Country Archive
What kind of home in Italy?
Date: 07/09/2007What kind of home? Villas and villettas, farmhouses, towerhouses, village houses, medieval townhouses, chalets in the mountains, apartments in the city or at the seaside—it’s up to you.
Read OnSampling the cucina of Le Marché
Date: 06/18/2007Some of the most dramatic seaside scenery of the Adriatic can be found on the Riviera del Conero, the section of coastline beneath the limestone peak of Monte Conero south of Ancona.
Read OnThe best views of Mount Etna
Date: 06/11/2007Most holidaymakers on cruises around the eastern Mediterranean call at the Sicilian port of Messina to climb Mount Etna.
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A wedding in Orta--no stress please, we're Italian
Date: 05/22/2007
I recently attended the wedding of two close friends. Destination: the Italian Lakes. Weddings are like gigs in the small town of Novara, where Elisa, the bride, grew up. Posters announcing the wedding ceremony had been erected for weeks prior, and, despite the miserable weather, all the townspeople turned up for the event in their Sunday best.
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Pompeii, Herculanium, and Stabiae-the tale of three ancient cities frozen in time
Date: 03/31/2007
Temperatures rose in thermal springs, tremors shook the earth, and on Aug. 24, 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius spewed blistering ash and pumice over Pompeii. But today I enter Pompeii without trepidation, through the Porta Marina, one of the six gates of the walled city. Stones of lava, inlaid with chips of white marble, pave the road leading into the Via dell'Abbondanza. More than 2,000 years ago, carts carried provisions (including fish from the Gulf and salt from the bustling port) along here at night, aided by the light reflected from the marble.
Read OnA fixer-upper for less than $60,000 in Italy? Look in the wild heights of Abruzzo
Date: 03/12/2007The Abruzzo region is located where the highest peaks of the Appennines meet the Adriatic. Its people are known for their independence, dignity, and resourcefulness.
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Bella Vita: The ins and outs of living in Italy
Date: 02/28/2007
Most people have the same reaction when they hear I live in Italy: "You actually live there? You're so lucky!" And they're right, for the most part. But vacationing in Italy and living here are two different things. If you're thinking of making the move, here's an overview of things you'll need to know:
How much do things cost?