We present to you the first in a series of eight of the most memorable starring roles, we begin with Roman Holiday starring style icon Audrey Hepburn… Roman Holiday (1953, Rome, directed by William Wyler. Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck) Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck star in this timeless 50s classic, a worthy tribute to the Eternal […]
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 […]
Built in Turin, Desio (Monza and Brianza) and Termini Imerese (Palermo), between 1957 and 1975, the Fiat 500 is recognised the world over as a symbol of Italian identity… Measuring just under 3 metres long and originally powered by a tiny 479cc, two-cylinder, air-cooled engine delivering just 13bhp, the Fiat 500 – across its […]
With a tangible history dating back to Etruscan times, Perugia, the capital city of Umbria, had more than enough to keep Lorenza Bacino busy for a long weekend… Sitting on the marble steps of the centrally located San Lorenzo Cathedral, soaking up the sun and the atmosphere while enjoying a traditional piadina with prosciutto, was […]
A symbol of the very founding of Rome, the Capitoline Wolf – a bronze sculpture – has been housed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori since 1471. The story goes like this… It was as long ago as the mid-700s BC. Numitor, the grandfather of the twins Romulus and Remus, was usurped by his brother Amulius, […]
Everyone knows the stereotypes about Italians and driving – fast, impatient, aggressive, appearing to consider red lights as advisory… But there are more specific quirks that may take you by surprise. So, to make your driving experience in Italy a bit more predictable, here’s Gordon Craigie’s Top 10 Italian Driving Habits… Illustrations by iStock 1 Wavering […]
Italian cities get it just about right. They’re usually not too big, they’re always full of beautiful buildings, and they tend to favour pedestrians over motorised traffic. They’re also excellent places in which to buy a property, says Fleur Kinson… Italy’s famously glorious countryside is rivalled in appeal only by its opposite: the nation’s […]
Italy’s Cinque Terre is the stuff of postcards, and its colourful coastal railway is as pretty as a picture. Tristan Rutherford takes a train journey of discovery along the Ligurian coast. Central Italy is snowbound, so it is a shock to see La Spezia Station in radiant green. Palm trees run alongside the tracks in […]
Almost 2,000 years ago, Emperor Vespasiano built the Colosseo in Rome – a giant oval stadium capable of hosting over 50,000 spectators that still stands today. No other monument says ‘Rome’ quite as much as this: the Colosseum, situated towards the south of the central area of the Eternal City (in the grounds of Nero’s […]
Joe Gartman reveals the ghosts of the past in Ferrera, a city where long-gone rulers and clergymen left unfinished business… Ghosts don’t exist, I am inclined to believe, but the atmosphere of Ferrara is distinctly eerie. Maybe it’s the mist floating in from the Po Delta, to east of the city, where the great river […]