Published on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Almost two years after its renovation and reopening, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence is employing a creative strategy to attract visitors. Drawing upon an idea put forth by its director, Monsignor Timothy Verdon, the museum is looking at religious artworks in a re-created religious environment, exploring the messaging that motivated artists in a way that ...

Published on Monday, August 28, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Pepe in Grani, in the town of Caiazzo in the region of Campania, has won the title of best pizza in Italy for 2017 according to online Italian pizzeria guide 50 Top Pizza. The restaurant received top marks not only for the quality of its food, but also for its beer and wine list, service, and furnishings. Pepe in Grani owner and third-generation pizzaiolo Franco Pe...

Published on Thursday, August 24, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Beginning March 1, 2018, visitors to the Uffizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens will pay more for tickets as the museums switch to a season-based admission system with higher prices for visitors coming in spring and summer. In peak season (March 1 to October 31), tickets to the Uffizi will cost 20€; in the remainder of the year, they will cost 12...

Published on Thursday, August 17, 2017 by Kathy McCabe When the Gelato Festival returns to Florence for the eighth time in September, it will unite Europe’s best ice cream makers – and ice cream lovers – to crown the continent’s best ice cream. Sixteen ice cream makers will compete in Florence and present flavors designed especially for the festival. A panel of journalists and gelato experts, along with a popular ...

Published on Thursday, July 20, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome has opened previously closed-off spaces, including a series of three rooms known as the Cambellotti Rooms, to the public for the first time, and is also providing new ways for visitors to interact with and understand the historic monument. Guests can access the rooms through a newly opened ceremonial entrance designed by architect Giov...

Published on Friday, July 7, 2017 by Kathy McCabe The first part of the Vasari Corridor, which connects Palazzo Pitti, the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, has reopened to the public after being closed since 1871. The first part of the corridor links Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery and travels above Via della Ninna. Previously, parts of the corridor were only open for guided tours, but now the p...

Published on Sunday, June 11, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Rome will no longer allow horse-drawn carriage rides on its cobblestone streets, the city announced last week. When the change goes into effect, carriages will only be permitted in parks and on the grounds of historic villas. Carriage rides are popular with tourists and take them through guided tours of popular monuments such as the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Trev...

Published on Monday, April 17, 2017 by Kathy McCabe On June 1, contemporary and modern art museums across Italy will introduce a membership card that allows access to all participating museums. The project, called Contemporaneamente Italia, was announced ahead of the G7 Culture Summit, held in Florence at the end of March. Cards will cost 30€ each, will be sold at the participating museums starting June 1, and will g...

Published on Thursday, April 6, 2017 by Kathy McCabe Leonardo da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi has been successfully restored and returned to the Uffizi Gallery. The painting spent six years in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a Florence research and conservation institute, whose conservation team left the painting cleaner and brighter. The artist received a commission for the piece from Augustinian monks who in...

Published on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 by Kathy McCabe A new video installation, running through July 23, at Palazzo Strozzi  in Florence celebrates the contemporary work of Bill Viola. The exhibit, Bill Viola. Electronic Renaissance, links the artist’s contemporary work with that of Renaissance painters. Viola, an American contemporary video artist, worked in Florence at video production center Art/Tapes/22 during ...