The Liberation Day in Milan

April 25 is an important day and a national holiday in Italy, marking the end of WWII, the fall of the Fascist regime and the liberation from German troops that still occupied much of Northern Italy in the final days of the war. This event is considered particularly important in Milan, which was the place where the final insurrection against …

Photographing Sicily, Part I

Sicily is arguably the Italian region with the most varied historical past. Over the centuries, it was ruled by Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, French, Spaniards, and Austrians, before becoming part of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies and finally Italy, after the unification of the country in 1861. All of those dominations left indelible traces in the region’s …

Rediscovering Italy: a Road Trip Travelogue

What do you do when travel abroad is severely restricted during a global pandemic? One thing you can still do, in most cases, is to travel around your own country, and this is what I did this year. Instead of taking one or more trips abroad, as I usually do every year, I decided to embark on a two-week road …

Odle / Geisler, Dolomites

A Hike To The Seceda

The name Seceda denotes the westernmost peak along the ridgeline that divides the Val Gardena (Gröden) from the Val di Funes (Villnoßtal) and that culminates with the Odle (Geisler) mountains, part of the Puez-Odle group in the Dolomites. On the southern side, this ridge degrades gently with green lawns dotted with mountain huts, but on the northern side it drops …

Fall Colors in the Dolomites

I believe the Dolomites are the most beautiful mountains in the world. Convince me otherwise. To be honest, I haven’t see the Canadian Rockies or the New Zealand Alps in person, so I might change my mind when I get there, but until I do I’ll stick to my judgment. I will still come back to the Dolomites more often, …

The Best of Italy in Two Weeks, Part II

I recently had the pleasure of taking part as a guest pro in M&M Photography Tours’ Best of Italy photo tour. In the past two weeks this has led me, together with M&M’s founder Mike Gulbraa and some wonderful guests, to some of my favorite locations around my home country. We visited Venice, Burano, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, the Cinque Terre, the …

The Best of Italy in Two Weeks

I recently had the pleasure of taking part as a guest pro in M&M Photography Tours’ Best of Italy photo tour. In the past two weeks this has led me, together with M&M’s founder Mike Gulbraa and some wonderful guests, to some of my favorite locations around my home country. We visited Venice, Burano, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, the Cinque Terre, …

Passport of Seborga

Seborga, a village that is its own country

by Pia Parolin On the occasion of a 50 year anniversary of a friend, we wanted to organise something really special with a group of ladies. And in the year 2019, is there something more romantic than being received by a prince? And furthermore, receiving a passport of one of the smallest micro nations in the world? All of this …

Trani Harbour at twilight

Postcards from Apulia

Apulia (Puglia in Italian) is Italy’s southeasternmost region, corresponding to the heel of the boot that the Italian peninsula resembles, and it’s a region of amazing beauty and traditions. For some unfathomable reason, I had only been there as a teenager, then only in its capital city, Bari, in a couple occasions when I was traveling for work and I …

Panorama of Matera at night

Matera, the City Hewn Into the Rock

Matera might not be the first place that comes to mind when one thinks of Italy, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be overlooked when doing a tour of its southern part, because it is stunning and absolutely unique. To begin with, Matera is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited settlements in the world, having been called home by people …