Da dove viene il nome “Italia”? La parola alla Crusca
Nei giorni del cambio della guardia al Quirinale, alcune domande sulla nostra storia ci vengono spontanee. A rispondere, come sempre, è la celebre Accademia della Crusca. Da dove viene il nome "Italia"?La Crusca risponde «Italia è un nome di tradizione classica, in origine con riferimento all'estremità meridionale della Calabria; si estend...
Tuscan castle goes on sale for £20 million
For the cashed-up buyer with an eye for history, it would be the ultimate Tuscan holiday retreat. A castle that was once stayed in by Galileo Galilei has gone on sale near Siena for 28 million euros, or £20 million. Once owned by an aristocratic Italian family that sent two popes to the Vatican, it is more a fortified village than a single proper...
Il mondo parla e canta italiano
Dal 19 al 24 ottobre si tiene in tutto il mondo la XV edizione della Settimana della Lingua Italiana, appuntamento annuale e centrale della promozione linguistica dell'italiano all'estero. L'iniziativa è organizzata in collaborazione tra il Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, l'Accademia della Crusca e la Confede...
Discovering Rome’s colossal Baths of Diocletian
by Cinzia Dal Maso Your first impact with Diocletian's Baths in Rome is the garden entrance: an oasis of peace opposite the bustle and noise of neighboring Termini train station. In fact, the station's name, "Termini," is a corruption of the Latin "thermae" or "baths," which came to indicate this Roman neighborhood over the centuries....
The new Italian wines and vintners
by Claudia Astarita The 2016 edition of the the Italian Daily Corriere della Sera guide on "Italian Wines and Vintners" is now available on the market. It tells the story of 200 characters sharing a great passion for wine, whose selection was determined by Luigi Veronelli, a landmark of Italian enological critique. The tone of the...
Le auto storiche rinascono ibride grazie a un nuovo cuore elettrico
di Roberto Chifari Moderne auto elettriche dal fascino assolutamente vintage. Non è fantascienza, ma una realtà già commercializzata grazie ad una startup che opera nel settore dell'aftermarket automobilistico con un obiettivo semplice: rivoluzionare la mobilità urbana. Si chiama Newtron ed è l'acronimo di New Traction Rear On. L'...
The Other Alps: An Insider's Guide to Skiing Italy's Dolomites
by Ondine Cohane & Ed Smith For a quieter and less crowded alpine experience, head to this ski oasis on the Italy-Austria border. Skiing the Dolomites may prompt the following question, "Am I in the Alps?" Geographically, of course, the answer would be yes. Shooting up some 10,000 feet from the chain's southeast foothills, th...
Celebrating the Italian tricolore flag, after 219 years
January 7 is the National Day of the Flag and this year Italy celebrates the 219th anniversary of the birth of the First Tricolore, was invented in the city of Reggio Emilia in 1797, as the flag of the Republic Cispadana. That day, the representatives of four cities (Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Ferrara) proclaimed the tricolour flag with red...
How to visit Italy by train
by Claudia Astarita "Visit Italy's magnificent monuments on your rail trip!" – that's how the InterRail webpage advertises itself, adding that, as an assortment of mesmerising attractions, "Italy has something for every traveller". As most people know, the InterRail pass is a railway ticket, available only to European residents and al...
Rare religious artifact in Italy may reveal Etruscan culture
Archaeologists in Italy have discovered what may be a rare sacred text in the lost Etruscan language that is likely to yield rich details about Etruscan worship of a god or goddess. The lengthy text is inscribed on a large sandstone slab that was embedded in the foundations of a monumental Italian temple where it had been buried for more t...
Discovering Italian Maiolica with Professor Justin Raccanello
by Serena Perfetto The beauty of the Italian Maiolica and the Renaissance Lustre Pottery have been the main topics of the lecture held by professor Justin Raccanello and hosted by the De Young Museum in San Francisco a few weeks ago. The story of these handcrafted ceramics goes back to the Renaissance but only in the 19th century Italian f...
Still Crazy: 30 Years of a Grappa Fanatic’s Work
I don't need another liquid pleasure—the world of wine is big enough. But I recently visited Vittorio Gianni Capovilla in northern Italy and discovered another realm of complex aromas and flavors, in Capovilla's prized grappas and other distilled spirits. "Taste this," said Capovilla. At 70, with his bushy eyebrows and gleaming gray e...