Noteworthy Dates, Holidays & Happenings in Italy this month From significant events in Italian history to modern-day celebrations, March is filled with ways to celebrate Italy’s history and culture. Scroll for details! March 6, 1475: Michelangelo Buonarotti is born in Caprese, Italy, about 113 km (70 miles) southeast of Florence. He would live to the…
Tag: Travel
The Unintentional Climb
First written as a guest post exchange with the wonderful and talented Studentessa Matta, Melissa Muldoon. For my original post on the Matta site, please click here. To read Melissa’s story originally posted on Prayers & Piazzas, please click here. — Recently something wonderful and unexpected happened to me, and I ended up in Florence….
Why I Study Italian
First written for the Studentessa Matta site and proudly featured in November of 2016. Please click here for the original post. — Falling in love with the Italian language has been one of the more beautiful surprises of my life. Growing up in an Italian-American family, with a grandfather who, as a teenager, emigrated from…
Alberobello and its Magical Trulli
The first time I spotted a trullo, I expected a little gnome, pointy red hat and all, to come tiptoeing around the side of its rounded stone walls. The trulli seemed to pop up, out of the golden fields, like some ancient harvest. Here in Puglia, a province in the heel of the Italian boot,…
Italy by Lake, River and Sea: Seven Photos to Quench Your Wanderlust
I hold in my memory certain summer days in Italy so oppressive and hot, I feared I might never know the relief of cooler weather again. But now, it’s February, and for much of the world, the luxury of a long, drowsy, sunshine-filled day feels very far away. Even further that dreamy day has you…
Nine Places in Europe to Experience Ancient Rome
In its heyday, the Roman Empire occupied more than two million square miles and stretched from England to Egypt, with its citizens numbering around 120 million people. With such an enormous reach, the ancient Romans understandably left evidence of their heritage not only in Rome and Italy, but throughout Europe. As a companion piece to…
Three Sites Added to Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage List
Padua, Bologna and Tuscany’s Montecatini Terme are home to Italy’s newest UNESCO sites, achieving World Heritage status in August 2021. This boosts Italy’s total to 58, now the country with the most heritage sites in the world. Here’s a quick peek at these cultural gems. Padua’s 14th Century Fresco Cycles In Italy’s northeastern corner between…
Florence’s Orsanmichele: How The City’s Grain Storage Became a Beloved Church
Via Calzaiuoli is a street made for strolling. Along this pedestrian-only thoroughfare, it’s easy to wander between some of Florence’s most sought after sites including the Duomo, Florence’s iconic red-domed cathedral, and the Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge in town which survived World War II. Tucked in between these two sites is the historic church…
The Passeggiata: A Most Italian Tradition
One of the most quintessential of all Italian traditions is the passeggiata, when friends and family take to the streets of their town in the early evening, usually between 5 and 8 pm, and well, wander. The word passeggiata comes from the verb passeggiare, an Italian word for walk, combined with the suffix “-ata” which…
Paestum: Ancient Greece in Southern Italy
While there are plenty of sites throughout Italy to time travel to Ancient Rome, in Southern Italy you can also experience magnificent ruins once touched by the hands of ancient Greeks. One such spot is Paestum, an easy day trip from Naples, Sorrrento/Amalfi or Salerno. Paestum is home to three incredible Greek temples dating back…
Prayers & Piazzas 