ICA: How long does it take to obtain Italian citizenship?
One of the first questions people ask themselves when they discover that they are eligible to apply for Italian citizenship by descent is: how long does it take to get citizenship? or will I receive a passport on the same day I submit my citizenship application? In order to answer these questions this article will analyze the three potential pathw...
Italian handcrafts: Florentine Scagliola
The technique of stucco, which is used to replace or recall more precious materials, has its origins in antiquity. However, another technique that derived from stucco: scagliola, understood as a mixture of selenite, water, glue and natural pigments, developed its own autonomy of expression from the 17th century, and became widespread in Europe thro...
Italian language: Don’t Trust Parenti
This month I want to approach a topic we always hear about and even learn about, but when it comes to actually putting it into practice, we all fall for it – false friends! Let’s first review what these false friends are. False friends are those words that in Italian sound or look close to an English word, make us think that they mean the same thin...
Italian wine: A Rare Puglian Grape - Susumaniello
If you’re not familiar with Puglia, also called Apulia, it is located on the heel of the boot along the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Gulf of Taranto at the tip of the heel. The region is relatively flat filled with plains and low hills except the mountainous area to the north that is home to the Gargano headlands and Monti Dauni. Puglia along...
Italian gardens and parks: Le Mortine Oasis
Le Mortine Oasis is located on the border between Campania and Molise, in the municipalities of Capriati al Volturno (Caserta, Campania) and Venafro (Isernia, Molise), on an artificial river oxbow created by the construction of a dam for hydroelectric production. It consists of more than 50,000 hectares. The ensemble of aquatic environments is surr...
What's up with WTI: Editorial # 159
Dear friends, 2023 has begun with lots of exciting and wonderful news! First, the new yearbook of We the Italians is available, with the 23 interviews (in Italian and English) published during 2022. You can find a preview and buy a copy here. In 2022 we interviewed 26 people, friends of We the Italians, who gave us 23 different points of view on 23...
Italian land and nature: The 7 unmissable locations in the Bergamo Orobie Alps
Enjoying magical landscapes and secret destinations off the beaten track: that’s what awaits when you treat yourself to a winter trip to the Bergamo Orobie Alps. Let yourself be captivated by a corner of Italy that holds many surprises. Here are the unmissable destinations and what to do to fully enjoy the mountain experience while discovering the ...
Italian cuisine: Succulent Italian Soup for the Soul
In Italy, soups can be a light, elegant way to open an evening meal or large banquet. January is National Soup Month, and the perfect time to curl up with a cozy bowl of warming Italian broth. This month I’m sharing a recipe that’s lesser known outside of Italy, but perfect to enjoy while dreaming of a weekend in an elegant Italian ski chalet! Man...
Italian sport: Top Ganna, the Italian lightning bolt of cycling
Italians' passion for bicycles has ancient roots. Everyone as a kid dreamed of having a bicycle at least until the 1990s, but even today millions of Italians have a bicycle and use it, some for work, some for sport and, of course, to dream of one day becoming a great champion. In the field of competitive cycling, few nations in the world have a lon...
Italian books: One, None and a Hundred Thousand
One, None and a Hundred Thousand is another masterpiece from Luigi Pirandello, published in 1926. It has been considered as the most original of his books which explores the deepest layers of personality when the main character finds out that the people close to him see him differently than how he sees himself. As a matter of fact, the novel unvei...
Italian little Italies: Summonte. The wine port of the Romans
The grange (ancient barn) of Santa Maria del Preposito is the most important element of Summonte territory. It dates back to the tenth century and was sold in exchange to the abbey of Montevergine around 1174, from 1229 became the aggregation of the new Fontanelle farmhouse. The monastic structure has promoted the cultivation of chestnut, vine, oli...
Italian flavors: Calabria Liquorice
The liquorice plant was most likely imported to Calabria by the Greeks around 700 BC. These places have the ideal microclimate and habitat that allowed the development of a different ecotype, as shown by the genetic mapping that allows its differentiation from liquorice coming from other sources. To understand the origins and development of this a...