Italy Travel

The Basilica di Santo Spirito in Florence has opened its cloister to the public for the first time. The cloister of the former monastery and convent was a space that connected different parts of the complex, such as the basilica and the dining hall, that the monks who lived there used dail...

On June 1, contemporary and modern art museums across Italy will introduce a membership card that allows access to all participating museums. The project, called Contemporaneamente Italia, was announced ahead of the G7 Culture Summit, held in Florence at the end of March. Cards will cost 3...

Italian fashion house Gucci announced that it will donate  2 million euros to beautify and restore the famous Boboli Gardens in Florence. One of the most beautiful parks in Italy, the Boboli Gardens inspired other elegant European green spaces such as those at the Palace of Versailles in ...

After taking a year off from submitting UNESCO World Heritage bids, Italy has put forth two bids for the country’s central region for consideration next year. If approved, the sites would be added to Italy’s list of 51 total UNESCO World Heritage sites, the most of any country. The ...

Leonardo da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi has been successfully restored and returned to the Uffizi Gallery. The painting spent six years in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a Florence research and conservation institute, whose conservation team left the painting cleaner and brighter....

A new video installation, running through July 23, at Palazzo Strozzi  in Florence celebrates the contemporary work of Bill Viola. The exhibit, Bill Viola. Electronic Renaissance, links the artist’s contemporary work with that of Renaissance painters. Viola, an American contemporary ...

Coffee, a cultural staple in Rome, has long been among Italy’s, and the world’s, cheapest cups of espresso. That may change, though, as coffee prices are set to increase at bars all over the city. Romans, entrenched in the national coffee culture like most Italians, will have to pay 10...

Taormina, Sicily will host the G7 Summit in May, an annual meeting of seven of the world’s largest industrialized democracies, called the Group of Seven (G7). The group discusses issues such as global economics and trade, foreign policy, humanitarian issues, health, development and clim...

Today, Michelangelo’s birthday, the Accademia in Florence will is launching its new membership card, called the Friends of David after the sculptor’s most famous piece. The card is aimed at Florentines or frequent visitors, including foreigners. For those under age 28, the card will ...

The city of Pisa will soon have another tourist attraction – a 165-foot Ferris wheel – to compete in height with its famous 183-foot leaning tower. For three months this summer, the Ferris wheel will be temporarily installed in a former parking lot to test its popularity and appeal to ...