Rome is the only city in the world where you can walk down a random street, step into a church because the door was open, and find yourself standing in front of a masterpiece that would be the highlight of any museum. The art is not contained here. It is not behind glass or behind … Read more
There is a sculpture in Naples that has been fooling people for more than 250 years. It shows the dead body of Christ, laid out on a couch, covered by a thin, translucent shroud. The veil clings to his body. It reveals the wounds on his hands and feet. It shows the shape of his … Read more
Michelangelo’s Moses is one of the most powerful sculptures ever carved, and it is also one of the most tragic. It sits today in a quiet church in Rome, the centerpiece of a monument that was never finished, a fragment of a dream that consumed forty years of the artist’s life. Most visitors walk past … Read more
Italy is a country of extraordinary contrasts, and few contrasts are as striking as the one between Puglia and Tuscany. Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, is a land of whitewashed towns, olive groves, and a coastline that stretches for hundreds of kilometers. Tuscany, the heart of central Italy, is a land of rolling hills, … Read more
One question has fascinated historians for generations, and the answer is far from simple. Which civilization left a greater mark on the world: Ancient Rome or Renaissance Florence? At first glance, the comparison seems almost unfair. Rome was an empire that spanned three continents and lasted for more than a thousand years. Florence was a … Read more
Tuscany has more hill towns than any traveler could hope to visit, and each one claims to be special. But two towns in the northern part of the region stand out for very different reasons. San Gimignano is the one with the towers. Volterra is the one with the alabaster, the Etruscans, and the sense … Read more
Italy has a coastline that stretches for thousands of kilometers, and along it are hundreds of towns and villages that could each claim to be the most beautiful. But two destinations stand out as icons of the Italian Riviera. Cinque Terre, the collection of five colorful villages clinging to the cliffs of the Ligurian coast. … Read more
Italy has a way of offering too many dreams. The country is so beautiful, so varied, and so rich in experiences that choosing where to go can feel impossible. Two destinations stand out as the ultimate Italian holiday fantasies. Lake Como, with its Alpine backdrop, its grand villas, and its quiet elegance. And the Amalfi … Read more
Few countries offer such a striking contrast between past and present as Italy. In Florence, you can spend the morning standing before Michelangelo’s David, walk beneath Brunelleschi’s magnificent dome in the afternoon, and finish the day in a centuries-old piazza surrounded by Renaissance palaces. In Milan, you can admire one of the most spectacular Gothic … Read more
Rome and Naples are two of Italy’s most fascinating cities, yet spending a few days in each can feel like visiting two entirely different countries. Rome has the Colosseum, the Vatican, grand piazzas, and the magnificent remains of an empire that once ruled much of the known world. Naples has the birthplace of pizza, the … Read more