The latest news from the experts in Italian Travel
In the Abruzzo episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns about the therapy provided by donkeys at a local farm and even rides one herself! Asinomania is dedicated to donkeys, which are native to Abruzzo but not as numerous as they once were. Eugenio Milonis, the farm’s owner, uses calm, docile therapy donkeys to …
In the Abruzzo episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits the nearly 1000 year old monastery of San Giovanni in Venere. San Giovanni in Venere Abbey in Fossacesia originated around 80 B.C. as a pagan temple to Venus and was later used as a monastery for Benedictine monks. The current structure was built in …
In the Abruzzo episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns about the region’s musical traditions and Saltarello dance. Orchestra Popolare Del Saltarello, created by Danilo Di Paolonicola, is dedicated to preserving the traditional song and dance of Abruzzo, and mixes traditional and modern musical elements. Instruments such as accordions, flutes, tambourines and guitars accompany …
In the Abruzzo episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy enjoys fresh seafood in an old fishing hut turned restaurant. Trabocchi were traditionally stilted fishing huts along the coast of Abruzzo between the coastal towns of Ortano and Vasto. Many have now found new life as restaurants serving the freshest seafood imaginable – caught just …
In the Florence episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy enjoys a scenic boat tour on the Arno River for a new perspective of Florence. The Associazone Culturale I Renaioli has brought Florence‘s traditional flat-bottomed boats, once used to carry sand (rena), back to the Arno River. The renaioli were the men who dug up …
In the Florence episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy meets with a famous Italian wine-making family. The Antinori family has been making wine for 26 generations, since 1385. We met Allegra Antinori at Cantinetta Antinori in Palazzo Antinori, which the family originally purchased from the Medici. Allegra and her two sisters are carrying on …
In the Florence episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns how to paint her own fresco. Make your own fresco in Florence with Professor Luca. Learn and perform all of the steps from the preliminary drawing to the finishing color and then take it home with you. This two-hour workshop costs 50€ per person …
In the Florence episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy discovers the private 15th-century palace of the Medici family. The frescoed private chapels in the 15th-century Palazzo Medici Riccardi at Via Camillo Cavour, 3 are significant, because at the time, private chapels were rarely permitted by the Pope. The Medici family hired Benozzo Gozzoli to …
In the Florence episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns to make the traditional Tuscan soup, ribollita. If you would like to try the ribollita (hearty vegetable soup) that Giovanni taught Kathy to make, head over to L’Osteria di Giovanni at Via del Moro, 22. Not only can you enjoy the ribollita, but many …
In the Florence episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy learns about one artist’s interesting take on Street Art. Street artist Clet Abraham hacks street signs all over Florence (and the world) by putting fun vinyl stickers over them, affixing scenes of people defying authority to the “do not enter” signs, or transforming the person …
