Natalia Orel, Calgary “Even the hot July temperatures and 498 steps to the top couldn’t deter my husband and I from climbing the Asinelli Tower in Bologna! The view is absolutely gorgeous and I am happy to share it with your readers.”
Nick Jackson, London “My photo is of the sunset over Florence from the top of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore”
Villa Balbianello by Steven King “The photo was taken at Villa Balbianello, May 2014. There appeared to be a magnificent view wherever you turned.”
The city of Milan is readying itself for the festive period, and its shops and gallerias are a glittering display of opulence. Lorenza Bacino goes shopping… Here I am spending a winter weekend in Milan, Italy’s hub of design, fashion and culture, and I can’t wait to visit the luxurious Rinascente department store and savour […]
The Altopiano di Asiago lies to the north of Vicenza, or to the south-east of Trento, depending on which direction you’re coming from. Either way, the SP349 is the closest main road – after that you’re pretty much on your own… The ‘High Plain of Asiago’ is one of the most remote areas in all […]
“Apricale is a fortified medieval village in the Valle Nervia a few miles inland from Ventimiglia on the Riviero dei Fiori in Western Liguria. We stayed in this beautiful13th century village that clings haphazardly to the hillside, with lovely restaurants, piazza, and fantastic old footpaths snaking through the terrace hillsides. Ideal to scoot around in […]
Florence at Dusk by E Bellock
Like a rainbow of painted plaster, the village of Manarola hangs onto the cliffs above the swirling seas of the Gulf of La Spezia on the coast of Liguria – the home of fine wines and a one-time haunt of Byron’s. The Gulf of La Spezia is also known as the Poet’s Gulf – and […]
The smuggling of the mortal remains of St Mark to Venice from Alexandria in 828 satisfied a Divine Will – according to the Venetian version of the story, anyway… When, in the 4th Century AD, St Mark the Evangelist allegedly visited the then uninhabited lagoon, an angel appeared unto him saying: “Pax tibi Marce, Evangelistameus!” […]
In 1599, the Capuchin monks of Palermo made a macabre discovery: some of the corpses they had entombed in their catacombs had become naturally mummified. Then the monks decided to preserve one of their own… When the Capuchin monks of Palermo mummified Brother Silvestro of Gubbio they started a trend. From 1599 to 1880, when […]