This is an excerpt for Episode 4: Slow Food, Fast Cars and Episode 5: Massimo, Modena & Philanthropy from the Dream of Italy Season 3 Travel Guide. Get your own PDF copy here. When we visited with 3-Michelin star Chef Massimo Bottura and his wife Lara Gilmore in Modena, a town in the “slow food, fast cars” region of Emilia-Romagna, …
From Modena to Abbey Road Studios: A Dream Made Into A Song
The last thing I expected a few mornings ago (waking up in Malta for our last day of filming an episode for Dream of Europe) was that the story of a dream of a song- a little idea that was born in Modena that made it all the way to Abbey Road Studios- would be on the front page of Il Resto del Carlino newspaper. I should know …
What’s New in Italy for 2024: From Roots Tourism to Historic Train Trips
This article originally appeared in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of Dream of Italy. To cope with record-high tourist numbers, Italy has generated new and creative ways to welcome and entertain visitors. This coming year promises a renewed love and appreciation for locomotive travel, ancestry-inspired tours and a fresh Italian Capital of Culture sure to bring a new side of the …
What’s New in 2024 in Italy: Modena Belcanto Festival in the Heart of Italy’s Opera Region (December 2023/January 2024)
This article originally appeared in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of Dream of Italy. Read about what else is new in 2024 here! Besides being one of our favorite spots to visit (and eat in) in Italy, Modena is famous for its cuisine, for being a bikeable, livable city and for being home to some of the most famous car producers …
Italian Cave System Joins the UNESCO World Heritage List
A system of 900 caves in the Northern Apennines area of Italy made the 2023 UNESCO World Heritage List. This natural “serial property” includes about 62 miles of caves, including some of the deepest gypsum caves in the world at about 870 feet below the surface. While the inscription into the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List is new, knowledge of …
Editor’s Note: June/July 2023 Dream of Italy Issue
This Editor’s Note originally appeared in the June/July 2023 issue of Dream of Italy. Members receive access to more than 195 back issues—if you’re not a member, join here. Visiting Modena for the first time in February and several times more this year has been life-changing for me. I’ve been spending time in this most charming city in Emilia-Romagna to …
Visiting with Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore in Modena
Buona sera da Modena! I’ve just finished five days of filming for Season 3 of Dream of Italy on PBS and mio Dio, I don’t even have the words to describe what I saw and felt. Chances are you know Chef Massimo Bottura? He has three Michelin stars, the restaurant Osteria Francescana that he owns with his American-born wife Lara …
Editor’s Note: February/March 2022 Dream of Italy Issue
This Editor’s Note originally appeared in the February/March 2022 issue of Dream of Italy. Members receive access to nearly 190 back issues—if you’re not a member, join here. As you’ve just read on the facing page, one of our new features, Dream Day in Italy, is just a snippet of something exciting and authentic to experience in Italy. My friend Valerie …
New Companion Book to PBS Special Gives Actionable Advice to Make Your Dream of Italy Come True
I came up with the concept for the PBS special Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive in 2019 before a pandemic was anywhere on the horizon. The TV special of course premiered this year and though I had no idea what would hit the world in between, I think the topic was right on time. I am more convinced than ever …
March 25th Named As Dantedi (March 2020)
This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Dream of Italy. The Italian government has declared March 25 National Dante Day (Dantedì) to celebrate Dante Alighieri, the author of The Divine Comedy, an epic poem completed in 1320. The new holiday is in anticipation of the 700th anniversary of the poet’s death, which occurred in September 1321 in Ravenna. Dante, a revered poet whose Divine Comedy is …