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In the Oltrepò Pavese’s Staffora Valley, the medieval town of Varzi is home to a 1164 castle, build by the Malaspina family after inheriting from Frederick Barbarossa the territory from the Rivanazzano Hills to Oramala. The structure is currently owned by the Counts of Odetti di Marcorengo, who in 1983 embarked on a redevelopment process that ended...

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Sarà la pista più spettacolare d’Europa. L’anello ciclabile del Garda, un’opera unica a livello mondiale di oltre 140 chilometri che forma la Ciclovia del Garda, integrata e connessa con altri importanti percorsi ciclabili. È la pista ciclabile gardesana che collegherà Capo Reamol a Limone sul Garda al confine con il Trentino Alto Adige, costeggian...

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The opulent courtyard was built in the late 19th century for the wealthy, influential Sciarra family. It was meant to be a shopping mall, which, had the mall come to fruition, would perhaps be one of the most beautiful shopping centers in Rome. Every inch of the four-story walls enclosing the space is covered by colorful frescoes of women and men s...

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Confession: I love Rome, but I'm not in love with Rome. My relationship with the Italian capital over the years has passed from infatuation to amore to a sort of admiring appreciation—I mean, Eternal City is a tough tagline to beat—but the simple truth is that the city lacks verve. For creative punch you have to hit Milan, while for the slower, mor...

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Love skiing in winter and mountain biking in summer? This month you can do both in the Italian Dolomites by adding fat biking – cycling on snow on bikes equipped with tyres up to five inches thick – to the traditional attractions of a springtime trip to the slopes.  Fat biking now takes its place alongside the torchlit evening walks, snowshoe excur...

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Many tourists rush through Italy, ticking off cities on an imaginary bucket list, zipping through museums and taking holiday snaps in front of iconic attractions. This is fine if you are happy to simply cross things off a checklist. But in the Bel Paese, where life is savored, it seems a shame to be in such a rush.  Italians believe in slow food an...

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Crossroads and street corners have long been the haunt of peddlers, pickpockets and prostitutes. And as far back as ancient Roman times images of deities have been hung there to protect passers by from evil. Today over 500 statues and images of the Madonna still adorn Rome’s historic street corners, gazing down benevolently as the faithful mumble a...

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Renting a car in the country can be terrifying (like when F1 wannabes creep on your bumper) but also liberating, says Christina Lynch, author of The Italian Party (St. Martin’s Press), who spent four years living in (and driving around) Tuscany researching the novel. Here’s her advice for safely navigating the autostradas. Stay to the right. The le...

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“It’s the squeak in your mouth as you chew,” a bystander whispers as traditional Italian cheesemaker Anna Casulli transforms a bowl of curd into the plaited bright white mozzarella I recognise from deli counters at home. Fresh food is almost a religion in Puglia, the long region in the heel of Italy’s boot, where local producers speak about their c...

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The pyramid-shaped structure with its looming statues was created by five of Canova’s students after the master’s death in 1822. It’s based off a design Canova himself had drafted for the tomb for the Venetian painter, Titian. The pyramid shape and other details are Masonic symbols, a nod to Canova’s Freemason membership. Only the sculptor’s heart...

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