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The first thing in Genoa by which I was completely dazzled – but far from the last – was hidden away inside the 17th-century monastery complex of Sant’Ignazio. In an echoey refectory hall, a dozen or so pages of parchment and vellum were arrayed across wooden tables. There were treatises in Latin and Majorcan Arabic, and an enormous Ottoman-era dec...

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The drive to Cortona is what you would expect from any Tuscan town: beanstalk-like cypress trees, serpentine roads and farm crops that change with the seasons; but what sets this historical hamlet apart from the others is the expanse of sunflower fields that line its foothills (the best time to see them in full bloom is from July to September). A p...

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Long before the rise of the Romans, the Greeks were expanding in the Western Mediterranean; the oldest colony in the region was Cumae near Naples. Much of Southern Italy and Sicily were part of Magna Graecia (or Greater Greece). Cumae (and later Greek settlements) would prove to be pivotal to the development of ancient Rome (and even Western Civili...

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In the heart of the Apennines, far from the craze of the cities and immersed in the breathtaking natural landscape of the National Park of Abruzzo, there is a true hidden gem: Scanno, a fascinating medieval village capable of enchanting visitors with its paved streets, its stone houses and, above all, a heart-shaped lake nestled between the mountai...

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The evolution of Street Art has radically revolutionized the art world, transforming inhospitable concrete walls into exciting urban canvases. This art began as a way to convey social, political and cultural messages, evolving over time and eroding the austere image of art as the domain of a small elite. This within the reach of all represents how...

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Alpine scenery, hiking trails, cable cars and ski areas: Mont Blanc, “top of Europe” with its 4805 m of height, offers its visitors picture perfect spots, as well as unique and unforgettable experiences that we can live in different ways relentlessly both in summer and winter. But Mont Blanc also has its own history, which mountain lovers will cert...

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Tucked in the north of the country, between France and Switzerland, Piedmont is, for me, the jewel in Italy’s crown. The scenery is breathtaking and there are plenty of rooftop bars where you can experience the vistas with a negroni or a glass of wine in hand. At the Turin Palace Hotel, you’ll see ceramic tiled roofs to one side, and snow-topped Al...

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In Thailand the government has closed beaches where tourists have caused the destruction of the ecology and coral. In Venice they have banned leviathan-size cruise ships from docking. But in Rome they can’t even manage to pick up the garbage.  After a decline during Covid, the number of international tourist arrivals in Italy as of May of this year...

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The Aosta Valley is a small, almost entirely mountainous paradise marked by the highest mountains in the Alps on the border with France.  But in addition to being a popular skiing and hiking destination for its natural beauty,  this region can boast of well over seventy castles  that literally make one’s eyes glaze over with their beauty. Though th...

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The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has added three places in Italy to the 2023 list of Best Tourism Villages. The Best Tourism Villages Program (part of the UNWTO Tourism for Rural Development Program) aims to promote the growth of villages in rural areas, combat their depopulation and encourage sustainable practices through tourism. The thr...

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