Rosa Bathurst, the sleeping beauty of the Tiber river
We are in in the Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome, Italy.Rosa Bathurst was found after six months and she looked like she was just asleep the whole time.Rosa was a beautiful […]
Historical Regatta: in the Grand Canal the ancient Venetian maritime tradition between races and historical re-enactments
The Historical Regatta is the most traditional among the venetian events. It is a show that, each year the first Sunday of September, brings the ancient boats of the glorious […]
Hands of madness: Italino and his grave at Staglieno Monumental Cemetery
Among the Italian cemeteries, the Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa, is one of the most fascinating, full of mysteries and secrets, with its statues that follow one another and those tombstones that […]
The legend of the haunted house known as Villa Clara
Each place has a more or less known heritage of curious stories, legends and mysteries, and Bologna, Italy, is no exception. Among these, the presumably haunted house in Casalecchio di […]
Ferragosto: history, traditions (and curses) of one of the most beloved holidays in Italy
Celebrated on August 15, the so called Ferragosto may well be considered the height of the Italian summer: many Italians still take their summer vacation around this time, with the […]
Italy’s Moka Coffee Pot: why the iconic item has become an endangered species
Bialetti, the Italian maker of the historic moka pot, a stovetop coffee machine and one of the most iconic kitchen appliances ever created, announced recently that the company is in […]
Torre Argentina – the Roman Cat Sanctuary
As you probably know cats in Rome are very popular and they have always found shelter amongst the ancient city ruins. They are also protagonists of numerous postcards depicting them […]
Francesco Petrarca’s house: a modest museum in the final home of Italian poet
“In the Euganean Hills, I had a small house built, decorous and noble; here, I live out the last years of my life peacefully, recalling and embracing with constant memory […]
The witches of Benevento and their walnut tree Sabbats
We are in Italy. When the Romans conquered the area in the 3rd century B.C. they changed its original name Maleventum (meaning “bad event”) into Beneventum (“good event”) but, name […]
The mysterious case of dance mania that broke out in Medieval Europe
St. John’s Dance, known historically as St. Vitus Dance, was a social phenomenon involving a type of dance mania that gripped mainland Europe between the 14 th and 17 th […]
The fascinating story of Nocino, the witches’ liqueur.
Patron saints. Every Italian town has one and a local public holiday for celebrating their heavenly protector. In some italian regions, San Giovanni Battista or John the Baptist, is venerated […]
The albumen of St. John: a curious Italian tradition
John the Baptist is the most depicted saint in art of all centuries. His night has always been considered magical and prodigious, probably because it immediately follows the summer solstice […]
St John’s eve: ancient rituals to mark midsummer
Saint John’s Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke states that John […]
Is Saint Corona the patron saint of epidemics?
Did you know Aachen Cathedral, Western Germany, may be able to claim a special spiritual connection with the global coronavirus pandemic? It is said that the cathedral, one of Europe’s […]
Temple of Valadier: a refuge for the souls in Genga – Italy
We are in Italy, in Genga, Marche region, near the magnificent Frasassi Caves dug in limestone by the Sentino river. Here an elegant octagonal church rises among the pointed and […]
The images of a Venice free of tourists transformed by COVID-19
In addition to being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, either with the snow, or with the high water, or during its magnificent carnival (and did you […]
Quarantine in Milan: here’s what it’s like in a coronavirus red zone.
First Easter and Easter Monday. Then, Italy’s Liberation Day on April 25, a national Italian holiday commemorating the end of Nazi occupation during World War II and the victory of […]
#April 21, 753 BC: according to tradition, Romulus and Remus found Rome
According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, […]
Milltown Cemetery – Belfast, Northern Ireland
We are in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast, Ireland. Milltown cemetery is a sprawling graveyard full of history, conflict and tragedy. It has seen some of the largest funeral processions […]
#April 18, 1480: wicked or sinless? The controversy life of Lucrezia Borgia, born on this day.
Lucrezia Borgia, the illegitimate daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (who was to become Pope Alexander VI) was born on this day, April 18 1480. Her mother, the cardinal’s lover, was […]
Easter Lamb: in Sicily, Italy, it is sweet, caloric and made of almond paste!
Eggs, rabbits…we already know what these symbols mean. Also the lamb is one of the most prominent symbols of Easter. In Christianity, it symbolizes purity and sacrifice, two qualities associated […]
The eternal sleep of Rosalia Lombardo
Rosalia Lombardo was born on December 13, 1918 in Palermo, in Sicily region in Southern Italy. At the tender age of 2 she died due to a bacteria pneumonia. Her […]
The curious history of the Milan area that remained immune to the plague: an eccentric marquis, a witch or simply coal?
Before 1630 Milan had over one hundred thousand inhabitants. In 1632 there were forty-seven thousand. In the middle there was the most violent plague epidemic in the history of the […]
#March 30, 1282: when Sicilian’s bells rang out for freedom
On this day, March 30, 1282 Sicilians decided that they had had enough and in a brutal uprising known as the War of the Vespers turned on their oppressors: the […]
The “100 Giorni”: the official countdown to the final High School state examination
What in Italy is called “100 giorni”, is the official countdown begins to the final High School state examination and its traditions are repeated by students in many areas and […]
The truth behind the haunted house that fascinates all Bologna – Italy
Are you familiar with the classic abandoned houses, dark and falling apart? Those houses that seem a set of a horror movie? In short, the houses in the middle of […]
Libreria Acqua Alta: one of the most interesting bookshop in the world.
Perched on a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, the beautiful city of Venice evokes countless quaint aquatic images, from gondolas and vaporetti lumbering down the canals to tiny bridges arching […]
The abandoned disco Par hasard: it was the VIPs’ club
Sixty years of history, music, loves, dances and foreign customers of the local spas were not enough to save this disco, now abandoned to itself. And here, at the Par […]
29/30/31 January: the Merla days (hen blackbird), according to tradition are the coldest days of the year ~
It was a very, very cold Winter. That year the month of January put every effort to live up to his reputation as a freezing, windy month. The snow was […]