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 […]
Historic Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, is the hub for a wealth of holiday delights… While the moneyed yacht set still chart a course for the Costa Smeralda in the north of Sardinia, many discerning visitors to this island in the very centre of the Mediterranean Sea fly in to Cagliari. The city’s centro […]
Isola Bella – or Ìsula Bedda, in the Sicilian language – is aptly named… The ‘Beautiful Island’ of Taormina isn’t the only place of this name in Italy. There is a perhaps more famous one on Lake Maggiore, but it is the only one in Sicily. It lies off the coast of Taormina and is […]
Molise is the youngest of Italy’s 20 regions, and perhaps its least-known. Decidedly mountainous in the west (and quite hilly in the east) it is perceived as being inaccessible – which makes it the perfect destination for the intrepid Heather Crombie. Situated between sea and mountains, half way between the centre and the south of Italy, […]
On the last weekend of May, Italy’s wine cellars will be open to visitors. The sight of hillsides strewn with vineyards is one that is repeated throughout Italy, and one that is notably celebrated each May in the form of the Movimento Turismo del Vino’s Cantine Aperte (Open Cellars) initiative. This year, Italy’s primary wine […]
The Amalfi Coast is a breathtaking stretch of glam resorts, picturesque towns and glorious views – a memorable destination for recharging your batteries If you’re going to take a drive during your Italian travels, the most stunning route you are likely encounter on the peninsula is the stretch that runs from Sorrento in the north, […]
Delicious wheels of Pecorino cheese wrapped neatly in red radicchio, leek and green cabbage – the pride of any Italian artisan food fair or market Photo by iStock Pecorino is a ewe’s milk cheese that, although pretty well known, often falls into the shadow of the nation’s far more famous Parmesan, for virtue of the […]
Mauro Staccioli is an artist who likes to connect himself to the landscape – a trip to Volterra in Tuscany will introduce you to some of his remarkable works By Royal Appointment. Question: What links a world renowned fashion designer (Armani) with a Prince (Charles)? Answer: A little bum or, put another way, Culatello DOP. […]
A solitary market stall in Pomposa, near Ferrara, selling pumpkins of all shapes and sizes in late October of last year. It doesn’t get more Italian – and yet, of course, it’s not Italian at all… Like maize – another crop that is grown very extensively here in the Po Valley – and tomatoes – […]
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 […]