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In a quiet corner of the bohemian district of San Frediano, hidden behind an 18th-century iron gate that opens onto a whimsical wisteria-covered alleyway, lies a Florentine cultural treasure: the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, or Antique Florentine Silk Mill, which has been producing precious textiles since 1786. To enter through the atelier’s larg...

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MUNDI, the first large museum dedicated to the Italian language, is situated in the former monastery of the Santissima Concezione inside the complex of Santa Maria Novella, with the first two rooms hosting a free admission temporary exhibition until October 6. The inauguration on July 6 was attended by the Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella and the M...

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Does everyday life start to bore you? Do you find yourself constantly thinking about the moments when you can unplug and start living again? Life doesn’t have to be fun just on vacation. This is why so many people are considering buying a second home. It is, in fact, a great way to carry on with the daily routine, but in a different and perhaps mor...

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The most beautiful hotel in the world is in Tuscany, near Montalcino. Among the hills and rows of vines stands the Rosewood Castiglion Del Bosco, an accommodation that is considered the best in the world. Pushing it to the top of the podium is a prestigious U.S. magazine, a true benchmark in travel and hotellerie, namely Travel & Leisure. Every yea...

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Chianti Classico has inspired artists since Vasari and Leonardo da Vinci, who immortalized it and made it famous in the sixteenth century. Then, Vasari, the renowned biographer of the greatest painters and sculptors, sealed the duo art-Black Rooster, with his famous “Allegory” in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, in which C...

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Rome's Fiumicino airport, known officially as Leonardo da Vinci, has three new direct high-speed connections with Naples and Florence as part of a major development to link rail and air travel for its passengers. The new Frecciarossa services comprise two running to and from Napoli Centrale and Napoli Afragola and one departing from S. Maria Novell...

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Walking past the stone-walled buildings of Castelfalfi’s sequestered streets, it’s easy to imagine how this haven was once a quaint borgo. Originally settled by ancient Etruscans and once owned by the astute Medici family, the historical castle and its surrounding properties passed through a variety of stewards before being left uninhabited as a re...

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Volterra, a walled hill town in Tuscany, has remains of its Etruscan, Roman, and medieval roots. As you walk through the medieval town, it’s easy to get a feel for its past. A visit to Volterra makes a good addition to, or alternative to, the more popular and crowded hill town of San Gimignano. Volterra’s historic center, enclosed by its 13th centu...

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One of the most perplexing and, often, disappointing discoveries when visiting central Italy—including Umbria and vast swaths of Lazio, Tuscany, and Le Marche—is the bread. You sit down for your first meal at a postcard-perfect trattoria and reach into the bread basket expecting a slice of “Italian bread”: a thick, baguette-type loaf with a chewy,...

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Portoferraio is the first town you meet when you land on Elba Island but it is not only a point of arrival: it preserves treasures of inestimable cultural value and is worth a thorough visit for anyone who arrives on the island. Portoferraio is a town that know. After his exile, Napoleon Bonaparte spent a few months at Portoferraio and today you ca...

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