The secret room in Florence where Michelangelo spent three months in hiding is expected to open to the public later in 2020. In the summer of 1530, the Renaissance master artist disappeared without a trace, camping out in an underground chamber beneath the Medici chapels in the Basilica of...

An archaeology graduate student at Venice’s University Ca’ Foscari found a rare 5,000-year-old sword made of copper and tin, common materials used prior to the Bronze Age. The PhD student, Vittoria Dall’Armellina, found the sword in a monastery on San Lazzaro degli Armeni, an island ...

A hypogeum (an underground temple) and tomb were found in the Roman Forum last month, dating back to the 6th century B.C. A sarcophagus that was found in the tomb was made of tufa rock, the same material with which Rome’s Capitol building was built. "This is an extraordinary discovery...

Rome’s Palatine Hill is now producing honey and olive oil from ingredients grown on its grounds. Italy owes its culinary brilliance to fresh, local products – and it doesn’t get more local than this. Parco Colosseo, the archaeological park comprising Palatine Hill, the Colosseum a...

Seven sites in Sicily are among the 37 most-visited locations in Italy in 2019, according to a recently released report by Sicily’s cultural department. The seven sites are: Siracusa; the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento; the Ancient Theater in Taormina; Villa del Casale in Piazza Arme...

Rome’s Borghese Gallery has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise about $8 million to buy a bronze sculpture by Bernini. The bust is of Pope Urban VIII, who commissioned many works from Bernini and was the Baroque artist’s most important customer. Now, Anna Coliva, the director of t...

Italian art newspaper Artribune has named Rome’s MAXXI museum the Best Museum in Italy for 2019. MAXXI, a museum of modern art, stands for Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo. MAXXI, which opened in 2010, showcases contemporary art by Italian and foreign artists. The institution...

A researcher at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews has found the oldest known city drawing of Venice, a sketch from the 14th century. The scholar, Dr. Sandra Toffolo, specializes in Venetian Renaissance history and was conducting research at the National Central Library of Florence whe...

Pejo 3000, a ski resort in the Dolomites, is taking steps to become the first plastic-free ski resort in Europe by discontinuing items that produce large amounts of microplastics. From the start of this season in December, the resort has banned plastic bags, bottles, utensils, straws, cups...

Many of Rome’s cobblestoned streets will soon be revamped and paved with asphalt to make the roads more friendly to drivers. On 68 streets in the historic center, cobblestones will be removed and relocated to 113 pedestrian streets. Work to remove the sampietrini, as the basalt...