The city of Padua is inextricably linked to the figure of St. Anthony, a Franciscan friar of the thirteenth century, venerated all over the world and patron of the city itself. Strenuous defender of Catholic doctrine, he fought the Cathar heresy, especially in France, with great energy and considerable success. He moved to Padua, where he died aged...

The Borghese Gallery in Rome is perhaps the most fascinating museum in Italy. It is housed in a villa built in the 1600s, the interior stuccoes of which make for the ideal setting of such an exceptional collection of world-famous masterpieces.  Along with bas-reliefs and ancient mosaics of astounding quality, the Gallery – commissioned by Cardinal...

First a Greek and Roman city, then a capital of the Arab world, and later conquered by both the Normans and the Swabians – this is Palermo, a place where preciosities left by the Arab and Norman rules coexist along with the Baroque and Art Nouveau styles of the buildings and monuments, the city streets and markets, gardens and theatres. The influen...

Elegant, inimitable, exciting and romantic, precious: this is Venice, the gem on any tour of Italy where churches, palazzi, ancient bridges, monuments and piazzas confirm its artistic and cultural vitality. All has testified to and continues to testify to the long history of the city.  Venice’s beating heart is Piazza San Marco, Europe’s most elega...

Alba Fucens, ancient Roman city at the base of Monte Velino (Province of L’Aquila), is an archaeological jewel that one should most definitely explore. In fact, the ruins that emerged from excavations initiated by Fernand De Visscher in 1949 (continued throughout the 20th Century and recently taken up again) are truly remarkable. Given that the cit...

The sultry heat, sand blowing in the morning air, and the parched land of Salento, a small sub region in Apulia. The women here, bent over to work in the fields, are marked by fatigue. A tarantula bites one of their ankles, so she runs to grab a tambourine and dance without inhibition, until all the poison finally exits her body. This turns out to...

With its Etruscan walls, a gorgeous Medieval center, Perugia is not only a city for the gluttonous (re: chocolate), but for artists and art lovers alike.  This splendid capital of the Region of Umbria is also a culture capital par excellence, and the seat of two important universites: Università degli Studi, founded in 1308, and the University for...

The Royal Palace at Caserta and its park, inserted as one of the 49 Italian UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997, are treasures of truly incomparable splendor. Commissioned by Charles III of Bourbon in the 1700s, Luigi Vanvitelli planned this palace, a triumph of the Italian Baroque and one of the most famous and important works by the Neapolitan ar...

The Nuragic complex of Barumini rises in an area known as the Marmilla, located in south-central Sardinia (in the Province of Medio Campidano). The complex at Barumini is one of the 49 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that can be found in Italy.  According to UNESCO, this extremely valuable and important archaeological site is exemplary for being the mo...

The Catacombs of Naples, in Campania, make for a millenary monument to Neapolitan religiosity. Of these, the Catacombs of San Gennaro cover approximately 60,278 sq ft within tuff excavations on the Capodimonte Hill, and host around 2,000 burial recesses, along with 500 sarcophagi dug into wall niches. The Catacombs of San Gennaro The San Gennaro Ca...