How Italy remembers its dead

While Italians are slowly catching up with the commercialisation of Halloween, Italy is miles ahead when it comes to celebrating the dead.

The 1st November, All-Saints Day, is a national holiday in Italy. The 2nd November, though, is Il Giorno dei Morti, the day of the dead.

On this day it is customary to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.

Not wanting to miss out on this expression of reverence for the deceased, we decided to mark the occasion ourselves by tracking down the memorial at Monte Comun, where the Jewish partisan…

Wine is to Verona what whisky is to Speyside. Or beer is to Bavaria. It is the lifeblood of the city. It underpins the local economy, sustains the region’s cultural life and shapes the local discourse.

From sumptuous full-bodied reds, to refreshing crisp whites and sweet seductive dessert wines, Verona has a wine that will satisfy every taste!

In the famously romantic city, there are an abundance of wine bars, trattoria and bottega, serving the best local wine and food in cosy, authentic surroundings.

And you don’t have to tread far beyond the city’s walls to encounter the expansive vineyards…

Although Italy is first and foremost a wine producing (and drinking) nation, beer is increasingly popular, in particular mass-produced pale lagers, which are the traditional accompaniment to pizza.

Craft beers (or birra artiginale) are also increasingly popular, but today’s focus is the mass-market lager variety.

In fact, Italy has a long history of brewing. The ancient Phoenicians traded in beer, the Ancient Romans mastered the art of brewing, and renaissance princes distributed free beer at their lavish wedding ceremonies.

Today, Italians prefer a fairly robust, chilled pale lager or pilsner-style beer, typically brewed at around 5% percent - the discerning…

The Gothic Line, the most northerly of the Italian defensive lines, crossed Italy from the Ligurian Sea in the west to the Adriatic in the east, along the natural barrier of the Apennine mountains. In August 1944, it marked the frontline of the brutal Italian campaign.

It was Mussolini himself who had proposed an Italian counter offensive in this zone. The plan envisioned a powerful offensive involving 40,000 men with heavy tank, artillery and air support, to be launched against the western flank of the US 5th Army in the mountainous Garfagnana region, between Emilia and Tuscany. …

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

Act II, Scene II, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Act II, Scene II of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a strong contender for the most well-known scene in literary history. The pivotal balcony scene, in which Romeo eavesdrops on Juliet’s inner thoughts, before clambering up to exchange vows of love, contains some of the most frequently quoted lines penned by Shakespeare.

Less well-known, though, is the story…

Former U.S. marine Austin Tice was taken hostage in Syria in 2012

Former Marine Captain Austin Tice disappeared in August 2012 while working as a freelance journalist in the Syrian war zone. To put that in some perspective, he disappeared around the time that President Obama was preparing for the Democratic National Convention that would propel him towards a historic second term, and hasn’t been seen since.

In Syria, the brutal civil war was in full flow, a conflict that shows no signs of abating. …

A fading plaque hides the dark secrets of a picturesque Italian village

Under a sprawling linden tree, in the medieval village of Castiglione di Garfagnana, looking out over the lush Serchio Valley, stands a fading plaque dedicated to Luigi Dini.

Castiglione di Garfagnana is a village that embraces its history. Two days previously we had paid our annual visit to the village’s ‘Sagra Mediavale’, a two day festival during which the entire village celebrates its medieval origins.

In fact, the origins or Castiglione can be traced back to the year 723, but the town remains defined by its medieval layout…

By the time dessert arrived, I’d ate and drank so much I was in danger of submerging head first into my zabaione.

The food had been exceptional, but I was beginning to regret that second helping of risotto ai calamari. Opening a third bottle of Vernaccia di San Gimignano was certainly a mistake.

What I really needed was a moment or two to clear my head. Plus a short sharp shot of something to reactivate my bloated corpse.

During a lull in the conversation, I discreetly extended my belt a notch or two. At that moment Annalisa, our obliging hostess…