Italy Archives

Arab-Norman Palermo: Monreale, Cappella Palatina and Sicily’s Layered Past

Arab-Norman Palermo: Monreale, Cappella Palatina and Sicily’s Layered Past The Norman Palace (Palazzo dei Normanni), seen from above at golden hour. Step inside the Cappella Palatina in Palermo’s Norman Palace and three artistic traditions collide in a single room: Byzantine gold mosaics covering the walls, an Arabic muqarnas ceiling carved into a honeycomb of painted […]

Nuragic Civilization of Sardinia: Su Nuraxi, Tombs of the Giants and Island Heritage

Nuragic Civilization of Sardinia: Su Nuraxi and Tombs of the Giants A nuraghe stands watch over Sardinia’s interior — evidence of a building tradition more than 3,500 years old. Long before Rome existed, Sardinia’s interior was dotted with thousands of drystone towers built by a people who left no written record of themselves. We call […]

The Valley of the Temples: Agrigento’s Greek Ruins in Sicily, Italy

The Valley of the Temples: A Guide to Agrigento’s Greek Legacy The Valley of the Temples ridge at Agrigento, Sicily, at golden hour. On a limestone ridge above Sicily’s southern coast, the Valley of the Temples preserves one of the finest collections of Greek architecture anywhere outside Greece itself. Seven Doric temples, raised by the […]

Things to Do in Sardinia Beyond the Beach: Cagliari, Nora and Barumini

Things to Do in Sardinia Beyond the Beach: Cagliari, Nora and Barumini Sardinia’s dramatic coastline is only part of the story — the island’s history runs far inland. Sardinia’s coastline draws most of the attention, but the island’s real depth lies inland and in its cities. Cagliari’s hilltop citadel, the Roman ruins at Nora, and […]

Sardinia Itinerary for Cultural Travellers: Cagliari to Alghero, Italy

Sardinia Itinerary for Cultural Travellers: Cagliari to Alghero, Italy Cagliari’s waterfront and old town, the starting point of this Sardinia itinerary. Most visitors to Sardinia arrive for the coastline and never get much further than it. A route built around Cagliari, Nora, Barumini and Alghero asks something different of the traveller: patience with a landscape […]

Best Time to Visit Sicily, Italy: Weather, Festivals & Touring

Best Time to Visit Sicily, Italy: Weather, Festivals & Touring The Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, in spring morning light with almond blossom in the foreground. Sicily rewards travellers who choose their season carefully. Arrive in the wrong month and you’re touring the Valley of the Temples under a punishing midday sun, watching shops shutter […]

Mediterranean Islands Itinerary: Malta, Sicily, Sardinia & Corsica

A 25-Day Mediterranean Islands Itinerary: Malta, Sicily, Sardinia & Corsica for Mature Travellers From Valletta’s Baroque harbour to Corsica’s mountain citadels, this itinerary layers four distinct island histories into a single route. Four islands, four very different histories, and one sea that has connected them for three thousand years — that is the premise behind […]

A Sicily Itinerary for Culture Lovers: Noto to Palermo, Italy

A Sicily Itinerary for Culture Lovers: Noto, Syracuse, Agrigento and Palermo Most Sicily itineraries are built around the coastline — a string of beach towns loosely connected by a hire car. The route that actually makes sense of the island runs the other way, through the Baroque squares of Noto, the Greek ruins of Syracuse, […]

Assisi, Italy

Lying amid Umbria’s rolling plains is the city of Assisi, best known as the birthplace of Saint Francis, Italy’s patron saint and founder of the Franciscan order.

Empires in World History

A History of Empires Throughout the World The history of human civilisation has been for the most part a history of empire. The term empire refers to the rule by a particular group in a…

The Rise of Venice

Gondolas on narrow canal in Venice, Italy

The Birth of Venice Italy The floating city of Venice has a long history dating from the sixth century CE, when it emerged following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. As successive waves of Germanic and Hunnic invasions tore through northern Italy, they sparked a refugee crisis, with many fleeing to the safety of […]

Caesar and Cleopatra in Egypt: Politics, Power, and the Nile

Caesar and Cleopatra in Egypt: Politics, Power, and the Nile When Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 BCE, Egypt was already teetering on the edge of civil war — and the encounter that followed between the Roman dictator and the exiled queen Cleopatra VII would reshape the ancient world. Their alliance, built on mutual […]

Bologna, Italy

Bologna Italy Tours & History Bologna city, capital of and largest city of the Emilia Romagna region in Northern Italy, might not be as popular a destination as other Italian cities like Rome and Venice. But for those who are in the know, the city offers unparalleled experiences in art, architecture, and cuisine. The city […]

Pisa & Genoa, Italy

Rise of Pisa and Genoa Maritime Republics A view of Pisa’s Cathedral Square, featuring the Cathedral, the Tower and the Baptistery, taken just after sunrise.

Amalfi, Italy

With a single main street winding upwards, and tiny alleyways that duck under and through its buildings, Amalfi seems like an unlikely rival to the great Italian maritime republics of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa. And yet, between roughly 850 and 1100, the town served as the capital of the Duchy of Amalfi, a militaristic and economic powerhouse that dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade, before being superseded by the other maritime republics of the North.

Gondolas and the Bells of Venice

The gondola (or Gondole) is the most famous and unique Venetian boat and was first mentioned in a document at the end of the 11 th century. It is believed that the gondolas were used long before they were documented, and their origins traced back to Malta, Turkey or Avignon. All gondolas are black since, in 1609, a decree was issued, and it was declared that a gondola of Venice’s waterways could only be painted in black.

Italian Renaissance Families: The Medicis

Statue of Cosimo I of Medici, in front of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

This blog is part of a series on five influential Italian Renaissance families that shaped Italy, especially during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is based on both our Italian Renaissance Summer School course, and our Small Group Tour of Italy, structured around the story of these five families. The Medici Family Today, the legacy […]

Venetian pallozzo

How the Guggenhein Venice, eventually became a gallery “There is a fine historical irony in the fact that a building designed to glorify a patriarchal dynasty, and one that had been left to rot once that dynasty crumbled, was eventually rescued from obscurity by three independent single women.” (Mackrell, J 2017, The Unfinished Palazzo, […]

Carnivals of Venice

The Doge and the council encouraged Venice to extend itself beyond a trading centre of Europe. The threats from Constantinople, Crete, Genoa, Pisa and Almafi as alternative places to conduct trade to and from where real, potential destroyers of the wealth that the merchant houses of Venice sought to protect. The move to early tourism […]

Pilgrims and the Merchants in Venice.

From the Middle Ages to the present day, Venice has been a magnet for tourists who want to experience Venetian history by marvelling at grandiose architecture, stunning waterways and, of course, the famous Venice carnival.

Venice and its Merchants

The Venetian state – a commerce and industry hub that was once the wealthiest and most influential centre of Europe for hundreds of years.

Small-group travel, thoughtfully paced

Category: Italy