Viewpoint: Bosa old town

Bosa in Sardinia, Italy

Bosa Marina is the area that is interesting international property buyers right now, but the coloured houses of the old town of Bosa have their charm too… Photo by Getty Images Regular readers will recall that we visited Bosa in our ‘Homes in Sardinia’ feature recently. This is the first coastal town of notable size […]

Italia! photos of the month: April 2019

Ostuni, Italy

We’ve got some beautiful photos in this month’s selection – read on to see Italy in all its glory, courtesy of these glorious snaps from Italia! readers This month’s winner:  “Taken outside the main church in Ostuni. It was very busy that day in September.” by Mike Allton, Guilden Morden More of our favourites this month… […]

Viewpoint: The Bridge of Sighs

Bridge of Sighs, Venice, Italy

It may not command the location of the Rialto Bridge, but the Bridge of Sighs is arguably the greater achievement and perhaps Venice’s most beautiful bridge… Photo by Getty Images Steve Marriott crossed “over Bridge of Sighs, to rest [his] eyes in shades of green,” but he was speaking psychedelically. The bridge leads not to […]

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 […]

Past Italia: Marcus Aurelius on horseback

Piazza del Campidoglio with statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, Italy.

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius stands centre stage in Rome’s Piazza del Campidoglio… Photo by Getty Images One of the few stipulations that the Pope made when he commissioned Michelangelo to redesign the piazza on the Capitoline Hill was that the famous ancient statue of Marcus Aurelius should be its focal point. The statue […]

Italia! photos of the month: January 2019

Ortigia, Syracuse, Italy

We’re kicking off the new year with these spectacular shots from all over Italy – all taken by our talented readers… This month’s winner:  “Ortigia, Syracuse, Sicily. 13 December. The Festa di Santa Lucia, which commemorates the patron saint of Syracuse. The highlight is a procession during which an enormous silver statue of Saint Lucia […]

Past Italia: Snowfall in Rome

snow in Rome, Italy

It snowed in Rome last February, and in 2012, though historically it’s actually quite a rare event… Photo by Getty Images This photograph was taken on Monday 26th February 2018, after the ‘Beast from the East’ had dumped several centimetres of snow on Rome, giving the city’s schoolchildren, and many of its shop and office […]

Viewpoint: Villa Rufolo

The beautiful Villa Rufolo looks over the resort of Ravello – offering one Italy’s very finest coastal views (as you can see!) In the Middle Ages, the Villa Rufolo was one of the grandest houses on the Amalfi coast. Kings stayed here; great poets wrote of it. Today it is famed for its gardens, the […]