The latest news from the experts in Italian Travel
In the Bologna episode of the second season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy makes a visit to the historic University of Bologna. Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is the oldest university in the western world. Especially notable are its Archiginnasio Library and Anatomi- cal Theater (Piazza Galvani, 1). Once the main building of the university, the …
During the Renaissance in the 1570s, Plautilla Nelli, a nun and a self-taught artist, painted the only Last Supper to be painted by a woman. Nelli’s artworks were unusual for her time because of their large scale – The Last Supper is 23 feet long – and religious themes; she was also the first woman to sign her name on her …
This article originally appeared in the December 2017/January 2018 issue of Dream of Italy. Every available space in Gabriella Becchina’s house and yard is filled with pet supplies – crates, food, toys, and medicine – for the 30 animals she fosters at her animal rescue, Animalsicilia, and for her two pets. When she moved to Castelvetrano on the island of Sicily in 2003, …
Travelers in-the-know head straight to Naples for the country’s best pizza, but now they can taste some of it in Florence. A Neapolitan landmark since 1906, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, has opened shop in Florence. As much as a Botticelli painting hanging on the Uffizi gallery walls can inspire visitors, so can these pizzas. Expertly crafted by the Condurro family …
This article originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2019. The central Italian region of Abruzzo is called la terra di mare e monti, where you can travel from the Adriatic Sea to the mountains in under an hour. Though only two hours from Rome, Abruzzo is one of Italy’s last unexplored frontiers where you can …
When its new museum dedicated to Michelangelo opens on June 2, Italy’s marble capital of Carrara will have another claim to fame. Housed in the recently restored, 19th-century Villa Fabbricotti, the Carrara and Michelangelo Museum (CARMI) celebrates the Renaissance master and the Carrara marble he used in his famous sculptures. Exhibits are spread out across three floors: The main floor features …
The Strong & Kind People of Abruzzo Abruzzo region with a proud pastoral tradition that has seen hardship and poverty due to wars and an isolated geographic position, but whose generous people have emerged with an indomitable spirit of survival and generosity. Meet four of our favorite people: a man who carries the stories of this area, a expert in …
You haven’t heard from me in awhile… It is because my mother – whom I have written about before because Italy was “our thing” and who also appears in the Castelvetere episode of season two of Dream of Italy – passed away on April 16th. Though she had cancer, she did miraculously well for several years, buoyed by what her …
In 2019, to mark 40 years since the death of its namesake, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice will focus on Guggenheim’s legacy, with several special contemporary art exhibits. Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), an American art collector and socialite, amassed the bulk of her collection between 1938 and 1946. She was born into the illustrious Guggenheim family: Her uncle was Solomon R. …
Discovering a Life of Bella Figura Ever imagined dropping everything and moving to Florence? That’s what Kamin Mohammadi did and she shares her story including falling in love and the unexpected things she learned from the Italian way of life. A great read if you’re thinking of making your own dream into a reality… A Magic Atelier in Venice How …
