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Always present in the rural tradition of the Mercure Valley, white beans have played a major role in the agricultural history of the local populations. An 1852 publication by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies speaks of the cultivation in the area of “graminaceous, leguminous and filierous plants” and specifically mentions the "bean, and this is sever...

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An underrated city in Europe is not only among the best places to visit, it is also one of the oldest in the world. The beautiful city of Matera in Italy is a hidden gem that offers several historical gems that can be explored without too many tourists. Situated in the Basilicata region of southern Italy, this destination continually amazes visitor...

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In early July, the southern Italian town of Scorrano is transformed into a kaleidoscopic light display. To celebrate the patron saint Santa Domenica, giant architectural structures studded with lightbulbs known as luminarie are erected. There are castellated entrance gates, arched tunnels, rose windows and domes decorated in multicoloured lights so...

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Known for its wonderful "sassi", ancient rock settlements carved into the rock, Matera has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and gained notoriety as the European Capital of Culture in 2019. Matera has experienced immense fortune, in fact, in recent years, not only for its "stones": the city offers unique experiences of its kind. Looking...

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When Carlo Levi penned his acclaimed Italian novel, Christ Stopped at Eboli, he could surely never have conceived that the impoverished town once labelled as “the shame of Italy” would one day become a subject of pride for Italians. Indeed, should Christ ever visit this near biblical part of Italy, he would be well-advised to bypass Eboli and ventu...

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When exploring Maratea and its coast on the Tyrrhenian Sea in the increasingly buzzy southern Italian region of Basilicata, you can’t help but wonder if this was what Portofino and Positano were like before they became the high-wattage resorts they are today. Here, locals, not visitors, determine the rhythms of the town; own the one-off shops and b...

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As the name says, a "house museum" is a habitation or palazzo that has been transformed into a museum. It could have been the abode of illustrious gentlemen, or of common citizens, site of familiar intimacy or a center of power: that which renders a house museum exceptional is its capacity to re-enact or represent the life that was, the traditions...

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For Cristiana De Filippis, work is a passion, and Maria Colombo casually reconciles her theoretical analyses of fluid behavior with her private life in which she has just become a mother for the fourth time: they are the two Italian winners of the most important European prize for mathematics, awarded by the European Mathematical Society, a veritab...

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There are places so beautiful and fascinating, hanging on a thin line between past and present, that they’re almost impossible to deeply understand their nature with the eyes of contemporaneity. Places enclosed in breathtaking landscape frames, guardians of a history rich in emotions, where to enjoy stunning experiences rediscovering what binds us...

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In a small village called Satriano, in the heart of Italy’s picturesque Basilicata region, an ancient ritual has been rekindled by the local people. Every February, on the weekend before Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), 131 men go into the forest. When they emerge, they are dressed from head to toe in branches of ivy. Almost unrecognizable, besides their...

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