"It was in really bad shape, but I sensed its potential," he says. When his future client, a Swiss teacher who fell in love with the Italian Riviera, walked into his office, even she was skeptical. "Many people were," he continues. "It was an abandoned and damp property, but I convinced her. Now she's happy."
With every eruption, towns such as Giarre experience an average of 12,000 tonnes of ashfall daily, which the wind can transport as far as 800km (497 miles). In July 2024, Catania Sicily's second-largest city, located at the foot of Mount Etna registered 17,000 tonnes of ash daily, which took nearly 10 weeks to collect.
Jayla never thought she'd buy a house pretty much sight unseen, much less one off the coast of Italy. The 25-year-old Florida native, who asked to use only her first name, had first come across an offer for a "1 euro house" in Europe in November 2024, shortly after Donald Trump won reelection. She was naturally skeptical, but sent some emails anyway. At first, it didn't go anywhere: "I kind of forgot about it because no one responded," she told me.
Historically speaking, an osteria was a spartan, no-frills establishment where people would go to have a drink. The original osterias date all the way back to the Roman Empire. If you go to Ostia Antica or Pompeii, you find the osterias of the era. They were like bed-and-breakfasts, with rooms for rent above the dining room where people could listen to music.
A new summerhouse by Biris-Tsiraki Architects rises above a rocky cape on Antiparos, facing the open Aegean and the island of Despotiko across the water. Set into a steep slope and exposed to northern winds, the house addresses sea, sky, and terrain with a measured architectural language shaped by orientation and movement. From the approach, the building reads as a composition aligned to horizon and topography.
levelled much of the city. Along with homes, churches and monuments, invaluable historical sources and documents were lost, including works by Messina's greatest son, Antonello da Messina, the artist widely credited with transforming the course of Renaissance art. In the space of half a minute, a city's memory and that of one of the greatest painters in history was buried alongside its people.
Last summer, I found myself in Venice during peak tourist season. The crowds were suffocating. Every piazza felt like a theme park, every restaurant seemed designed for Instagram rather than actual dining. Standing on the Rialto Bridge, packed shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other visitors, I couldn't help but wonder: is this really Italy? That question stayed with me long after I returned to London.
Alice is the kind of place you tuck into your back pocket and casually gatekeep. Perfect for a cozy date night with your favorite fling in the cityor yes, your long-term partner who still knows how to flirt. You descend beneath a historic Greenwich Village brownstone and suddenly feel like you've entered a velvet-lined jewelry box of small, glittering pleasures. Low light. Oceanic blues. Candle glow. A hum of conversation that feels conspiratorial rather than loud. The prosecco is marvelous, and it knows it.
Italian food products and cuisine have infiltrated just about every corner of the globe, but nothing compares to trying classic Italian dishes at their source-and there's so much more than pizza, pasta, and gelato. Don't expect to find the same dishes on menus all over the country. From carbonara in Rome to the best street food in Palermo, each Italian region has its own recipes.
During my recent 17-day trip there, I realized Ischia has everything its more popular neighbor offers - great shopping, a castle, beaches, a botanical garden - but with fewer tourists. Here's why it belongs on your Italy itinerary.
This coccoli, which can be a street food or restaurant appetizer, is truly an icon in Florentine - a term that simply means "from Florence" - fare. The word "coccoli" translates literally to "cuddles," and these fried dough balls do indeed feel like warm little hugs. They're about the size of dumplings; served hot, they've got a crispy exterior to crack into - with just the right amount of grease - where you'll find both fluffiness and chewy doughy-ness all at once.