Top 10 most popular articles of 2013
1. 10 Reasons why Turin should be on your Italy bucket list
A visit to one of Italy’s most unsung cities, Turin. Italy’s only true royal city offers plethora of attractions and places to explore. We list at least 10 reasons to visit this wonderful city next time you are in Italy. Read more
2. 5 charming little towns in ancient Umbria
Five charming little towns in the territory once inhabited by the Umbri, the people who had settled east of the Tiber river in pre-Roman times. Read more
3. Carnival of Venice: history and meaning of the different types of Venetian masks
Carnival started as a time for celebration where all social classes would mingle. The fact of wearing a mask offered a unique possibility to remain anonymous. Discover the origin and meaning behind each type of the famous Venetian masks. Read more
A list of particularly intriguing and compelling places that have been abandoned by their original inhabitants, either due to a natural disaster, or for economic, environmental or demographic reasons. Often the original city has been moved to a nearby site, while the ruins of the ghost cities have been given a second life as artist colonies, or as refuges for squatters and (illegal) immigrants. Read more
5. Top 15 historic cafés of Italy
A list of some of the best historic cafés in Italy where to sip a coffee while contemplating the stylish interiors of these temples of the cultural and political scenes of the 1800s and 1900s. Read more
6. Top 10 most beautiful piazze in Tuscany
A list of some of the most beautiful piazze of Tuscany from Siena to Florence and Pisa, over San Gimignano, Volterra, Lucca, Pistoia and Arezzo. Read more
7. Top 10 movies filmed in Florence
A list of Italian and international movies filmed in Florence. Read more
8. Top 12 most beautiful gardens of Italy
Our selection of some of the most beautiful private and public gardens in Italy based on the following criteria: rarity and location, layout and design, level of maintenance. Read more
9. Chocolate festivals in Italy
Italy has a long tradition of chocolate making, with famous and historic chocolatiers located in cities such as Turin, Perugia and Modica. Bologna, Florence and the region of Tuscany, even if they are not immediately associated with chocolate, also have their traditional artisan chocolatiers. Not surprisingly, it is also in these cities that some of the most important chocolate fairs of Italy are being held. Read more
10. Ode to a Sicilian icon: the carretto siciliano
These lavishly decorated and colorful, horse-drawn cart are symbolic of the folklore of Sicily. The colorful painted scenes depicted on the carts represent Sicilian folklore and history. They were once also a way to transmit tradition and historical information in a non-verbal way. Read more
