Monumental Cemetery of Lecco – Italy
Inaugurated on August 6, 1882 and designed by the engineer Enrico Gattinoni, the Monumental Cemetery of Lecco represents a real open-air museum. It contains works in marble and bronze by […]
Reasons why you should visit the Camposanto of Pisa
Despite the Camposanto, a monumental cemetery, is just right next to one of the most recognized buildings in the world, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, it does not see […]
Corenno Plinio: enchanting medieval hamlet on the eastern branch of Como Lake
Corenno Plinio is a small and charming medieval settlement just few minutes far from Dervio, on the eastern branch of Como Lake, Italy. It is an enchanted place that few […]
Centuries of history and miracles: the beautiful Laorca Cemetery
The Laorca cemetery is located in the Laorca district north of Lecco, region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy, and has developed around the caves and the ancient church of St […]
24# The Neapolitan nativity scene: a combination of history, art and tradition
Every year during the Christmas holidays there are two categories of people, those who prefer the nativity scene and those who prefer the Christmas tree. However, in Neapolitan culture this […]
Viareggio: a statue for Ettore, the cat friend of fishermen
Ettore was abandoned in a cardboard box along the pier in Viareggio, Italy. It was 1997, and from that moment on this special cat has no longer had a home […]
Tarpeian Rock: in the early Roman empire, people deemed traditors and criminals were tossed to their deaths from this rock
Tarpeian Rock, or locally Rupe Tarpea, is a steep cliff located on the southern side of the Capitoline Hill, just above the Roman Forum and, for centuries, the location was […]
Saint Marcel, a castle haunted by hooded souls
In Surpian, a small hamlet of the municipality of Saint-Marcel, 12 km from italian city of Aosta, stands an imposing castle, Saint Marcel (in french château de Saint-Marcel), probably built […]
San Severino di Centola: a medieval hilltop village that was abandoned at the end of the 19th century after existing for more than 500 years.
The ruins of the old village San Severino di Centola, known known until 1861 as San Severino di Camerota, are located on a rugged hill in southern Cilento, in the […]
Pozzo del Diavolo: was this cave created by Hercules’s wrath, the devil, or volcanic activity?
We are in Italy, in Lazio region, above Vico Lake in the beautiful beech forest of Monte Venere, part of the UNESCO’s Primeval Beech Forests of Europe transnational network of […]
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 […]