This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. If Ferrari is all about racing and Lamborghini is all about style (gross generalizations, both!), then Maserati is all about luxury and drive-ability. A Maserati is, in a word, swellegant: Some of the sedans even come equipped with sets of luggage dyed to match the interiors …
Cool Confidence: Lamborghini Accademia
This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Feruccio Lamborghini, born in 1916, was a Taurus, and so identified is he with his deluxe brand that its logo sports a bull. He started out building tractors, turning to the sportscar market in the 1960s and quickly ascending to its pinnacle. Because he was already …
The Need for Speed: Experiencing Ferrari
This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Mention “exotic cars” to aficionados and the name Ferrari may be the first one off their lips. Italy’s most immediately recognizable car brand symbolizes speed and customization for legions of fans around the world. Its list of famous racing drivers is long, but includes the biggest …
Expat Life in Italy: Three Mini Memoirs
This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Those of us who have had the buona fortuna to travel to Italy multiple times — who among us has not once (or twice) had a dream of Italy involving relocation? We all know the Frances Mayes story in Under the Tuscan Sun, but sometimes the …
Expat Life in Italy: The Three Fs of Italy
This article by Wendy Olsen originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. I awoke a few months after arriving in Milan, finally in my own appartamento. The muggy morning heat was smothering. I was relishing my 10 minutes lying in bed, encapsulated in my 700-count cotton thread, Missoni sheets. My future mother-in-law had ironed my …
Expat Life in Italy: Italy Through Chinese Eyes
This article by Suzanne Ma originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. The last few times I traveled to Italy, I ate very little pasta, spoke very little Italian and saw very few Italian people. I spent most of my time with Chinese immigrants, with Chinese shopkeepers in Prato, with Chinese students in Bologna, and …
Expat Life in Italy: Soccer Grandma
This article by Katherine Wilson originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. “Vieni, vieni,” the Roman grandmother calls me over. Come over here. She’s found the last ray of sunshine on this spring afternoon, and is turning her wrinkled face toward it like a sunflower. Like many wise Italians, she moves with the sun so …
Gifts from the Sea in Torre del Greco
This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Italians have pulled coral and seashells from the Mediterranean and the Adriatic since ancient times, often pairing these materials with gold, pearls, and other precious materials to create spectacular objects. Coral and cameo production remains a vibrant industry in the area surrounding Naples — particularly in …
What’s New in Rome
This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. There is nothing quite like visiting Rome. On a normal day, the city glows a burnt orange under an azure sky, and every experience has a sense of humor. On a great day, Rome is epic and unforgettable, offering hours of picture perfect memories and indelible …
Portraits of Sicily: His Wheels Keep on Turning – Sicily’s Last Donkey Cart Painter
This article originally appeared in the August 2015 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Imagine a culture without books, newspapers, or text-based signs. How would you remember important dates in history, learn about current events, or know whom to call when for the best groceries? In Sicily for hundreds of years, most of the population was illiterate—just like most of the population …