Nothing merits the title of a “ghost town” like Fabbriche di Careggine. Its recent history is well-known. In 1947, it was decided that one of the banks of the river Edron, in the Garfagnana, would be pulled down near the village of Vagli. The aim was to exploit the hydroelectric potential of the area. The deed was done, and the 146 inhabitants of Fabbriche di Careggine had to flee: they moved to Vagli di Sotto, which they shaped to look like the town they had left.

Put like that, it ...

Not everyone might know that Italy is the second largest producer of caviar in the world. Caviar of such quality, indeed, that even in Russia it is eaten with gusto. It’s even more surprising when you consider that fifty years ago the sturgeon, the fish that gives us caviar, was virtually extinct in Italian waters.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The sturgeon, or rather, some of the 27 known species of sturgeon, used to thrive in Italian rivers. It featured in many an ancient Roman banquet. The fact ...

Even compared to the thousands of other jewels in Italy’s crown, the island of Ponza shines with a blazing light, and not only because of the striking whiteness of much of its rock. So much beauty and wonder is enclosed within these few square kilometers of land: historic ruins, panoramas that rob you of your breath, and even traces of humankind make for an island not only unique, but irreplaceable. It’s hardly surprising that Ponza has been used as a set for dozens of films, long and short, documentaries, TV ...

If there is one dish for which Italy can claim sole and complete credit, without fear of cavil or contradiction, it’s risotto. And that’s despite the fact that rice-growing is anything but an ancient practice here – it really only took off in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the Cavour Canal was dug in Piedmont to irrigate Novara, Vercelli, all the way to Lomellina. And it’s despite the fact that the most popular varieties of rice, Carnaroli and Vialone Nano, are not autochthonous but ...

September is the month that marks the end of summer, and the return to work or to school. It’s a month of new beginnings, of great expectations, and bit of trepidation about what the future holds. In Tuscany, September is also the month of the grape harvest, the event that immediately comes to mind when you think of winemaking. This magical meeting of humanity and nature has filled books, poems, paintings and films. In countryside traditions, the moment when the last grape is plucked from the vine is the moment the party ...