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It wasn’t Lauren Morrow’s first time traveling abroad. The University of Nebraska at Kearney senior has spent time at all-inclusive resorts in the Bahamas and Cancún, Mexico. Those family vacations are fun, but you don’t get to truly experience the culture, she noted. Morrow was looking for a chance to really explore a foreign country and dive deep...

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Florence’s “Old Bridge” - in Italian “Ponte Vecchio” - is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge, connecting Via Por Santa Maria to Via de’ Guicciardini over the Arno river. What makes the bridge so unique is the parade of shops built along it. While these used to be taken up by butchers, tanners and farmers, today it is made up of...

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Dreaming of life in the Italian countryside? Check out this spectacular 16-century villa which was once inhabited by Lisa del Gioconda, best known as Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Summer in Italy is always gorgeous, but it’s unbeatable if you happen to spend it in this Florence villa. Boasting 14 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms and 66 acres of lush grounds...

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Four decades have passed since I graduated from Georgetown University. Those years in Washington, DC, in the 1970s, had a life-long impact on me, yet when it came time for my own kids to pursue their degrees, I sent all three overseas. Back then, Georgetown's green-filled campus lacked the variety of cafs, restaurants, and bars that can be found to...

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From my freshman year in high school in Pennsylvania, I constantly thought about which competitive private university I would end up at on the East Coast. But when it came time to apply to college, I decided I wanted to explore a new place, away from the comfort of my high school and local community and so, to my surprise, I found myself in Califor...

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As far as beautiful city breaks go, Florence is up there as one of the most popular among global travellers. Not only is it the capital of the Tuscany region in central Italy but also one of the most walkable spots on the world map, according to new data. A recent list revealed that the quintessentially romantic destination earned the top spot due...

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Italy is the second tourist destination in Europe and the fifth in the world in terms of international arrivals. Attracting travelers from the continent and the entire planet to the Belpaese like a magnet is our rich cultural heritage, followed by natural beauty and events, whether sporting, recreational or religious, but food and wine, without neg...

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Florence’s Bargello Museum reopened its Maiolica Room and Islamic Hall to the public earlier this week after a nine-month reconfiguration. The Maiolica Room, curated by Marino Marini, showcases a gorgeous lineup of over 400 ceramic objects of the approximately 1,000 stored in the museum’s archives, while the Islamic Hall, curated by archaeological...

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On June 11, 1924, the Gallery of Modern Art at the Pitti Palace in Florence opened, and to celebrate its centennial, the Uffizi Galleries is publishing a virtual exhibition on its official website that tells the story of Gam through a selection of more than fifty masterpieces housed in the rooms on the second floor of the palace. The idea of creati...

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When my wife and I recently took our ninth trip to Florence, a good friend asked, “Why go to Florence again when there is so much ‘real Italy’ to see?” A fair question and a cause for reflection. Can “real Italy” still be found in the city where Dante Alighieri gave birth to the Italian language, but where English is now default in the historic cen...

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