Think of transport in Venice and you think of the gondola, but this is a relationship that has been developed in large part by the city’s tourism industry. As a working boat, there are better options. Though it is now recognized the world over as the typical boat of Venice, the gondola is in fact […]
Conditions for some creatures in Italy are far from ideal, but the Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals (AISPA) is helping to change things… Domestic and wild animals the length and breadth of Italy have ample reason to be flapping their wings and clapping their paws in thanks to the late Leonard Hawksley. It […]
As an exhibition of some of his surviving works is shown in London, Carolyn Lyons explains why this Venetian artist was so influential, and how little we know about what he actually painted… Giorgione – ‘Big George’, he was born Giorgio Barbarelli – lived in Venice at the turn of the 16th century and is […]
Father’s Day is looming and you’ve still not got a gift? Our top picks from the latest brands will give you plenty of ideas and wont break the bank either! For the Cyclist You just can’t go wrong with the classic hankerchief set! Every father needs one and to top it off the Cotton is made […]
Venice native Sara Scarpa takes us out of town on a long cycle ride from Lido to Pellestrina, and then on a boat trip to Murano, Burano and Torcello. This is an introduction to the beautiful Venetian Islands… Visitors to Venice, especially those visiting for the first time, tend to associate the city with the […]
In the eastern Castello district of Venice lies a huge dockyard where revolutionary building techniques took shipbuilding and military manufacturing into the next level This dockyard has been thought to have existed on this site since the 12th century, and it boasts a significant role in Venice’s historical legacy, being an important example of pre-Industrial […]
Dreaming of long walks in the Tuscan countryside? Don’t know where to go next with your summer recipes? We look at Florentine cuisine and the use of garlic, we survey a photographic overview of Italy, and we go to the Apennines, Lake Garda, Venice – and even Australia… Florentine: The true cuisine of florence Emiko […]
Lisa Gerard-Sharp discovers that skippering your own boat is the best way to see Venice at a leisurely pace – and it’s easier than you’d think… Henry James thought that, “Everyone interesting, appealing, melancholy, memorable or odd” gravitated towards Venice. That’s our lame excuse – we must be “the odd”. We are an accidental all-female […]
High in the hills overlooking Varese is one of the most remarkable hidden treasures you could wish to behold – the rarely seen frescoes of the Sacro Monte de Varese As far as hidden secrets go, the Sacro Monte di Varese appears like the central plot focus in a sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Situated […]
Well-built, comfortable and great value for money, an Italian apartment can make a wise buy. Whether you’re looking for somewhere urban, coastal or rural, Fleur Kinson guides you through some of the practicalities… Italy’s property prices are lower now than they were eight years ago, and current exchange rates allow non-euro buyers like yourself to get even […]