Unification of Italy: Why Is It Celebrated on March 17?
Every year on March 17, Italy celebrates the anniversary of the Unification of Italy, in other words when Italy as a modern nation state was born. Why March 17? Because on March 17, 1861, Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, King of Sardinia and Piedmont, and one of the main promoters of the Italian independence movement, became the first King of Italy. If...
Pesaro wins Italy's Capital of Culture 2024 title
The Italian seaside city of Pesaro has been proclaimed as the country's Capital of Culture 2024, the culture ministry announced on Wendesday. Pesaro beat nine other finalists vying for the title: Ascoli Piceno, Chioggia, Grosseto, Mesagne, Sestri Levante / Tigullio, Siracusa, Paestum / Alto Cilento, Viareggio, and Vicenza. Culture minister Dario Fr...
Sofia Goggia wins third downhill Crystal Globe in Courchevel
Sofia Goggia comfortably secured the 2021/22 downhill Crystal Globe despite a 12th-place finish in the final event at the Alpine Ski World Cup Finals on Wednesday (16 March) in Courchevel, France. The race win went to overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin, who claimed just her third career downhill victory. Olympic silver medallist from Beijing...
Hidden Gems of Italy: Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome
On top of the Quirinal Hill, in Rome’s Monti neighborhood, you can admire one of the greatest examples of Roman Baroque, created by one of the most remarkable architects of the 1600s, Francesco Borromini: the Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, which the Romans affectionately call ‘San Carlino.’ As a young architect in Rome, Borromini was ea...
Ennio Morricone: “The great exception to all rules”
Oscar-winner Nicola Piovani defines him as “a great exception to all rules.” “The most creative music cinema has ever had,” adds Bruce Springsteen. Giuseppe Tornatore’s documentary Ennio, presented out of competition at the last Venice Film Festival and currently in cinemas across Italy, has just won the Nastro d’Argento 2022 for best documentary....
Benvenuto Brunello, the new vintages of Montalcino
Benvenuto Brunello is the annual event, promoted by the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, which officially presents the new vintage of one of the most prized and appreciated Italian wines. The appointment that is held in the center of Montalcino – after more than twenty years has been moved momentarily from February, period in which this w...
The most beautiful landscapes in Italy and where to see them
Italy is nature, beauty, history, traditions and culture. It is a combination of wonders and emotions. In addition to impressive churches, monuments, buildings, Renaissance palaces and ancient ruins, there are breathtaking landscapes, real paintings, unforgettable sceneries that attract many tourists every year. Get ready to daydream, and let's dis...
Michelangelo's last secret: the Cappella Medicea's drawings
Imagine the stupor, the surprise Paolo Dal Poggetto, then director of the Museo delle Cappelle Medicee Florence, must have felt when he discovered, entirely by chance, the last secret of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The year was 1975, the location was the Basilica di San Lorenzo, more precisely the Sagrestia Nuova, created during the Renaissance by Mic...
The Capitals of Culture in Italy
The “Capitals of Culture” are one of the initiatives created to enhance the territories and to promote culture in Europe and in Italy. To know which Italian cities have been designated gives the opportunity to visit them and discover their beauty. THE EUROPEAN CAPITALS OF CULTURE Since 1985, the European Commission designates each year cities that...
Russian art on loan in Italy reprieved under new Hermitage deal
The Hermitage in St Petersburg has dropped its demands for an immediate return of its masterpieces currently on loan to Italian art institutions in Milan and Rome, allowing them to stay in Italy for "several more weeks". The mitigated deal between the Hermitage and the Russian culture ministry was announced on Monday evening following mediation tal...
Lent in Italy, from North to South
In Christianity, Lent is the period of forty days that anticipates Easter and corresponds to the forty days spent by Jesus fasting and praying in the desert of Judea, as told by the Gospels. For Catholics, this is traditionally a period of restraining and meditation, often accompanied by days of fasting – usually Fridays. While our grandparents’ ge...
Italian School Gives Heartwarming Welcome To Ukrainian Refugee Children
Yesterday, children and staff of a primary school in Naples, Italy, came out in force to greet Ukrainian refugee children arriving for their first day. The moving welcome was captured in a video that shows hundreds of school students and teachers gathered in the entrance hall of the Don Milani institute. Numbering over 200, they also lined the stai...