Rome is Italy’s largest city and its capital. Rome’s many historic sites include the Pantheon (the oldest intact Roman temple), the Temple of Vesta (with its Corinthian columns, and once guarded by the Vestal Virgins), and the Roman Coliseum (known in its heyday as the Flavian Amphitheater after the family name of emperors Vespasian and [more...]
Every year around the world there are bizarre festivals where people celebrate by throwing food. Tomatoes In Buñol, Spain, the festival of La Tomatina is held every summer. A truckload of tomatoes is dispensed, and everyone throws them at each other for an hour. It’s seriously messy, but you can swim in the river afterwards. [more...]
If you are traveling on a backpacker’s budget, there are quite (well, relatively) reasonably priced hostels and B&Bs right in the center of Venice. If you are not a backpacker, there are, of course, hotels for any better filled pocketbook. If you are staying for just one or two nights, you may delight at the [more...]
Even if you don’t understand any Italian, you probably guessed correctly that a “ragazzo” is a young male and that his “ragazza” could be his girlfriend. One cannot generalize, of course, just as one cannot generalize about what young males elsewhere in the world do to impress girls. In many parts of the world, however, [more...]
You may have read that walking is the only way to see historic Siena. It’s true that nothing beats exploring it on foot, and also true that the hilly medieval city has banned most cars from the narrow, uneven streets in the city centre. There is an efficient taxi service though, so if you are [more...]
Everyone who visits Siena heads for the Piazza del Campo, the great medieval square where the famous Palio horse races are run in summer. Energetic types can climb the Torre del Mangia (14th century bell-tower in the photo); others admire the medieval architecture from an outdoor café table. Next stop is probably the even older [more...]
Etruscan civilization evolved in northern and central Italy about 800 BC. This era gave way in 7th century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture that was influenced by Greek traders and Magna Graecia, the Hellenic civilization of southern Italy. The Etruscan civilization flourished in the northern part of what is now Italy, before the arrival [more...]
Florence (Italian: Firenze) is the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany. Florence was established by Julius Caesar in 59 BC as a settlement for his military veterans. During World War II the city endured a year long German occupation and was declared an open city. Much of the city was destroyed by the Germans [more...]
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the freestanding bell tower of the cathedral in the Italian city of Pisa. Outside of the city of Rome with its Collosseum and ancient temples, the Leaning Tower of Pisa may be the most famous landmark in Italy. Though it was designed to stand vertically, the tower started to [more...]
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country’s largest city. According to tradition, the City of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on 21 April 753 BC. Rome is alone among cities in having a sovereign nation located entirely within its city limits, the Vatican City, the supreme government of the [more...]
Well, the short answer is “no”—Marco Polo didn’t introduce pasta to Italy. Pasta is a worldwide comfort food that most of us take for granted. The origins of pasta are as tangled as spaghetti on the plate. It is true that Marco Polo mentioned in his memoirs that in some Chinese provinces the Christians (and [more...]