Cultural Italy

Cultural Italy

  • Joined: August 8, 2020
  • Articles: 691

Susan Anderer

Family in Venice

Hi Luana,
I hope you had a nice holiday!  I just wanted to thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip for me and the girls.  We had a wonderful time on our trip and really enjoyed the variety that you arranged for us. 

La Befana

ITALY TRADITIONS
In the United States, New Year's Day is the climax and the end of the Christmas holidays while in Italy we have an extra bonus – so to speak - of about a week. On January 6 we celebrate the Epiphany, a Christian celebration that symbolizes the Three Kings’ arrival at the Baby Jesus’ manger, and that only recently has been officially recognized as a national holiday.

Drink your water!

DRINKING WATER IN ITALY
Italy has an abundance of mountain springs that have provided the local populations with water for the longest time. Some of these springs actually flow with either naturally still or naturally sparkling water. If you enter an Italian supermarket, you will undoubtedly notice an entire aisle dedicated to tens of different water brands, mostly bottled at source in plastic bottles, then sealed and wrapped up in a cellophane package of 6 units each.

Stark Raving Art

NEWS
The man stood stark naked in front the painting. He contemplated it first, then stared at it transfixed. He then slowly began to re-enact the scene: he mimicked the pose, then spread rose petals all around him. “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli portrays the goddess naked on a shell on the seashore; the serene beauty of the nature surrounding her is an ode to her very beauty, the winds gently caressing her hair, the meadows sprinkled with violets, symbol of love.

Introducing Sicily

LEARN MORE
Sicily is a world unto itself. While other countries speak to you directly, this island, like its dialect, is complex, polychrome, and varied in shapes and tastes. Everything, from the blinding sunlight down to the locals, is more intense than elsewhere, and perhaps not just one visit will be enough for someone to understand it.

Pantheon: 2000 years of history

LEARN MORE
The Pantheon in Rome is one of the most famous monuments of the city and perhaps the most enigmatic building in Italy. This splendid church dedicated "to all the gods" was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) and was finally completed in 128 AD by the emperor Hadrian. This makes this amazing construction one of the oldest examples of architecture we have on our planet today. Built about two thousand years ago, it is still there!

How about a cooking class?

THE ART OF COOKING
Taking a cooking class while on vacation in Italy is very popular among travelers, who often choose to take part to one and couple it - say - with a nice wine tasting or a fine (hopefully!) dinner, that they themselves will have prepared following their chef’s instructions.

Espresso, macchiato o cappuccino?

THE ART OF COFFEE
Coffee is undoubtedly one of the most popular beverages in the world. It made its first appearance in Venice in 1570 thanks to Prospero Alpino, a physician from Padova, who returning from a trip to the far East, took a few bags of coffee with him, and had the Venetians taste some of that mysterious black concoction.