Published on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 by Kathy McCabe The archaeological site at Antica Lavinium, an ancient city in the coastal village of Pratica di Mare south of Rome and located inside a farm owned by Borghese princes, opened to the public for the first time January 7th. Notable monuments at the site include 13 sacrificial altars, the Heroon of Aeneas, a ceremonial building and two kilns, all of which date back to th...

Published on Sunday, December 11, 2016 by Kathy McCabe McDonald’s is suing the city of Florence for $20 million on grounds of discrimination after Florence Mayor Dario Nadella denied its application for a license to open a location in Florence’s most popular area for tourists - Piazza del Duomo. In November, 24,000 Florentines signed a petition online to protest the restaurant’s proposed Piazza del Duomo expansion. ...

Published on Sunday, October 23, 2016 by Kathy McCabe Remarkably, the wealthiest families in Florence today are descendants of the wealthiest Florentine families from the Renaissance, according to two Italian economists from the Bank of Italy, Guglielmo Barone and Sauro Mocetti, The Wall Street Journal recently reported.  The economists compared tax data from 1427 and 2011 and found that, about 25 generations later, the...

Published on Thursday, October 20, 2016 by Kathy McCabe What are you doing in January? As Mario Perillo always said "off-season is the best season" for Italy and boy do I have a unique opportunity for our guests! Hurry, and be one of the few fans to tour Rome and Tuscany with baseball greats Didi Gregorious, Jim Leyritz and Wade Boggs on Perillo's once-in-a-lifetime 9-Day Baseball Greats Rome and Tuscany Tour! Get ...

Published on Thursday, October 6, 2016 by Kathy McCabe The United Nations announced that it will not list Venice as an endangered World Heritage Site this year, opting to revisit the issue in 2017 and giving Italy more time to comply with the UN’s recommendations for conservation. Among the problems cited by the UN that are leading to the city’s deterioration are an excess of tourists; insufficient strategies and pro...

Published on Monday, October 3, 2016 by Kathy McCabe A message from Steve Perillo: My father Mario Perillo revolutionized our business with his television commercials, which solidified his position as Mr. Italy to generations of TV viewers. One of the best parts of my job is to carry on his tradition of reaching out to our customers through television! Through the years, that has resulted in some fun and very memorable ...

Published on Saturday, October 1, 2016 by Kathy McCabe A new permanent exhibit on anatomy will open Oct. 22 at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in the artist’s Tuscan hometown of Vinci. The exhibit will explore da Vinci’s anatomical studies and include educational activities, tours and children’s activities. Perhaps the most curious person in history, da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist, artist, and...

Published on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 by Kathy McCabe August in Italy primarily means two things: vacation month for Italians all over the country, and hot weather that drives the masses to the coast. Popular vacation spots around the country are crowded, and visitors will go to great lengths to ensure their holiday is perfect. At the beach, it’s very common for both vacationing foreigners and Italians to leave their ...

Published on Monday, August 8, 2016 by Kathy McCabe Italy has seen a steady rise in tourism over the past years, and while good for its economy, the number of visitors that descend upon the country’s most-visited areas each year definitely takes a toll on resources. In 2014, Italy was the fifth most-visited country in the world, with 48.6 million tourists; that number has been rising since, with 2016 on track to ...

Published on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 by Kathy McCabe According to the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters, a volcanic system on the outskirts of Rome may be waking up. Geologists had believed the volcano was extinct until recently, when they began noticing changes in the earth. About 20 years ago, scientists observed that the hills were rising 2 millimeters per year as a result of a bubble of magma that fo...