The best place to watch the TV series Dream of Italy is on your local PBS station or Create TV! Currently, Season 1, Season 2 and the Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special are airing and repeating on stations across the country. [Though these are also available on demand on Amazon Prime.] Long-anticipated Season 3 is premiering NOW. The pledge …
Visiting Italy in 2015: Sordevolo’s Passion Play
This is an abbreviated version of the article that appeared in the June/July 2014 issue: Every five years, a small hamlet nestled against the Italian Alps comes to life to tell the story of Jesus Christ. Sordevolo, in the region of Piedmont, is the host for La Passione Di Cristo (The Passion of Christ). The play, illustrating Jesus’ later life from …
Some Great Northern Italy Tour Guides From Our Special Report
Our latest issue – a special report on the best local guides in Northern Italy – is the first of two issues on some of the best tour guides in Italy! We revealed more than 30 of our favorite tour guides and tour companies in Northern Italy. These are passionate locals who lead 1/2-day and one-day private and scheduled tours. Subscribers can access the …
A Fall Polenta Recipe from Piedmont Italy
Frequent Dream of Italy contributor Toni Lydecker is out with a new cookbook, Piatto Unico: When One Course Makes a Real Italian Meal. “As you have no doubt heard and observed, a real Italian meal consists of several courses. Except when it doesn’t,” Toni says. Based on this idea, Toni’s cookbook celebrates the one-course Italian meal. She share’s a terrific …
Italy News Round-Up: Rome’s New Eataly, Italy Traffic Tickets, Sicily Financial Problems
Here are the Italy travel news, culture and food stories that got our attention this week… Is Rome’s new Eataly all it is cracked up to be? Katie Parla writes in The New York Times,”The lack of consistency is perhaps mitigated by the sheer convenience of it all. Thousands of nicely packaged products are artfully displayed in a large, air-conditioned …
Meet Mark Zuckerberg’s (Possible?) Italy Neighbors: Marchesi Alfieri Wine Estate
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg reportedly has bought an Italian castle in the region of Piedmont. If he indeed purchased Lavezzole Castle on the Alfieri hillside between Asti and Alba, then I think he’s neighboring one of my favorite wineries in Italy, Marchesi Alfieri. Sisters Emanuela, Antonella and Giovanna San Martino di San Germano are the proud proprietors of Marchesi Alfieri, a wine estate, …
Great Travels: Share in Piedmont’s Harvest
Come to the less-traveled Italy where tables are piled high with truffles, artisan cheeses, local delicacies…where goblets shimmer with the ruby glow of Barbaresco, Barolo and Dulcetto…where festivals bring new friends together. You’ll find an Italy untouched by mass tourism. And you’ll get real value for your travel dollar. Join our small group tour to sample all of Piedmont’s …
Eat Your Heart Out at Turin’s Eataly
This is an excerpt from What’s New In and Around Turin from the March 2009 issue of Dream of Italy: For foodies in the know, Turin has long been a must-visit. Now the city can add another culinary notch to its belt, with Eataly, the world’s largest food and wine store. Located in the former Carpano Vermouth production plant, Eataly …
Access to Once-in-a-Lifetime Italian Travel Experiences
We’ve crossed the pond! Last weekend, The London Sunday Times wrote about Dream of Italy, specifically our travel planning off shoot, The Italian Dream Concierge. In “The A-Lister’s Guide to Luxury Travel,” reporter Paul Croughton details how yours truly and other high-end planners can offer you once-in-a-lifetime experiences. He writes, “The bespoke travel arranger has contacts where mere wandering mortals …
And You Thought Oranges Were for Vitamin C
Every year during the week leading to Lent, the peaceful, relaxed air of the northern Italian town of Ivrea is filled with the cries of battle and nearly a million flying, smashing oranges. During the Ivrea’s carnevale celebration, the entire town in caught up in a three-day orange-throwing festival (La Battaglia delle Arance). This event, seemingly bizarre, is actually a …