Advice on how to live "la dolce vita"
Spending The Winter Holidays In Rome Christmas as we know it was created in Rome. As home to the Vatican, the smallest sovereign state in the world, Rome assumes pride of place at the global table of Christmas festivities – starting on December 8th, the Day of the Immaculate Conception, and concluding on January …
Spending The Winter Holidays In Florence Of all the seasons to spend in Florence, winter is by far my favourite. Free at last from the multitudes that throng the city all spring and summer, Florence slips quietly into a state of hibernation. It’s left up to the locals to provide the faint pulse of everyday …
Spending The Winter Holidays In Venice Seldom is Venice’ appellation La Serenissima more appropriate than in winter. Mist shrouds the lagoon and its main island, cloaking gondoliers and boatsmen who emerge from out of nowhere as if floating through a fog. By night, Venice’s walkways and bridges are empty, eerie – completely silent were it …
How To Celebrate Thanksgiving In Florence Thanksgiving is fast approaching – and with a national holiday right around the corner you might be thinking of travelling to Italy. This year, the last Thursday of the month falls on November 22nd, a quiet if not slightly chilly time in Florence as the days grow shorter and …
The Unknown Leonardo Da Vinci Photo credit: Smithsonian Journeys Of the venerated titans of Florence’s cultural Renaissance, none left quite the same mark as Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 – 1519). The polymath, artist, and inventor was, in the words of his biographer Giorgio Vasari, blessed with “a beauty of person never sufficiently admired” and invested with …
Visiting Florence In Fall As the days grow shorter and Florence’s streets start to empty, the renaissance city takes on a new and exciting lease of life. Having once again survived the sweltering bustle of summer, Florence becomes far more slow-paced and relaxed — an autumnal city very much beginning to wind down for the …
Visiting Chianti On A Budget For many, the Tuscan region of Chianti is the quintessence of rural Italy. It stretches from Florence in the north to Siena in the south, encapsulating an idyllic landscape of lush, rolling hills, ripe, fertile vineyards and solitary stone farmhouses. In short Chianti is an image of paradise, which makes …
A Day In Oltrarno: Florence’s Trendiest Neighbourhood Oltrarno, or “beyond the Arno” as its name means in Italian, is one of Florence’s trendiest and most authentic neighbourhoods. Spanning the southern riverbank of the historic city, Oltrarno’s three historic quarters — San Niccolò, Santo Spirito, and San Frediano — are home to a wealth of galleries, …
Famous Movies In Rome: Seeking Out The Sets And Recreating The Moments Walking around Rome can feel like stumbling onto a film set. World-famous monuments such as the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Trevi Fountain appear as if from out of nowhere, thronged all year round by well-dressed locals who mingle around their bars and cafes …
Exploring Puglia On A Budget Stretching along the side of Southern Italy’s heel, the coastal region of Puglia is an unspoilt gem of beautiful beaches, little known cities, and architectural wonders. It doesn’t have the reputation of Tuscany’s Florence or Veneto’s Venice, so is only starting to be discovered by British and European tourists. For …