According to Italian legend, on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5th), a little witch known as La Befana delivers presents and goodies to all the good children throughout Italy. She swoops down chimneys on her broomstick, and if …
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Il Giorno di Santo Stefano In Italy, St. Stephen’s Day (il Giorno di Santo Stefano) is a national public holiday. Celebrated on December 26, the day after Christmas, Italians honor the saint – the very first martyr ever recorded …
Ancient Origins Italian Madonnelle – or street shrines – can trace their origins as far back as ancient Rome. The tradition began with ancient lares (paintings or statues of domestic Roman deities) placed at crossroads (or compita) to guard …
Italy is at its most magical during the Christmas season. From the twinkling lights to the Christmas markets to roasted chestnuts and other seasonal delights, there is no better place to be than Italy during the holiday season! How Long …
When the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger” in 1888, I am fairly certain that he did not necessarily have microbiology or virology in mind. Yet, his Darwinian idiom was very much …
For years now, I have been using the frequent historical epidemics that originated in China as a way to illustrate to my students how things have changed very little over the last 700 years. That is, since the “Mother …
All too often, I hear people describing their travel experiences using the verb “to do” – e.g. “After the Colosseum, we did the Vatican Museums….”; “Last summer we visited Italy and we did Rome, Florence and Venice”; “After we visit …