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 Saturday, June 23, 2018 by Kathy McCabe Cheesemakers in Italy’s Parmesan-producing regions produced 147,000 tons of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in 2017, breaking all-time records for the cheese’s production. The 3.6 million wheels of cheese sold totaled 2.2€ billion in sales and increased production by 5 percent from 2016 and 10 percent from 2014, according to Italy’s Parmigiano Reggiano consortium. ...

Published on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 by Kathy McCabe If you’ve ever wished you could travel in a time machine, Duke University researchers are about to grant that wish. At the end of May, the Museo Civica Reggio Emilia will debut an exhibit that allows visitors to see what Reggio Emilia, a town in the region of Emilia-Romagna,  would have looked and felt like 2,000 years ago. That’s right, looked and felt—beca...

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. FEE Italy President Claudio Mazza says that the constant increase, up from 248...

Published on Sunday, March 2, 2014 by Kathy McCabe It took eight years to construct and now the world's largest maze or labyrinth is set to open in Italy. The 17-acre Labirinto della Masone is set on the estate of art publisher Franco Maria Ricci in the town of Fontanellato near Parma in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Italy Magazine reports, "It consists of a mix of 120,000 species of bamboo that edge almost 2 mil...

Published on Monday, August 5, 2013 by Kathy McCabe If you're looking for some ultimate, once-in-lifetime Italian experiences, get ready to visit the region of Emilia-Romagna in central Italy. That's where Italy's luxury car makers are based and where YOU can get behind the wheel of a Ferrari or a Lamborghini for a Super Car Test Drive! Choose the model you want to drive (how about a Spider) and where (race track, i...

Published on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 by Kathy McCabe 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, one of the world's greatest opera composers. Many know, of course, that the composer was Italian (or born in what is now considered Italy) but may know anything about his early life. According to Wikipedia, "Verdi was born the son of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi and Luigia Uttini in Le Ron...

Published on Friday, April 5, 2013 by Kathy McCabe An Italian woman has been named the world's best chef by Restaurant Magazine.  Nadia Santini, the proprietor of Dal Pescatore in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, has won the honor.  Until recently her family's restaurant, which is over 100 years old, was the only restaurant in Italy to hold a Michelin three-star rating. Nadia, who married into the...

Published on Sunday, August 26, 2012 by Steve I don’t know about you but I go to Italy to eat and drink…Sure I love traipsing through the ancient ruins, learning the history behind the world-class art.But if I could only do only two things in Italy:  they would be Mangia (Eat) e Bevi (Drink) I think many of our guests feel the same way. So I proudly introduce… ...Perillo’s NEW 10-Day Mangia e Bevi Tou...

Published on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 by Kathy McCabe In an attempt to help cheese producers in Emilia-Romagna , a region devastated by a several earthquakes last month, regional consortiums are organizing ways for consumers to buy the damaged wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano cheese – produced in and around the city of Parma. The malformed, but still perfectly good cheese is being sold throughout It...