout the past year we sampled Italian products you can buy in the UK in our Buy Italia! feature and brought you our recommendations. Now we can tell you what our favourites have been. And here they are, at the… Now that we’ve got the old year properly packed off to bed and tucked up nicely, […]

The Passion of the Christ, Location: Matera

Matera stands in for the Jerusalem of 2,000 years ago in this graphic depiction of the death of Jesus Christ… (2004, Matera. Directed by Mel Gibson. Starring Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci) Mel Gibson directed this highly controversial film that graphically traces the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life leading up to his Crucifixion. It has […]

The Best Small Islands

With such a vast coastline Italy has plenty of beautiful, small islands dotted around its shores. Italia! selects five of the best diminutive destinations. Isola D’elba, Tuscany  Tuscany’s Elba was once home to Napoleon during his period of exile in 1814. It’s now hard to imagine how such an imposition could be deemed a punishment, […]

A Return to Tuscany

Chris Allsop last visited Tuscany as a young boy. Thirty years later he decided to go back… The last time I was in Tuscany, I mostly chased pigeons. I was six, on a family holiday, and the astounding art heritage of Florence was no match for the challenge of putting the wind up every pigeon […]

Panettone Review

A good panettone can make Christmas in an Italian household. Notoriously difficult to make at home, most are bought ready made. We taste some high street examples… Whether you consider panettone to be a cake or a bread – strictly speaking it’s a sweet bread – the origin of this traditional Christmas and New Year’s […]

Olive Oil Review

It has been reputedly used since 6,000BC, and originates from Greece and ancient Asia Minor, but what of the modern-day oils on offer? Italia! selects seven of the best… We all use olive on a virtually daily basis. It’s become a staple in the kitchens of everyone who loves all things Italian. Arguments will rage […]

In the Valley of the Snakes

Each year, in a remote village in the Peligna valley, a festival takes place that dates back 3,000 years. Nadia Attura attends a celebration in the valley of the snakes. Deep in the Peligna valley, where north Italy meets south, villagers are preparing to celebrate Europe’s oldest festival: a bizarre, 3,000-year-old tradition that mixes ancient […]

Italia! October Issue On Sale Now!

I’m pleased to announce that the latest issue of Italia! is on sale now, available to buy online and from stores across the UK! You can also download the digital edition for Apple devices or online /Android/ Windows 8 devices. In our October issue, 131, Fleur Kinson writes about Homes In Puglia and how the property market is hotting up in the region. Sara Scarpa introduces us to the little-known […]