Published on Saturday, October 17, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Turin’s newest museum, Camera – the Italian Center for Photography, opened on October 1 with two exhibits on the subject of Ukraine, from Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov and French photographer Jerome Sessini. Located in a 2,000-square-meter building in Turin’s historic center, Camera aims to promote the art of photography by helping amateurs become bette...

Published on Friday, October 9, 2015 by Kathy McCabe After sparring with France for years over which country produced the most – and best – wine, Italy has outpaced France in annual wine production, just surpassing France’s 46.4 million hectoliters of wine. At an estimated 48.9 million hectoliters, Italy is now the world’s largest wine producer, according to European Union data provided to Coldiretti, an Italian...

Published on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 by Kathy McCabe It has been more than a century since Romans were able to visit an aquarium in their city, but the wait is almost over, as the city’s brand new Sea Life Rome Aquarium is scheduled to open in spring 2016 in a completely underground structure located underneath the artificial lake the modern EUR district of Rome. The stars of the aquarium will include sea turtles, ...

Published on Monday, September 28, 2015 by Kathy McCabe A millennia-old Etruscan outpost in the middle of Lazio, Civita di Bagnoregio rises precariously from the volcanic rock. It seems anchored squarely atop the rugged hill, where it has sat for 2,500 years, but is in grave danger of collapse, both figuratively and literally. Only a tiny handful of people live here year-round – the population fluctuates, but is limit...

Published on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, is gearing up to host 20 crews of European hot air balloons at the third annual Matera Balloon Festival next month. The four-day event, which runs from October 8 to 11 will give adventurous visitors a chance to soar above the rocky landscape by paragliding or hot air ballooning; for t...

Published on Friday, September 18, 2015 by Kathy McCabe If you have millions of dollars burning a hole in your pocket – and a desire to snatch up a tony piece of Tuscan real estate burning a hole in your heart – Michelangelo’s Italian residence is calling your name. The property in Castellina in Chianti, which Michelangelo Buonarroti purchased in 1549, belonged to the artist’s family until 1867 and has since been c...

Published on Saturday, September 12, 2015 by Kathy McCabe The Italy Mix is a regular post about the most interesting Italy and Italy travel news and human interest stories around the Web. Here are our top picks for this week: Milan Coming Out of The Shadows:  Milan has absorbed more than half of all investment in business real estate in Italy in the first half of this year, while tourism has grown faster over the past si...

Published on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Famous for his frescoes and for his work on the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, 14th-century Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone was the most revered and revolutionary Italian painter of his time. He is considered one of the fathers of the Renaissance and the first traveling artist in Italy, and his heavyweight artistic influence sparked the beginning of the Renaissance a...

Published on Thursday, September 3, 2015 by Kathy McCabe One of the best ways to experience Italy vicariously is to check out what famous travelers find best there. This summer, quite a few chefs, designers and stars have offered lists of their preferred restaurants, watering holes, cities, and sights in bella Italia, and we’re rounding them up right here so you don’t have to do anything more strenuous than click. ...

Published on Monday, August 31, 2015 by Kathy McCabe On December 8th of this year, the Roman Catholic Church’s 29th Jubilee Year (only the 29th since the tradition was established 700 years ago) begins. A Jubilee, or Holy Year, is one in which devout members of the church make pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy See. The last one took place in 2000 and was declared by Pope John Paul II. Pope Francis has dedicated the ...