Valentina Nicastro
Italy has some truly amazing train rides. And soon enough, with summer approaching and itineraries taking shape, you may soon find yourself standing in an Italian station, perhaps feeling a bit confused while checking your phone, and feeling the growing suspicion you may be on the wrong platform. So whether you’re hopping on a high-speed …
Imagine you’re sitting around a table with Italian friends. Dessert arrives — a gorgeous homemade torta (cake) — and someone says: Mica male questa torta! Non avevo mica capito che l’avessi fatta tu. This cake is really good! I had no idea you made it. Mica la rifaresti per il mio compleanno? Any chance you’d …
There’s this widespread idea that life in Italy is slow, that we do everything senza fretta (unhurried), lingering over espresso in the sunshine while the rest of the world moves fast. And while I’m not a fan of stereotypes, I have to admit this one gives me the perfect excuse to dive into some great …
I’m sure we’ve all met one of these people at least once in our lives: the colleague who laughs a bit too enthusiastically at the boss’s bad jokes, the student who showers the professor with compliments that would make even a Hallmark card blush. The kind of person who’s always super nice to someone important, not …
Card games hold a special place in Italian culture. Walk into any bar from the Alps to Sicily, and you’ll likely spot a group of people gathered around a table, studying their cards with the seriousness of surgeons preparing for an operation. We play cards at Christmas, at the beach, at the park, on long …
Imagine you’re in Venice, leaning dangerously off a vaporetto to capture the perfect shot of the Grand Canal (hard to resist, I know), when the ticket controller rushes over shouting: Non è sicuro!(It’s not safe!). Then, in full tourist mode, you book a local guide for the afternoon. Don’t worry, your hotel receptionist reassures you, è una guida …