A Personal Guide to Travel and Life in Italy

June is the season for one of the pleasures of Puglia, the railway cherry or “ciliegia ferrovia”

Set amongst lemon groves near the town of Noto in southeastern Sicily, the remains of the Roman Villa del Tellaro are noteworthy for their exquisite Roman mosaics dating back to the 4th century AD.

Follow the wild orchid season while walking in Italy and find out the best times to go on a wildflower walk from Sicily to the Dolomites.

Aren’t towers supposed to be tall? Not in the countryside of Modica, where a “torre” – tower – is something else indeed.

Cheese tasting and a tour of the cheesemaking facilites at Corfilac in Ragusa are on the menu March 24 & 25, 2012

The historic Lorenzi shop in Bolzano is a family–run store with a great selection of quality kitchen goods, knives, and scissors. If you’ve got something to cut, they’ve got the tool, and their individual attention and friendly service are the essence of shopping in Italy.

Gathering snow and compacting it into ice has been done for centuries, but nowhere more beautifully than at the neviere snow huts of Monte Lauro. Join us on a visit to this off the beaten path attraction in Sicily.

Taste traditional cheeses from around the world during two days of tasting workshops at Cheese Art 2012 in Ragusa Sicily, when cheese is elevated to the status of art.

When you hear vendors hollering “bastardoni” in Sicily, it’s the season for the prickly pears known as “big bastards.” Legend has it that this traditional food found in markets in Italy is the result of a feud.

New fixed-price menus at lunch are an enticement for discerning diners at the 2-star Michelin restaurant Il Duomo in Ragusa Sicily. They’re a great way to sample chef Ciccio Sultano’s superb cooking.