Last autumn the town of Norcia in Umbria suffered a devastating blow after an earthquake hit. Hannah Frances went back to see how the town fought back. Autumn is a great time to see Norcia, says Hannah Frances. Fractured by last October’s earthquake, the determined and resilient town in the heart of Umbria is coming […]
Umbria is known as the ‘green heart of Italy’, thanks to the fact that more than 30 per cent of this central region is made up of woodland. This is a tranquil and historically rich part of Italy, landlocked by Tuscany, Lazio and Le Marche, and situated right in the middle of Italy. Although the […]
There are many ways to see Italy, but surely one of the most unique has to be by steam train. Mark Nicholls enjoys a nostalgic steam train tour across the Apennines from Rimini to Florence, then to Siena, Pisa – and Pistoia, the home of Italian steam. The air dances, black smoke drifting on the […]
The official name is the Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti but we know them as the Spanish Steps, for the embassy once located here… After our visit to the Vatican Museums last month, we thought it unlikely that you would want to go straight to the Galleria Borghese (where we will be going next month), […]
Traveleyes is a company that offers holidays for visually impaired people. Rachael Martin went with them to join a group of sighted and visually impaired tourists on a trip to Verona and Lake Garda. It’s a Sunday morning in Piazza Bra, in the heart of Verona. The square is full of people taking their morning […]
Acclaimed author Emylia Hall set her novel, The Thousand Lights Hotel, on Elba. She tells us about the favourite places and characteristics of the island that inspired her. Elba, the largest of the islands in the Tuscan Archipelago, is a place that defies expectation. Once a mining centre, it was repurposed in the 1950s as […]
It’s never too early to start planning next year’s holiday to Italy – so from Amalfi and the islands to Lake Garda and Liguria, let Italian holiday specialists Citalia inspire you… With nights drawing in and leaves starting to turn, we think it’s the perfect time to start dreaming of beach-front trattorias, al fresco espressos and daily […]
Indeed, Rome was not built in a day… Work on St Peter’s began in 1506, but the church wasn’t ready to be consecrated until 1626… Like many other buildings in Rome, St Peter’s uses stone recycled from the Colosseum. As is usually the case when a building takes longer to finish that one might have […]
The name of Monza is known to motor racing enthusiasts around the world, but Rachael Martin finds that there is more to the city than its famous race track… Mention the word Monza and most people immediately think of the city’s motor racing track. And, of course, they wouldn’t be wrong. Designed by architect Alfredo Rosselli and […]
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 […]