Published on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 by Kathy McCabe On Tuesday, Italy encouraged its parliament to nominate espresso for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status. The bid was put forth by the Consortium for the Safeguarding of Traditional Italian Espresso Coffee. The tiny cups of undiluted black coffee topped with tan foam are the country’s lifeblood, traditionally drank standing up at bars and cafés throughout...

Published on Sunday, November 24, 2019 by Kathy McCabe To the delight of art lovers, Italy’s popular free museum Sundays are back. This popular program, which offers free entry on the first Sunday of the month for both Italian and foreign visitors at state-run museums around the country, was introduced in 2014 by Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. About 15 million visitors took advantage of the offering in total Ho...

Published on Monday, October 14, 2019 by Kathy McCabe The beauty of Rome is that the city’s vast collection of art and architecture means there’s always something different and unexpected to see beyond the usual tourist haunts. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler to Rome looking to discover new sites or a first-time visitor seeking to escape the crowds, on your next trip to Rome, visit these lesser-known archite...

Published on Thursday, October 10, 2019 by Kathy McCabe A fisherman from the tiny village of Talamone, Paolo Fanciulli, has installed an underwater museum to protect marine life and entertain divers. Twenty-nine Carrara marble sculptures in two locations off the Tuscan coast sit at the bottom of the sea, making up this unique art installation. On land nearby, 18 more sculptures sit in a field, waiting for Fanciulli to rais...

Published on Friday, September 20, 2019 by Kathy McCabe In 2020, Palazzo Pitti will highlight the link between Florentine nobility and the Russian Orthodox Church by displaying 78 Russian religious icons. The collection of icons, the largest outside of Russia, will be housed in four ground-floor rooms at Palazzo Pitti. This will be the first permanent home for the collection, which has been in Florence since 1761 and ha...

Published on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 by Kathy McCabe As a young, female Italian chef, Martina Caruso has racked up accolades – including a Michelin star – that have given her a platform to talk about being a woman in the restaurant industry. Caruso has the passion and experience to back up these accolades, and the tattoos to match: an octopus, garlic, oil, and hot pepper, her favorite ingredients to cook with. Ca...

Published on Thursday, August 15, 2019 by Kathy McCabe If you haven’t gone to a film festival, you’re missing out. Some of the best movies aren’t seen at commercial theaters, but instead are independent films competing at film festivals around the world. If you’re in Italy, consider snagging tickets to The 76th Venice Film Festival, which takes place later this month with films that include some of the biggest nam...

Published on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 by Kathy McCabe Geppy Sferra’s new gelato-themed restaurant stands out from the 1,400 other gelaterias in Rome: It is the only one to serve a full dinner menu, with gelato incorporated into each dish. Gelateria d’Essai, in Rome’s Centocelle neighborhood, employs chef Marco Mezzaroma to invent creative dishes and spin traditional favorites that include gelato. “My goal is t...

Published on Thursday, June 6, 2019 by Kathy McCabe In a 10th-century castle in northwest Italy’s Piedmont region, wine enthusiasts can get a taste of the area’s incredibly famous wine and its history. The Barolo Wine Museum (WiMu) is dedicated to the historical and cultural significance and evolution of wine consumption across Europe, and was designed by Francois Confino of Switzerland. Exhibits, spread over 2...

Published on Saturday, May 18, 2019 by Kathy McCabe Visitors can approach the Amalfi Coast in different ways to gain different perspectives on the mountainous coastline: by sea, by land and, soon, by soaring through the air on a new 650-meter (2,132-foot, or 0.4-mile) zipline. The zipline is currently being installed in the gorge between the towns of Furore and Conca dei Marini, and will open on May 23. Nicknamed th...