City notes, stories from home.

Bosco di San Francesco: the other half of Assisi few visitors ever see

Everyone comes to Assisi for the Basilica. Few know that just below it lies an unspoiled stretch of Umbrian landscape that’s every bit as worth your time as Giotto’s frescoed walls. Bosco di San Francesco is a 64-hectare nature reserve managed by the FAI, Italy’s National Trust, restored in 2008 from what was,…

A Rare Caravaggio in Rome: the Portrait of Maffeo Barberini on Free Display until 21 June

For a few weeks, in the heart of Rome, you can see up close a painting that until recently almost no one had been able to admire. It is the Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini, one of the extremely rare portraits to have come from Caravaggio’s brush, recently acquired by the Italian State for thirty…

MasterChef in Assisi: TV Cooking Comes to Piazza Chiesa Nuova

On Tuesday morning, those who made their way up to Assisi were met with an unusual scene: two white gazebos erected in the small square of Chiesa Nuova, counters bearing the red-and-blue logo, lights, a crew in full swing, and the piazza closed to traffic. The Council’s notice spoke vaguely of “television filming”, but…

Behind the Scenes: the Little Concierge That Lives in Your Phone

It is 23:47 on a Tuesday in May. One of our guests, who has just arrived in Rome on a delayed flight, is standing at the front door of the apartment and cannot remember the entry code. She had received it days earlier by email, but that email is somewhere in an inbox that refuses…

What to Do in Jesolo in Summer 2026: the Complete Guide

Fifteen kilometres of golden sand, a seafront promenade that becomes a pedestrian zone at sunset, some of Italy’s largest amusement parks, and Venice forty minutes away by ferry. Jesolo is not a discovery, it is a certainty that finds a way to surprise returning visitors every summer. This guide brings together everything you need…

Pistoletto Meets Saint Francis: “Franciscus” at Rocca Maggiore

3-Day Rome Itinerary Near the Vatican: What to Do When It Rains in September

Day 1: Discovering the Vatican and Rome’s Wonders Begin your itinerary with a visit to the Vatican . We recommend arriving early to avoid the crowds. Don’t miss the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel , where you can admire the masterpieces of Michelangelo. If the weather isn’t on your side, don’t worry: the indoor…

Budget Rome: Where to Eat Near the Vatican Without Compromising on Taste

Visiting Rome on a budget doesn’t mean ending up in the usual fast-food chains. In fact, just a short walk from the Vatican there are trattorias and osterie serving authentic Roman dishes at prices that are still reasonable. Here are 4 unmissable addresses: from the rustic osteria where there’s no printed menu, to the creative…

Restoration of the Quattro Cancelli Sculptures: Rediscovering History

The Vatican Museums and the Quattro Cancelli Sculptures The Vatican Museums, custodians of countless works of art, recently completed a restoration project on a group of fourteen sculptures and sarcophagi known as the “quattro cancelli” (four gates). This corpus of statues stands in the Atrium of the Four Gates and represents an important record of…

In Umbria You Cry Three Times…

Anyone who has been to Umbria knows it well: here you cry three times. The first time, when you arrive and are swept away by the beauty of the landscapes, the medieval villages and that authentic stillness that feels as though it comes from another era. The second time, when it is time to leave:…

Italian Open Tennis: Foro Italico is Rome’s Living Room in May

In Rome, May means one thing: the Internazionali. For two weeks, the Foro Italico, the sports complex built by Mussolini, with sixty marble athlete statues lining the banks of the Tiber, becomes something that New York, Paris and London can only dream of. Stadio Pietrangeli Court number two is considered the most beautiful…

Calendimaggio: When Assisi Steps Back into the Middle Ages

There is a moment when Assisi stops being the city of Saint Francis and becomes something else entirely. It happens every year on the first Thursday after 1 May, when the bells call everyone to the “Cerimonia delle Corti” and for three days history rewinds. The two Parti On one side the Parte de Sopra,…