Rumour has it that the great Tintoretto, born Jacopo Comin in 1518, and nicknamed Il Furioso for his phenomenal brushstroke energy, had written this inspirative motto on the walls ...
I really love giving books as Christmas presents, especially books about Italian art, handicrafts, touring, food and wine. And there won’t be any exception to the rule this year, ...
You certainly are familiar with the sound of the harpsichord, and would probably recognize the instrument itself if you saw one. But have you ever seen how it is built? Last week, ...
I did it, at long last! Wandering about the streets of Rome on Italy’s iconic motor scooter, the Vespa! I had been dreaming of this since I had first seen, as a child, the 1953 r ...
When thinking of Italian art and architecture, most people see, in their mind’s eye, Roman ruins, Renaissance masterpieces and Baroque churches. And we may even wonder whether th ...
You have always wanted to attend Siena’s famous Palio, but never did because of the dense crowds and stifling heat that come with it when it takes place, in the heart of summer? ...
Do you still remember the time when TripAdvisor and the like did not exist? When it was creatures of flesh and blood – and not applications and algorithms – who pointed and ste ...
The 2018 architecture biennale runs through to November 25. The program is based on the theme Free Space which has been put forth by Irish architects and Biennale head curators She ...
In Italy, the patronymic Corsini has long been a household name, especially in Tuscany and in Florence, where the Corsini princely family has been playing a leading role since the ...
One of Tuscany’s most intimate and charming festivals turns 30 next month. No small feat for a chamber music festival in Italy today! Founded by Benedetta Origo, the owner of Vil ...
Before moving to the bel paese, I had barely heard about the Etruscans, a rich and remarkable civilization who flourished in ancient Italy until they were conquered and assimilated ...
Reminiscing about Sicily, the great David Herbert Lawrence once wrote: “Anyone who has once known this land can never be quite free from the nostalgia for it.” Nicknamed “God ...
When the Eiffel tower was erected at the end of the 19th century, a big outcry was raised in Paris about the bold new monument. One could hear or read words such as “useless and ...
The luxury of loving Italy… These are the very last words of Italian Hours, a collection of essays which the great Henry James wrote about the bel paese more than a century ago, ...
Last month, I got into my car early in the morning, on a Tuesday, and drove down to the lovely medieval town of Assisi, situated in the very heart of Umbria. I had a lunch appointm ...
Every time I travel between Florence and Lucca – I must have done it a hundred times, – I drive through the charming medieval town of Pistoia, famous throughout Europe for its ...
Good news, I’m starting to be “with it” as far as social media are concerned. You may remember the article I posted in late August about the Trust & Travel Instagram acco ...
Good news: all roads lead to Rome and, in some cases, will take you back to your starting point before the end of the day! I experienced this two or three times last summer. After ...
Shortly after starting to work at Italy’s oldest winery, during the first years I spent in the bel paese, I was already dreaming of touring the bucolic Chianti region on one of t ...
The Leaning Tower of Pisa… Who has not seen it, at least in pictures, and tried to imagine what it feels like to be at its top, precariously tilting some 50 meters above ground?! ...
I was introduced to Jane da Mosto a few months ago at a social and arts event in Venice. Holder of a zoology degree from the University of Oxford as well as a Masters degree from t ...
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust ...
Where on Earth had we landed?… A frolicsome sprite, hidden somewhere behind a decrepit stone wall, replied to me in a hushed voice: “In the depths of the Middle Ages, in a ...
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, enunciated this, and would proba ...
“And that is how Italians are. So terribly physically all over one another. They pour themselves one over the other like so much melted butter over parsnips. They catch each ...
La Foce… This name, and the superb Tuscan estate which it designates, have now become familiar to you if you have been a regular reader of this blog. Trust & Travel was actua ...
My friends were stealing a glance at me with a quizzical eyebrow. I know what they were thinking deep down inside, especially their two teenage kids: “You’re really taking us t ...
Some road works seem to take forever to be completed… Have you ever had that feeling? This is the case with the still unfinished Superstrada 223 linking Siena to the city of Gros ...
“In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy”… William Blake, the great English poet and painter, wrote these words two centuries ago. ...
Blue… midnight blue, electric blue, royal blue, sky blue… According to public opinions polls conducted in Europe and North America, blue is the most popular colour with both me ...
