A Taste of Italy
Sacri Monti
The nine Sacri Monti (Scared Mountains) of Piedmont and Lombardy are a group of chapels and other architectural features created in the late 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to different aspects of the Christian faith and were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2003
Best Opera Houses in Italy
One of the best places for opera in Italy is Le Marche. The seaside and mountain towns in this central coastal region are home to 70 historic theaters – from jewel boxes to arenas–built between the 17th and 19th centuries. You can have a step-back-in-time entertainment experience, enjoying performances of the highest quality at places such as: Pesaro, birthplace of Rossini, of The Barber of Seville fame. This is a lovely beach town that’s home to an August Rossini Opera Festival. Three theaters are involved, one from 1637 and two other modern spaces. Rossini’s home is also fun to tour, and Pesaro has a fascinating old Jewish quarter, a family-oriented beach scene, loads of bookstores, and a university. Macerata is a quintessential Italian...
Urbino ~ Le Marche
Have you ever been to Urbino? If you answer no to this question, then you should feel guilty because you are missing a whole dimension of Italian civilization. ~Carlo Bo “Those who come to Urbino without knowing its history and its importance find themselves before an extraordinary surprise, or indeed, a miracle. In the midst of the spectacle of the hills along which the access roads run, an enchanted palace, left untouched by the passing of time, appears suddenly. It is a leap back in time, a dive into the purity and freedom of the soul.” The palace idescribed by Carlo Bo is that of Federico da Montefeltro, the lord of the city during the...
Torrone Sweet Torrone
Torrone: It is said that in 1441 in Cremona (Lombardia,) during the wedding of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza, the pastry chef at court played with a mixture of almonds, honey and white of eggs and he cooked the first “torrone”, a very special nougat shaped like the big tower named “torrione” located in Cremona mediaeval square… …But the origins of torrone could be even more ancient: according to some old chronicles of the Roman times, some legionaries coming from the region of Cremona brought to imperial Rome the habit to finish the most sumptuous banquets with a particular sweet made of honey, almonds and white of egg. Torrone has become one of the most typical Italian Christmas sweets and it is still today highly appreciated. The...
Winged Victory ~ Brescia
The original bronze Winged Victory is in the Santa Giulia Museum in Brescia, Italy. The sculpture, thought to be the Greek goddess Aphrodite, originated in the 3rd century B.C. The wings were added to transform her into a winged victory in the 1st century B.C. The Winged Victory, also known as the ‘Nike of Brescia’ was found hidden behind the Capitolium Temple on July 21, 1826. It was an extraordinary discovery. So perfectly preserved! It immediately became the symbol of the town of Brescia for its beauty and magnificence. The life size statue originated as an Aphrodite in the 3rd century B.C. in the Greek area. Then it probably arrived in Rome as war plunder and later in Brescia, when the town became a Roman colony. Brescia’s Winged Victory...
Bars in Italy ~ A Part of Italian Life
Let’s discuss Bars in Italy Bars in Italy are a part of everyday life. Unlike American bars, which are mostly for drinking alcoholic beverage in quantities, a bar in Italy is for having coffee, a light meal or snack and for hanging out in the neighborhood. Bars in an Italian town or neighborhoods are the center of social life. They are also a popular place for the evening, aperitivo, the charming Italian custom of meeting between 5:00-8:00 in the evening with friends to have an appetizer and aperitif before dinner. After a tough day of touring and wine tasting (I know, I had a difficult job) in the Novara countryside in lovely Piemonte, I had an hour or so to spare before our dinner of Novarese specialties at the Impero Restaurant. My guide Cristina brought...
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