Cycling in Tuscany, Italy

Life as an Exchange Student in Northern Italy

Italy - The Cinque Terra, Lake Como and Milan

The Amateur Traveler talks to Ira Bernstein about two lesser visited cities in Italy - Turin and Bologna. Turin has the reputation as the Detroit of Italy because of its long association with Fiat but that nickname does not express the beauty of the city, the warmth of its people nor the quality of its wine. Bologna has a reputation for good food in a country known for its good food which may be one of the reasons that Bologna is known as "the fat". The city is the home of bolognese sauce and lasagna. It also lays claim to one of the oldest if not the oldest university in Europe. Ira takes us on a tour of surprising museums (like the largest Egyptian museum outside Cairo), pivotal history and of course wonderful food. 

The Amateur Traveler talks to Italophile Ira Bernstein who returns to the show to talk about day trips in Tuscany that you can take from Florence. We talk about visiting the walled city of Siena and its famous bareback horse race the palio, viewing the many towers of San Gimignano, climbing the leaning tower of Pisa (after you take the obligatory picture of someone holding it up), and walking on the walls of Lucca. Each town has its own character and attractions. Arezzo has a jewelry museum and the home of the “Father of Humanism” Petrarch. Fiesole is a rich enclave, a suburb of Florence with views of the city and a roman theatre. Montepulciano and Montalcino are both known for their wines. Ira talks about some of the events that the locals enjoy like the palios, flea markets and flag throwing competitions. So even if you just get as far out of Florence as Piazzale Michelangelo there are many places to explore in Tuscany.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jessica Spiegel of BootsNAll’s Italy blog “Why Go Italy” and the Eye on Italy podcast about one of her favorite cities in Italy: Milan. Jessica tells us about the fashion industry, the spectacular cathedral, and the first mall as well as some quiet neighborhoods and parks. She also tells us how far in advance you should get tickets to see Leonardo di Vinci’s Last Supper, what to expect when you watch soccer in Italy, and what to do when you see movie stars walking down the streets of Milan. We talk about wonderful Italian people and the joys of learning Italian.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Rebecca about her adopted home of Umbria in Italy. Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy. Perhaps less well known than its neighbor of Tuscany to the North Umbria is a verdant region of hill towns, farms and national parks located in the center of Italy.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Antonello Losito from Southern Visions Travel about his native region of Puglia (Apulia) in Italy. Puglia is the boot of Italy and does not get the same number of tourists as Northern Italy. But Antonello recommends his rugged coastline and mountain towns as a way to see the Italy that “most American’s picture”.

Hear about travel to the South Tyrol region of Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Alison and Andrew Cornford-Matheson from CheeseWeb.eu about their recent trip to this lovely region in Northern Italy. This predominantly German speaking region of Italy includes portions of the Dolomites mountain range, a wine road and some great vistas.

Hear about travel to Lazio, Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Nancy Parode from about.com and sixtyandme.com about one of her favorite regions in Italy. Lazio is the region of Italy that includes Rome but this episode will feature all the things outside of Rome.

Hear about travel to Naples and the Amalfi Coast in Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Beth Rubin from SelectItaly.com about how to plan a trip to this beautiful region. 

Hear about travel to Sardinia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Max Hartshorne from gonomad.com about this off the beaten path part of Italy. 

Hear about travel to Mantua, Verona, Padua Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gina Mussio from ginamussio.com about these wonderful cities in her adopted country.

Hear about travel to the Island of Sicily in Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Barbara Riedel from barbaralicious.com about the home of her mother's family and the "home of her heart".

Hear about travel to Mantua, Verona, Padua Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gina Mussio from ginamussio.com about these wonderful cities in her adopted country.

Hear about travel to Barolo and the Piedmont region of Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Betsy and Greg Ball from eurotravelcoach.com about this wine region that they love.

Hear about travel to the Le Marche Region of Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Chantelle and Giovanni from theitalianontour.com about this off the beaten path destination.

Dr Paola Subacchi, director of Chatham House’s International Economics Department, has been awarded the prestigious Order of the Star of Italy.

Faced with a lack of employment opportunities and recurrent poverty, Albanian youth migrate to Italy alone in the hopes of improving their educational prospects or making money for their families. Yet upon arrival, they face many vulnerabilities. While some protections for unaccompanied minors exist in the Italy, the system is greatly fragmented and challenges, including how to return them to Albania, remain persistent.

