Italy from space: the secret NASA archives Italy is one of the most photogenic countries in the world. Just look at the millions of Instagram accounts, travel blogs, websites and aficionados that document its beauty every day. Hell, you can take a picture of a rusty garage door here and it still looks gorgeous! But…
The Testaccina project was born in March 2013, when I broke a bone in my foot and couldn’t walk for a month. I had already been living in Rome, Italy for about ten years at that time, working as a business journalist. My job involved editing an international investment journal about real estate projects all…
Best vintage stores in Rome – why buy vintage? Ten years ago, acquiring great vintage pieces in Rome was expensive and time consuming. There were a few premium resellers, but – well – to put it bluntly – they wanted a lot of money for their old stuff. But as vintage appreciation has increased in…
How to see the rose petal shower in the Pantheon, Rome, at Pentecost The rose petal shower or pioggia della rose in the Pantheon in Rome, a stunning spectacle featuring the falling of real red rose petals, takes place every year at Pentecost, exactly 49 days after Easter Sunday. In the following post, I explain…
I’ve been driving a scooter (or motorino, as they’re called in Italy) in Rome for nearly ten years. That’s a decade of insane traffic, painful tumbles, vigorously exchanged gestures with other drivers and coming back to find your (parked) Vespa dented or with the seat slashed. It’s also been ten years of always being on…
Typical Sicilian food: 8 things you should eat before leaving Catania Sicily is an island where everything is more intense. The wine is stronger, the sun is hotter, the sea shocks with its searing cyan lights and volcanoes feel free to express themselves. Near Catania, lava enriches the soil with mineral depths and the resulting…
Altrove Restaurant is a new restaurant in the Garbatella district of Rome with an extraordinary plan. In a city like this, it’s hard enough to come up with a new food concept to draw a regular clientele which lasts longer than the latest summer fad. Well, Altrove is a restaurant which has launched with a…
Officina – pizza and burger is a recently refurbished pizzeria and craft-beer bar in Rome which is laying claim to serving one of the best pizzas in the capital. I’m guessing I don’t need to tell you how hardly contested that particularly crown is – it makes that Brutus-Julius Caesar spat in the capital look…
If you’re looking for a glamourous weekend with a difference in Italy, here’s an idea. Hotel Terme Preistoriche in the picturesque spa town of Montegrotto Terme is just 15 minutes from the centre of Padua or Padova, in Italy’s Veneto region, but light-years away from the modern, bustling city, offering incredible spa pools in a…
Rome has a great craft beer scene and I was spoilt for choice selecting the 8 best craft beer bars in Rome for this article. From essential ‘hole in the wall’ dive bars in the city centre, to laid back drinking lounges and beer gardens a little further out, Rome has a great range of pubs focusing on…
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