Snowboarding an Italian job for Vito at Beijing Olympics
By no means does Ohio-born snowboarder Louie Vito consider himself fluent in Italian. But he’s steadily learning the language and even getting familiar with his new country’s national anthem. You know, just in case. Even long shots can dream a little. For years, Vito, who parlayed his halfpipe career into one of a part-time celebrity, has represent...
Italy: Sorrentino's The Hand of God gets Oscar nomination
The Hand of God by Italian film director Paolo Sorrentino has been nominated for an Oscar, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday. The coming-of-age film, whose original Italian title is È stata la mano di Dio, is now among the five hopefuls vying for a prize in the academy's best international feature movie category....
Italy Curling Mixed Doubles Seals Perfect Olympics Run With Gold Medal Game Victory
It was closer than some expected, but Italy defeated Norway in the curling mixed doubles gold medal game to wrap up a perfect Olympics. The victory sealed Italy’s first ever medal in Olympic curling. Down 7-5 entering the final end, Norway was in position to force an extra end before Italy’s final throw. Stefania Constantini then delivered a perfec...
Why is Rome called the Eternal City
Rome needs no introduction, it's simply Rome! Geographically, it is the heart of Italy, halfway up the country, almost equally distant from the North and South. From an administrative point of view, due to the presence of the leading institutional seats (government, ministries and Parliament), it is where the State's life takes place. In terms of l...
The Italian city unchanged since the Renaissance
In one of the most famous paintings in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, Federico da Montefeltro gazes at his wife, Battista Sforza, as they stand in front of the landscape over which they ruled. Undulating hills rise to volcano-like peaks on which towns perch. The ragged Apennine mountains stalk the horizon, and what's thought to be the Metau...
Maria Manetti Shrem — The charismatic philanthropist of the two worlds, a truly inspiring force
What an emotion to be able to contribute to the development of an international cultural institution such as the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. When I was 15, I fell in love with opera and classical music by listening to Tebaldi singing in La Bohème. And what a privilege and great honor now to see my name and that of my father humbly next t...
Need Some Luck? Head to these Five Italian Places
There are several ‘lucky’ spots in Italy where, according to popular belief, if you visit them or perform a simple ritual, often passed down through the centuries, you will get lucky. Some lucky spots you may have heard of include Juliet’s House in Verona, the statue of the bull in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, the statue of the Porcellin...
How 'Old' Are Older Italians?
Age is just a number, at least in Italy. Such is the impression of 70-year-old Bosnian artist Zdena Šarić, who has been staying in Rome for the last two months. “Wherever I went — whether it was a concert, an exhibition, a bar, a restaurant — almost everyone had gray hair,” says Zdena with a laugh. In her home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zde...
Discovering the Italian architectural wonders
Italy is one of the countries where you can find some of the most famous architectural wonders in the world: from North to South the beautiful country is known for the beauty of churches, museums, different places to visit that every year are the preferred destination of many tourists But what are the 10 Italian architectural wonders to see absolut...
A walk at the Vucciria Market | The Sicilian Wanderer
There’s an old saying in Palermo: “Se, quannu i balati ra Vucciria s’asciucano”. It loosely translates into: “Sure, let’s touch base again once the Vucciria’s walls are dry”. This saying indicates something that will hardly ever happen. The origins of this saying are here, in this market called Vucciria, one of the oldest in Palermo and in Sicily,...
A Taste Of The Unsung Wines of Oltrepò Pavese #ItalianFWT
This month, the Italian Food, Wine and Travel writers are exploring a new-to-me, and lesser known region of Italy – Oltrepò Pavese. Susannah Gold, founder of Vigneto Communications is hosting this month. She is a Brand Ambassador for the Oltrepò here in the U.S., and graciously arranged samples for our group. Oltrepò Pavese, which is sometime refer...
Olive Oil Tourism: The typical Italian product attracts tourists from all over the world
Olive Oil tourism (Oleotourism) consists of all those activities aimed at encouraging tourist visits to the places of cultivation, production, or exposure of tools useful for the cultivation of olive trees. In these places are practiced tastings and marketing of the company’s production of olive oil, even in combination with food (as long as it is...