Viewpoint: Costa Paradiso, Sardinia

Costa Paradiso Sardinia Italian beach

Those with a taste for adventure journey to Costa Paradiso in Sardinia to experience the island’s unspoiled beauty… Crystal-clear azure waters lap the shores of Costa Paradiso, a less-visited corner in the northern coastline of Sardinia. Nestled within a rugged landscape, this breathtaking destination is a haven for those seeking both serenity and adventure, far […]

The running Madonna – the Easter procession in Abruzzo

Members of the fraternity of St. Mary of Loreto carry the statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of Sulmona in Abruzzo during an Easter procession

Discover the story behind this interesting Easter procession in Abruzzo, which takes place on Easter Sunday… Members of the fraternity of St. Mary of Loreto carry the statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of Sulmona in Abruzzo during an Easter procession. This unusual Easter procession in Sulmona, Abruzzo, is called ‘La Madonna che […]

48 hours in Assisi

Assisi

Jane Keightley visits the famous Umbrian hill town to see the sights, enjoy the food and find out more about the saint whose values are woven into the life of Italians nationwide… Photos by Jane Keightley. As the last tourist buses roll out of town, the whole atmosphere of Assisi changes. With five million visitors […]

Maddalena Archipelago

With crystal clear blue waters and a rugged granite coastline, the picturesque area of the Maddalena Archipelago has to be the perfect summer retreat… The Maddalena Archipelago consists of a group of seven large islands and several smaller islets that litter the stretch of the Strait of Bonifacio between northeast Sardinia and Corsica. The main […]

Grand Canal in Milan

grand canal in milan

A summer night’s dusk falls on the Grand Canal in Milan and the cafés that line the waterside prepare themselves for another evening’s brisk trade, but it wasn’t always so peaceful… Today, this is just a beautiful place to be, but these waterways were once the very arteries of Milan, carrying the city’s lifeblood around […]

Pollino National Park

The Pollino National Park represents a dramatically varied region of wonder and wilderness, offering some of the most breathtaking scenery in Italy… The vertigo-inducing Raganello Gorge shown in this photograph cuts through the Pollino National Park and counts as one of the most dramatic features of this impressive area. The national park of Pollino is […]

Sculpture: Piazza Camerlata

Italia! investigates a very different view of this renowned Italian lakeside town, with a visit to a dizzying sculpture in Piazza Camerlata, in Como What do you envisage when you think of the Italian Lakes? It probably isn’t a design movement called Italian Rationalism, but the town of Como, on the lake of the same […]

Past Italia! The Salute

Artists’ inspiration and magnificent feat of engineering, but the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute on Venice’s Grand Canal was originally built to stave off the plague The year is 1629 and a great plague has hit Venice, turning it into a watery tomb. Prayers and processions to Venetian churches fail to stem the tide […]

Past Italia – Ravenna

Once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, Italia! discovers one of the many reasons to visit Emilia-Romagna’s artistically rich city Ravenna, which boasts eight UNESCO world heritage sites. Of the many attractions that draw visitors to Emilia-Romagna’s Ravenna, the over-whelming Byzantine heritage is among the most alluring. Ravenna was the capital of the Western […]

The Gulf of La Spezia

Like a rainbow of painted plaster, the village of Portovenere 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. We know it’s a tough decision, trying to decide between the Amalfi coast and […]