Once a year in the month of May, the town of Fossombrone celebrates il Trionfo del Carnevale. Based on a one-time Carnival hosted by a 16th century Duke, Giulio Della Rovere, the festivities are carried out in a three-day event recreating the details of the historic event in authentic Renaissance costumes, competitions, markets and food of the period. Relive the Renaissance in Fossombrone by attending this annual historic carnival.
Get ready for the holidays with Etsy’s top six holiday trends. From tree trimming, hosting holiday parties and thoughtful gift giving, these are the trends that will help get you in the holiday spirit and make the prepping easy.
The second half of this year’s Italian Cultural Capital, Brescia, is a show-stopping city with the largest Roman architectural remains in northern Italy, a vibrant cultural scene and breathtaking nature. A first time visit starts in the historic centre where we explore the city’s four main piazzas
A look at the history of pandoro and the city where it originated, Verona. The mastery involved to make an artisanal pandoro and a tour of the best places to find one in Verona.
A gastronomical and wine tour of Tuscany during the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend qualifies as an unforgettable, unbeatable way to celebrate the holiday outside of Canada. I also discovered that a fall stay in Chianti Classico country is one of the best times of the year to visit Italy
Once a year in the month of May, the town of Fossombrone celebrates il Trionfo del Carnevale. Based on a one-time Carnival hosted by a 16th century Duke, Giulio Della Rovere, the festivities are carried out in a three-day event recreating the details of the historic event in authentic Renaissance costumes, competitions, markets and food of the period. Relive the Renaissance in Fossombrone by attending this annual historic carnival.
It’s safe to say we all remember the moment the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Where you were, who you were with, the sudden burst of thoughts and emotions that the declaration thrust upon you. Suddenly confined to an inordinate amount of time at home, in between the blur of Netflix bingeing and Zoom meetings, I remember watching the news, incredulous of how severely the Lombardy region was affected by the pandemic, in particular two cities relatively unknown outside of Italy: Bergamo and Brescia. Those hard-hitting scenes of countless trucks transporting an unspeakable drove of the dead to crematoriums in nearby cities—personally, it is one of those indelible moments forever etched in my reservoir of pandemic memories.
Those two cities which were put on the international map during a tragedy have fortunately risen from the ashes after three years and are jointly celebrating their title as Italian Cultural Capital this year.
For the first time since the initiative launched in 2014, the Italian Government awarded the honour to two cities united in their desire to “Grow Together.” The merging of two centres with two million residents between them, about 40 minutes apart, into one single thriving metropolitan is slated to be Bergamo’s and Brescia’s Renaissance, thanks to the firm determination of their respective mayors, Giorgio Gori (Bergamo) and Emilio Del Bono (Brescia) who put forward the unique proposal devised to relaunch the two Lombardian cities after the dramatic pandemic crisis.
“Pop the Bubble” is the tagline for the official Italian cultural capital campaign, in Italian, “Esci dalla Bolla.” Video is in English.
United in changing the territory through culture, the tagline for these two northern Italian cities rich in history, culture, art, nature and landscape is “Pop the Bubble” (Esci dalla Bolla) inviting people to come and discover the abundance of hidden treasures in these up-until-now satellite cities that have always been in the shadow of major destinations like Milan and Lake Como. The packed program this year of 100 major projects and 500 initiatives spanning art exhibitions, music festivals, public square installations, opera performances, re-openings of historical museums and art galleries, will make both locations a not-to-be-missed destination when in Lombardy in 2023 and beyond.
Festival of Lights
Photo by Gianfranco Rota
Teatro Donizetto, Bergamo
Music Festival in Brescia
In the next two blog posts, we travel to the bi-cultural capital and uncover if only but a few of its countless gems.
Whether you visit Bergamo & Brescia this year while they hold the cultural spotlight or not, you won’t ever be hard-pressed to satisfy your love of culture, art, history and theatre, all while enjoying a delectable local gastronomy and raising your glass to a thriving enological tradition.
After all, at the foothills of Lake Iseo in the Brescian province, surrounded by dense woodlands and soaring peaks, is the sparkling region of Franciacorta!
NB. Upon discovering the lesser-known bubbly from this region, it quickly became my favourite, trumping my go-to glass of Prosecco. Cin cin.
Vineyards in Franciacorta
Credit: Franciacorta DOCG
Beyond the abundance of culture in this year’s double-jointed cultural capital is a nature lover’s paradise complete with hiking and cycling trails—a veritable playground for outdoor enthusiasts and dolce far niente travellers alike.
For information on the cultural capital, go to Bergamo Brescia 2023
The Phlegraean island of Procida is the Italian Cultural Capital of 2022. It’s the first time an island has won this title. How is this mere four kilometre island preparing for the honour? I talk with Procida 2022 Director, Agostino Riitano, to find out how this humble, under the radar island off the Bay of Naples is getting ready for its closeup this year.
