The Apuan Alps are ancient Italian mountains located between the Versilia coast of Tuscany and Emilia. They represent the largest and oldest marble basin in the world. The area is also known as “White Gold” due to the quality, beauty, and uniqueness of its white marble. Carrara marble, already used in Roman times, gained its […]
We are in Alessandria. It’s the year 1846. Giuseppe Borsalino is twelve years old and has been working for a few years. He is small, but he has big ambitions. He wants to make hats, but he needs to obtain a French certificate (Italy was under French domination) that allows him to sell and open […]
Shoes… Almost everyone loves shoes…they are an essential accessory, especially in cold areas. They are a symbol of elegance and sensuality. And now, a bit of the history of Italian shoes. The craftsmanship of Italian shoes is rich and fascinating. It is believed that Roman sandals were the first footwear specifically designed to fit the […]
Nutella is part of Italian culture like Fiat 500, the markets in each city, the fashion and the beauty. On April 20, 1964, the first jar of Nutella came out from the Ferrero factory in Alba-Piedmont city. Its origins, however, date back to the 1940s and before. Pietro Ferrero was a pastry chef in Turin. […]
La via del Sale (in English, “the Salt Road”) refers to the history and culture of salt production in Sicily, especially in the Saline di Marsala area of the Riserva Naturale dello Stagnone, the largest nature reserve in Sicily, stretching from Marsala to Trapani and today managed by the World Wildlife Fund. These famous salt […]
The ancestor of gelato appeared in China around 2000 BC and was prepared with very cooked rice, spices, and milk. It was then buried in snow to solidify. During the Middle Ages, inspired by Marco Polo’s stories of his Chinese journeys, cold desserts made with milk and fruit juices started to become popular. The first […]
Venice’s history is all about politics and money. For centuries, the city was one of the richest in Europe; but in the 16th century, that began to change. Venice came under pressure from the Turks and the European powers. The republic was going through an economic crisis. They had lost their Eastern market, and the […]
At the beginning of the 16th Century, a debate raged in the city of Venice about whether Jews, who had lived alongside Christians for centuries, should be permitted to remain in the city, or, as was happening in other parts of Europe, should be expelled. One faction was for expulsion, while objectors wanted them to […]
The city of Turin has been linked to legends concerning esoteric cults of white and black magic, earning it the nickname “the Magical City.” The magic of Turin is to discover the most unusual and secret sides of the city, related to the world of esotericism and Freemasonry. Beautiful Turin, joined by Lyon and Prague, is one of the […]
The Opera dei Pupi is the traditional puppet theater of Sicily. Pupari are the people who animate the puppets, tell the story, and even act as directors. The pupari present stories derived from medieval epic literature, with its chivalric episodes, lives of saints and brigands. The history of Sicilian puppets dates back over 100 years, […]