More than 16 million tourists descend on this city of 360,000 each year, most making a beeline for the ancient Ponte Vecchio to memorialize their visit with a cellphone held on a selfie wand. As a ready-made postcard, the view of the Arno River from the bridge's midpoint would seem hard to top. And yet, as with so much else in Florence, anothe...
READ MOREThe Nevada Museum of Art is bringing a taste of Florence to the Biggest Little City through its new Italian Baroque exhibit. The exhibit doesn't open until this weekend, but the museum gave us a sneak peek with a special tour guide the man who's been collecting these paintings for decades. "This is the largest collection of Baroque pa...
READ MOREThe other morning, my baby announced that she was awake by clapping her hands. As I picked her up out of her crib, I drowsily joined her in a round of applause. When I peeked out the window, I realized we indeed had an excellent reason to cheer. It was a gloomy scene, dominated by gray clouds and a constant drizzle. A quick check of my pho...
READ MOREThe use of lapis lazuli for the manufacturing of ornaments or worship objects has a very long tradition. Already in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, this stone was appreciated and sought after, as its ore deposits were very rare. The main one, and also the oldest, mentioned by Marco Polo, is located in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan...
READ MOREMy last name is Italian. Unfortunately, that's all I really knew about the Italian side of my family. Most of my Italian ancestors died a long time ago, and my family wasn't in touch with those still living. My father once tried to research our family tree, but reached a dead end with my great-grandparents, who both died before 1950. &nb...
READ MORE'Buongiorno papà' di Edoardo Leo, film sui quarantenni single in Italia, interpretato da Raul Bova, vince il 23/o Nice Festival in Usa, la manifestazione che porta il cinema italiano emergente all'estero, assegnato dal pubblico americano. Il Festival si è svolto a New York e a San Francisco dall'11 al 17 novembre. Il film sarà proiettato n...
READ MOREIn the mid-1400s, Florence was a main destination for artists, goldsmiths, silversmiths and engravers. The presence of the Medici family, committed to protect artists and to commission precious objects, gathered talents from all over Italy and the rest of Europe. Their presence contributed into making Florence the most important center for art prod...
READ MOREOctober 27, 2015 - Tuesday 7:30 PM - Mount Prospect Public Library - Meeting Room A room 154 - 10 South Emerson Street - Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 Works by Botticelli, Leonardo, Cimabue, Titian, and Caravaggio, among others from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, represent the world's greatest collections...
READ MOREby Hugo Mc Cafferty If you want to spend All Souls' Day among the dead, there is nowhere better to do so than Italy. With such a complex and rich spiritual history, it is no wonder that Italy is home to some of the world's most hauntingly beautiful cemeteries. Here are 10 to visit on All Souls' Day. English Cemetery, Florence...
READ MORELa grande bellezza non è solo perduta e grottesca, sguaiata e svilita. La grande bellezza d'Italia sopravvive anche nei piccoli gesti inattesi e sorprendenti, che l'America magari nemmeno sospetta più, pensando all'Italia dei film. Ma la realtà può essere molto più edificante e consolatoria dei film, almeno in alcuni momenti e in alcuni luoghi.&nb...
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