Helping the Strays of Sicily

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, …

Italy’s Spooky Folklore Figure: The Wolf of Gubbio

In honor of Halloween, our October 2016 issue features a story on seven of Italy’s spooky folklore figures including a wolf… (Updated 2018) The town of Gubbio in Umbria was, according to legend, terrorized by a fearsome wolf — until it was tamed by St. Francis of Assisi. The wolf first attacked livestock, but soon began killing and maiming humans, until …

Italian Life Rules: How to Kiss an Italian

Italian Life Rules, a new book by Ann Reavis, helps even the most experienced Italophiles navigate the pitfalls of Italian life. When to say ciao and how and when to kiss are serious considerations for every traveler to Italy.

Italian Life Rules: When to Say Ciao

This article originally appeared in the February 2015 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. There are few people who know more about the ins and outs of Italian life, than our friend Ann Reavis, a phenomenal tour guide in Florence, and the author of Italian Food Rules  and Italian Life Rules, from which this article is excerpted. These two ebooks …

Volunteer Your Way Through Italy With Workaway

Updated 2018. A site that will truly help you do as the Romans do, Workaway is an interesting option for adventurous travelers looking to experience Italian life and culture – hands on! Workaway facilitates the exchange of work for room and board. The site lets hosts post their unique labor needs while workers can search for work that suits them …

In Search of the Modern Grand Tour of Italy

This article originally appeared in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Taking “a grand tour” sounds old-fashioned — and it truly is. Although the kind of leisurely, arts-focused weeks or months in Italy that many of us have only seen depicted in films like the 1985 Merchant-Ivory classic A Room with A View might sound romantic …

An American Family in Tuscany

Take one cookbook writer and one artist. Mix well. Add to the Tuscany countryside, and the result? A lovely bed-and-breakfast, and critically acclaimed culinary institute.