The Sicilian city of Catania had always been unknown to Lorenza Bacino, so when the opportunity arose to visit with a local, she jumped at the chance… With open hearts, Sicilian journalist Francesca Marchese’s family welcomed me into their home in the Catania hinterland and I felt like a prodigal daughter returning after a long […]
This statue in the Vatican‘s Pio Clementino Museum may be the most influential of them all… Michelangelo admired it, as did Donatello before him, and Pliny the Elder long before them; this latter attributed it to three sculptors from Rhodes, but we don’t know who commissioned it, nor when it was sculpted, nor whether there […]
Italian football legend Paolo Maldini recently joined an exclusive group of athletes who have competed in more than one sport. Tom Alberto Bull reflects on these multidisciplinary heroes… Una storia di due sport Essendo cresciuto con una madre italiana e un padre fanatico di calcio, era inevitabile che avrei seguito la squadra azzurra sin da […]
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you won’t see it all in a lifetime, but our new series will guide you through what you mustn’t miss… Perhaps the most iconic of all the tourist destinations in Rome, the Colosseum looms large at the heart of what was once the city centre. There will be […]
On the trail of Lionardo Buonarroti, and the family palace he renovated in Florence. Lionardo, I have received thy letter and with it the three shirts. I am very much surprised that ye should have sent them … they are so coarse that there is not a farm labourer here who would not be ashamed […]
Spring is an ideal time for visiting Sicily. The town of Cefalù on the northern coast is particularly charming before the temperature soars and the hoards descend. Lorenza Bacino and her family enjoyed the April sunshine exploring this delightful town and the nearby Madonie Regional Park. A few hardy northern European visitors braved the calm, […]
An Italian court has ruled that some managerial appointments involving foreign directors should never have occurred. Tom Alberto Bull on the new controversy facing Italian museums… Venti di cambiamento Nonostante il fatto che i musei italiani possiedano alcuni reperti tra i più preziosi del mondo, spesso non sono all’altezza delle aspettative a causa della cattiva […]
We take a look at the beautiful home of Gallura Buskers Festival, the International Festival of Street Artists and Contemporary Circus which featured amazing entertainment and fantasy in the magical nights of Santa Teresa Gallura. The 5th edition of the Gallura Buskers Festival was held from 17th to 23rd July and was a long anticipated event of […]
There’s a new spot to visit on your next trip to Sicily – perfectly placed near Syracuse, elegant Donna Coraly Resort is a peaceful bolthole for the weary traveller Echoing the white-topped slopes of Sicily’s majestic Etna, glimpsed as we sped away from the bustle of Catania, drifts of snowy white roses fringe the approach […]
Giotto shows the representation of human emotion, injects individuality once again in the people depicted and is interested in conveying a sense of realism. Back in the very early 1300s Padua was a very wealthy merchant city and the Scrovegni family was one of the most wealthy families in the city. Reginaldo Scrovegni had made […]