Published on Saturday, November 7, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Last week, Italy’s culture ministry named Mantua the country's 2016 Cultural Capital, meaning that the northern city of 50,000 will be awarded one million euros to finance projects to enhance its historic status. Mantua, home to the powerful Gonzaga family from the 14th to the 18th centuries, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2007, because despite its small ...

Published on Saturday, October 17, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Turin’s newest museum, Camera – the Italian Center for Photography, opened on October 1 with two exhibits on the subject of Ukraine, from Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov and French photographer Jerome Sessini. Located in a 2,000-square-meter building in Turin’s historic center, Camera aims to promote the art of photography by helping amateurs become bette...

Published on Friday, October 9, 2015 by Kathy McCabe After sparring with France for years over which country produced the most – and best – wine, Italy has outpaced France in annual wine production, just surpassing France’s 46.4 million hectoliters of wine. At an estimated 48.9 million hectoliters, Italy is now the world’s largest wine producer, according to European Union data provided to Coldiretti, an Italian...

Published on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 by Kathy McCabe It has been more than a century since Romans were able to visit an aquarium in their city, but the wait is almost over, as the city’s brand new Sea Life Rome Aquarium is scheduled to open in spring 2016 in a completely underground structure located underneath the artificial lake the modern EUR district of Rome. The stars of the aquarium will include sea turtles, ...

Published on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, is gearing up to host 20 crews of European hot air balloons at the third annual Matera Balloon Festival next month. The four-day event, which runs from October 8 to 11 will give adventurous visitors a chance to soar above the rocky landscape by paragliding or hot air ballooning; for t...

Published on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Famous for his frescoes and for his work on the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, 14th-century Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone was the most revered and revolutionary Italian painter of his time. He is considered one of the fathers of the Renaissance and the first traveling artist in Italy, and his heavyweight artistic influence sparked the beginning of the Renaissance a...

Published on Thursday, September 3, 2015 by Kathy McCabe One of the best ways to experience Italy vicariously is to check out what famous travelers find best there. This summer, quite a few chefs, designers and stars have offered lists of their preferred restaurants, watering holes, cities, and sights in bella Italia, and we’re rounding them up right here so you don’t have to do anything more strenuous than click. ...

Published on Monday, August 31, 2015 by Kathy McCabe On December 8th of this year, the Roman Catholic Church’s 29th Jubilee Year (only the 29th since the tradition was established 700 years ago) begins. A Jubilee, or Holy Year, is one in which devout members of the church make pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy See. The last one took place in 2000 and was declared by Pope John Paul II. Pope Francis has dedicated the ...

Published on Thursday, August 20, 2015 by Kathy McCabe At 136 acres, the grounds of the Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s private residence in Lazio, are larger than the entire Vatican City (108 acres). The land includes gardens, woodland, a working farm, beehives, a dairy, and even hay fields—but you don’t need to take our word for it. As of this this year, the public can tour these previously closed areas that are just ...

Published on Friday, July 31, 2015 by Kathy McCabe The Italy Mix is a regular post about the most interesting Italy and Italy travel news and human interest stories around the Web. Here are our top picks for this week: The Magic of Volterra:  Rick Steves says Tuscany's Volterra is Italy's most underrated hill town. (The Seattle Times) Honeymoon Through Italy:  One couple danced at midnight in Venice, motore...