Italian little Italies: Venosa, the City of Horace
In the Archaeological Park one can visit the Roman baths, remains of private Roman houses (domus) and the amphitheatre. Archaeological excavations have also brought to light a patrician house of the 1st century AD, called “the House of Horace,” Jewish catacombs containing a series of hypogei discovered in 1853 (the presence of a large Jewish commu...
Italian Art: Sassoferrato
These years witness important celebrations for art history, and history in general. While it is the centenary of the breakthrough in the First World War and of all its artistic and human collapses, a century before Napoleon bought up works of art in Italy for his Musée Napoleon, created in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The news concer...
Italian flavors: Pecorino Romano
DOP (PDO) Pecorino Romano is the direct descendant of the sheep's milk cheese that was the staple food of the Roman Empire. The story goes that, over 2000 years ago in ancient Rome, the same sheep's milk cheese that we eat today was an important part of the daily meals and banquets of imperial palaces.
IT and US: Bilingual book connects Italian-American kids to their roots
Author Valeria Fanelli launches her first book on bilingualism. “Why don’t Mamma and I speak the same language?” is a publication written both in Italian and English, dedicated to all kids whose parents have moved to the U.S. from Italy and have decided to pass their linguistic heritage to their children. Gianni loves the way he and his mom communi...
Great Italians of the Past: Maria Montessori
When Maria Montessori arrived in USA in 1913, she was greeted enthusiastically and with passion by the Americans thanks to the revolution she made in the child education system. In fact, the New York tribune dedicated to her a wonderful piece with the title: "Maria Montessori, the most interesting woman of Europe". Thereafter, the pedagogical metho...
Italian culture and history: The Medici Villas in Tuscany
Set in gorgeous and magnificent Tusncany, and immersed in the splendid countryside just outside favorite art cities like Florence and Lucca are the Medici Villas, built during the Florentine Renaissance and inserted onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in June, 2013.
Italian report: Bilateral Investments Italy-US
The overall trend in investments between Italy and the United States in 2016 was slightly in contrast to that of previous years. This is an abstract of a much loner and complete report from ICE, the Italian Trade Agency, that can be found here.
Italian traditions: Christmas in Italy
In addition to being the most important and representative Christmas tradition, the crib is also the oldest: the first nativity scene was made by St. Francis and his friars on the night of 24th and 25th December 1223 in the mountains of Greccio, near Rieti in the Lazio region. The first crib is actually a mass exceptionally celebrated in a cave rat...
The Italian American stars in US sports: Car and Motorcycle Racing
Raffaello "Ralph" DePalma (born in Italy in 1883 in Troia, Puglia) arrived in Brooklyn together with his parents in 1891. The very young Pugliese American began to work as apprentice in a food shop, delivering by bicycle home deliveries. Then the first money arrived, together with dreams and a used bike powered by motor, and then the first races an...
Italian gardens: The Bamboo Labyrinth in Fontanellato, Parma
In his property in Fontanellato, Parma, the art publisher and collector Franco Maria Ricci has planted the largest maze in the world, all made with bamboo plants. Its plant has the shape of an 8-pointed star, inspired by Roman mosaics; it occupies about 8 hectares of land and stretches for 3 kilometres; it is made up of more than 120 thousand plant...
Italian Language: Cheers
Do you remember a few months ago when we talked about all the Italian expressions and sayings connected to food? Well, of course we said that food is a main component of Italian culture and tradition, so, why wouldn’t it be part of its language too? Well, there is another feature that is sometimes forgotten, but very important as well: vino! Oh, It...
Italian lifestyle and fashion: The Shocking Schiaparelli. A Fashion Icon Who Dared to be Different
In the 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli, the cantankerous, iconoclastic, innovative Italian fashion designer who had adopted Paris as her home, was at the height of her career. She had captured the interest and following of celebrities, the press, and women in Europe and the US. She had tested boundaries, made headlines, and become a vibrant part of Parisi...