5 Things to Do in Pisa Besides Climbing the Leaning Tower
The city of Pisa Italy is famous the world over for its Leaning Tower but there's much more to the city. Here are some other things to do in Pisa: 1. Be sure to visit the Duomo and Baptistery next to the tower. Leave extra time (a few hours) to visit Pisa's stunning cathedral as well as the largest baptistery in Italy. 2. Also leave time to go into Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. This museum is where much of the art that was formerly in the cathedral is now housed. See Giovanni Pisano's ivory carving of the Madonna and Child carved for the cathedral's ...
Things to See in Alberobello
When you travel to Italy, there might be a lot of places that you would want to visit. One destination that definitely calls for a place in your travel itinerary is - Alberobello. Located in the southern part of Italy, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is known for its exceptional style of building called Trulli. Trullis are nothing but limestone houses with dry stone walls and conical roof that are known for their mortarless construction. The reason behind these pre-historic buildings was to escape from paying taxes. When the king’s tax collector came to collect taxes, the owner ...
Where To Stay in Rome: The Rose Garden Palace Hotel
One of my favorite hotels in Rome is the Rose Garden Palace Hotel. Just off the famous Via Veneto, and a stone’s throw from the American Embassy, it enjoys one of the best locations in the city. The hotel is partly owned by Steve Perillo, the third generation owner of Perillo Tours, the world’s largest tour operator to Italy. Perillo and his Italian partner bought this 19th-century building in 1998 and named it after the rose bushes in the courtyard. One might expect a hotel owned by a tour company to seem impersonal or ...
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Free Museum Sundays Are Back
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 Franc...
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Matera Enters Spotlight for 2019
Published on Saturday, January 26, 2019 by Kathy McCabe
The city of Matera, deep in Italy’s Basilicata region has a big year on the horizon. It is the European Capital of Culture for 2019, and the title is a source of pride for the entire nation, but especially for the residents of the city. Matera is unlike any other city in the world. Ho... -
Fly High at the Matera Balloon Fest...
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 chan... -
Italian Blue Waters Get Prestigious...
Published on Friday, May 15, 2015 by Kathy McCabe
The International Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has once again given Italy the highest number of Blue Flag beaches, bringing Italy's total to 280. The Blue Flag designation means that a beach meets the organization’s high eco-standards for cleanliness and sustainability... -
Matera: Big Remake of Big Film
Published on Thursday, February 19, 2015 by Kathy McCabe
Lovers of cinematic epics, rejoice! 1959’s big-budget, big-screen Roman saga, Ben Hur, is being remade, right now, in Italy’s southeastern city of Matera. You remember it as the Charlton Heston vehicle that had the biggest budget ($15.75 million) and biggest sets of any film of that p... -
Matera Named European Capital of Cu...
Published on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 by Kathy McCabe
After a fierce competition, Matera in the southern Italian region of Basilicata has been named as European Capital of Culture for 2019. The small town expects more than 5 million visitors in 2019, and plans to complete public works projects and city improvements to host the event. A t... -
Italy Travel Photo: The Christ of M...
Published on Monday, May 12, 2014 by Kathy McCabe
In 1963, commissioned by Count Rivetti, who first put Maratea's name on the tourism map, Florentine sculptor Bruno Innocenti crafted the 72-foot statue called Il Redentore (the redeemer) out of white marble. It towers over Maratea (a beach resort in Basilicata) from Mount S... -
The Italy Mix: Italian Islands, Sor...
Published on Thursday, April 10, 2014 by Kathy McCabe
The Italy Mix is a weekly post about the most interesting Italy and Italy travel news and human interest stories around the Web each week. Here are our top picks for this week: Sorrento So Cool: Its cobbled streets are lined with historic buildings, beautiful boutiques, refined rest... -
Matera: Basilicata’s City of ...
Published on Monday, January 2, 2012 by Kathy McCabe
One of the most unusual places I have visited in Italy is the city of Matera in the southern region of Basilicata. Matera has a unique landscape made up of sassi, which are ancient cave shelters built into tufa rock. Stacked on top of each other, they almost look like a honeycomb from a d...
