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 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 Friday, June 17, 2016 by Kathy McCabe For the first time in 16 years, none of the 29 candidates for 2016 UNESCO World Heritage Site status are in Italy. Italy currently holds the world record for most UNESCO World Heritage sites, at 51; behind Italy, China has 48 and Spain has 44. But, as Franco Bernabè, the president of Italy’s UNESCO commission, explained to La Repubblica, “it’s not a sporting co...

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 Wednesday, November 19, 2014 by Steve What’s the most expensive thing you can buy in Italy? Sure, a Maserati or Ferrari is a good guess. But by weight it might be the white truffles of Alba which can go for as much as $10,000 per pound! These tantalizing tubers grow near the roots of oak trees and have a special concentration near the town of Alba, in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. They are i...

Published on Monday, January 9, 2012 by Kathy McCabe If your travels take you to the Italian region of Piedmont, don't miss La Venaria Reale. The former country retreat of the House of Savoy is one of the largest royal palaces in the world. It was built in the 17-th century for Duke Charles Emmanuel II who wanted a hunting lodge outside of Turin. The name "La Venaria Reale" derives from the Latin Venatio Regia meaning "...

Published on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 by Kathy McCabe It is the season for white truffles (tartufi bianchi)  also known in Italy as "white diamonds" for their expensive price of hundreds of dollars for just a hundred grams. One group of these rare gems can be found around Alba in the region of Piedmont and the whole area seems to go truffle crazy in the month of November. There are five kinds of white truffles of...

Published on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 by JacobMartin If you’re a discerning gastronomist, then you have no reason to miss the excitement of truffle hunting in Alba Italy. Of course, you can make a stop at Alba’s  autumn weekend truffle markets to shop for these so called “diamonds of the kitchen”, but you might have to pay top dollar for them! Instead, give yourself a deserving break from your busy life and sav...

Published on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 by Kathy McCabe When Eataly, the giant Italian food and wine emporium and experience, opened in New York last year it got tons of buzz. But for the true and bigger Eataly experience, I recommend you visit the very first Eataly which opend in Turin in 2007. Located in the former Carpano Vermouth production plant, Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti in alliance with Slow Food, the...