Bangladeshis in 2017 suddenly emerged as one of the top migrant groups entering Europe illegally. While Europe is a new destination, Bangladeshi labor migration has been an important part of the country's development since the 1970s, with growing numbers heading abroad, largely to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This article explores and contextualizes the new phenomenon of Bangladeshi migration to Europe.

The Trump administration failed to conduct effective screening of passengers from South Korea and Italy for the coronavirus when those countries were experiencing rapid expansion in COVID-19 cases.

Long a country of emigration—13 million Italians went abroad between 1880 and 1915—Italy has also experienced significant inflows of Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan African workers in recent decades. Italy has also been on the frontlines of Europe's refugee crisis. This country profile examines Italy's shifting migration patterns, policy responses over time, and debates.

München [Munich] : Jos. Albert K.B. Hof-Photograph, [1860]

[London], [between 1820 and 1829?]

London (No. 90, Cheapside, & 8, Pall Mall) : Published ... by Hurst, Robinson & Co., March 1st. 1824.

London (No. 90, Cheapside, & 8, Pall Mall) : Published ... by Hurst, Robinson & Co., March 1st. 1824.

[London], [1824]

[Paris] : [de l'Imprimerie de Clousier], [between 1780 and 1789]

The next seminar in the 2017–18 History of Pre-Modern Medicine seminar series takes place on Tuesday 30 January. Speaker: Professor Guido Alfani (Bocconi University, Milan) Plague in Italy and Europe during the 17th century: epidemiology and impact Abstract: After many years of relative… Continue reading

Bank of Italy Working Papers by Eleonora Porreca and Alfonso Rosolia

Rome, Italy, May 7, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Dioceses in Italy can resume the celebration of public Masses beginning Monday, May 18, under conditions issued Thursday by the head of Italy’s bishops and by government officials.

The protocol for Mass and other liturgical celebrations states that churches must limit the number of people present – ensuring a one-meter (three feet) distance – and congregants must wear face masks. The church must also be cleaned and disinfected between celebrations.

For the distribution of the Eucharist, priests and other ministers of Holy Communion are asked to wear gloves and masks covering both the nose and mouth and to avoid contact with communicants’ hands.

The Diocese of Rome suspended public Masses March 8 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Several dioceses in hard-hit northern Italy, including Milan and Venice, had suspended public liturgies as early as the last week of February.

All public religious celebrations, including baptisms, funerals, and weddings, were prohibited during the Italian government’s lockdown, which went into effect March 9.

Funerals were allowed again beginning May 4. Public baptisms and weddings may now also resume in Italy starting May 18.

The protocol issued May 7 lays out the general directions for complying with health measures, such as the indication of a maximum capacity in a church based on maintaining at least one-meter distance between people.

Access to the church must be regulated to control the number present, it says, and the number of Masses can be increased to ensure social distancing.

The church should be cleaned and disinfected after every celebration and the use of worship aids such as hymnals is discouraged.

Church doors should be propped open before and after Mass to aid traffic flow and hand sanitizer must be available at entrances.

Among other suggestions, the Sign of Peace should be omitted, and holy water fonts kept empty, the protocol states.

The protocol was signed by Italian bishops’ conference president Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, Prime Minister and President of the Council Giuseppe Conte, and the Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese.

A note says the protocol was prepared by the Italian bishops’ conference and examined and approved by the government’s Technical-Scientific Committee for COVID-19.

April 26 Italy’s bishops had criticized Conte for failing to lift the ban on public Masses.

In a statement, the bishops’ conference denounced Conte’s decree on “phase 2” of Italy’s coronavirus restrictions, which it said, “arbitrarily excludes the possibility of celebrating Mass with the people.”

The prime minister’s office responded later the same night indicating that a protocol would be studied to allow “the faithful to participate in liturgical celebrations as soon as possible in conditions of maximum security.”

The Italian bishops issued a statement May 7 stating that the protocol for restarting public Masses “concludes a path that has seen collaboration between the Italian Episcopal Conference, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior.”

Italy has become the first European Union country to record more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths.

Italy, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Portugal, Spain, Kazakhstan and Russia joined hosts Slovenia in the finals by winning their main round groups while the eight play-off contenders are confirmed.

• Azzurri set #TheRulesOfTheGame for defeating COVID-19
• AS Roma’s foundation Roma Cares delivers care packs (containing essential food items and medical supplies such as face masks, protective gloves and hand sanitiser) to elderly season ticket holders

Spain and Italy will meet in Friday's FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-finals after winning their last-eight encounters, though Ukraine missed out following a defeat by Colombia.