Viewpoint: Cascate del Mulino

cascate del mulino

The Maremma’s Cascate del Mulino (Cascades of the Mill) are fed by hot spring waters that flow underground from the site of the Terme di Saturnia Spa… Photo by Getty Images  Just upstream from here, the Terme di Saturnia is as luxurious a spa resort as you could hope for, but the 37°C waters that […]

Viewpoint: Calvary of Manduria

The Calvary of Manduria. Puglia. Italy.

In a small town in Puglia, at the edge of the Piazza San Francesco, stands the Calvary of Manduria in Puglia, the work of a 19th-century artist… Photo by Getty Images Calvary (also known as Golgotha) was the hill where Jesus Christ was crucified, and a calvary (calvario in Italian) is an artistic representation of […]

Viewpoint: Carlo Colla & Sons

Marionettes in the warehouse of the Carlo Colla and Sons

A troupe of marionettes patiently await their curtain call in the warehouse of Carlo Colla & Sons before a show in Milan last year… Photo by Leonello Bertolucci/Getty Images In May this year, the Carlo Colla & Figli marionette company hosted a special show, La Poesia della Meccanica (The Poetry of Mechanics), in Milan to […]

Past Italia: La Villa Donn’Anna

Palazzo Donn'Anna, Italy

This historic but dilapidated residence sits on the Posillipo coast in Naples, west of the Mergellina harbour, some way beyond the Castel dell’Ovo… Photo by Getty Images The Villa Donn’Anna takes its name from Anna Carafa, the wife of a Spanish viceroy of Naples who inherited the property in 1630 and had it rebuilt to […]

Italia! photos of the month: February 2019

Val D'Orcia, Tuscany

Sit back and enjoy this gallery of glorious photos of Italy, all taken by Italia! readers – and read on to find out how to enter our monthly photo competition… This month’s winner:  “Val d’Orcia, Tuscany.” by Nick Board   More of our favourites this month… “This was taken in Sicily at the Valley of the […]

Viewpoint: Botanical Gardens at Villa Taranto

PALLANZA, ITALY APRIL, 25, 2018 - Terraced gardens in the botanical garden of Villa Taranto in Pallanza, Verbania, Italy.

The Botanical Gardens at Villa Taranto in Pallanzo on the shore of Lake Maggiore were established in the 1930s by a Scotsman called Neil Boyd Watson McEacharn… Photo by iStock/ Getty Images Captain Neil Boyd Watson McEacharn (1884-1964) was educated at Eton and Oxford and developed his passion for gardening after his father bought Galloway House […]

Viewpoint: Monte Cervino

Sunset over Monte Cervino, Italy

The sun catches the peak of Monte Cervino, aka the Matterhorn, as it sets over the Italian border with Switzerland in Val d’Aosta… Photo by Getty Images It is the region of Dolomites, at the eastern end of Italy’s northern border, that is most famous for the phenomenon of the enrosadira, the ‘pinkening’ of the mountains […]

Italia! photos of the month: December 2018

Florence, Italy, springtime

We’ve got a gorgeous crop for this month’s Reader Photo Competition – which one is your favourite? This month’s winner:  “Doing what Italians do best – talking! Maiori, Salerno.” by Brian Bennett, Burgess Hill More of our favourites this month… “In a walk in the Bardini Gardens in Florence, an open view between the trees […]

Viewpoint: Father Christmas in Venice!

Father Christmas, Venice, Italy

Six rowers, all dressed as Father Christmas, cut a steady course across the Venetian lagoon on their mission to deliver presents to children… Photo by Getty In the far north of Italy, the bringer of gifts is St Nicholas, who comes on December the 6th, while children who have not been good may expect a […]

Italia! photos of the month: November 2018

Florence, Italy

It’s time for November’s gallery of spectacular photos of Italy… the perfect pics to inspire your next Italian adventure This month’s winner:  “Rose at the Duomo, Florence.” by Nick Board, Reading More of our favourites this month… “We have finally moved from Australia to live in Lucca, and after five months have accumulated many photos […]