20 May 2014

Posted at 00:00h in Italian itineraries

The Valle dei Templi (in English Valley of the Temples) is a world-famous archaeological site in Agrigento, Sicily.

This area of the historic island that is located off the south of Italy has made it on to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, and this accolade is a clear message to the rest of the world that the whole area is well worth a visit.

The local Sicilians refer to it as ‘Vaddi di li Tempri’ in their native dialect, and any Agrigento resident would passionately sing the praises of the six key temples, or the Templi di Agrigento that are scattered around the area.

29 Apr 2014

Posted at 00:00h in Food and wine

Giacomo LeopardiIn Italy you can breathe the poetry even in the alleyways of central Naples: not just the poetry of street life, its smells, its food and its people (which would already be a lot), but also the poetry left by the imprint these places preserve of Giacomo Leopardi, the most celebrated poet (and philosopher) of Italy’s nineteenth century, not to mention one of the most important figures of world literature.

28 Mar 2014

Posted at 00:00h in Italian itineraries

Mona LisaThe “Gioconda” or Mona Lisa, probably the most famous portrait in the world, was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1514 and is on permanent display at the Louvre in Paris.

According to tradition, as well as the famous 16th century art historiographer and critic, GiorgioVasari, the woman depicted is Lisa Gherardini, i.e. “Mona” Lisa (short for “Madonna” , “Signora”), the wife of the noble Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo (thus the term “Gioconda” is also used).

During his third stay in Florence, Leonardo lived in a house next door to Palazzo Gondi (which has since been destroyed), just a few meters away from Piazza della Signoria, which belonged to a branch of the Gherardini family.