10 Favorite Reads on Italy this week: July 25

Favorite Reads on Italy (FRI) is a weekly roundup published on Fridays featuring interesting articles, fascinating experiences, and handy resources that I’ve come across that week.

Postcard from Italy: Piazza San Benedetto in Norcia, Umbria

This week’s roundup includes a list of some places in Italy you have to visit at least once, events in Italy in August, tips for traveling on a budget in Umbria, dealing with Italian teenagers and more.

Culture and Travel

37 Places You Need To Visit In Italy by Business Insider Australia – How many of these places have you visited?

Sir Michael Caine and Julie Christie join celebrities calling for Venice cruise ship ban by Telegraph – A controversial issue in Venice, as the cruise ship industry generates significant revenues for Venice, celebrities are now joining in to call for a ban.

Costa Concordia is towed away to Genoa for scrap by BBC News – A massive operation that finally sees the wrecked Costa Concordia being towed away from Giglio to Genoa.

How to do Umbria, Italy, on a budget by Guardian Travel – One of our favorite regions filled with art treasures, great food and wine, charming hilltop towns, natural beauty and more, there’s no reason not to visit Umbria. If you are planning a trip to Umbria, check out these handy guides on Orvieto and Todi.

A quick guide to the  Giostra Cavalleresca di Sulmona by Welcome to Sulmona – The highlight of Sulmona’s event calendar, this Medieval jousting tournament takes place in the region of Abruzzo this weekend and ends the first Sunday of August. A lot of fanfare that makes for an unforgettable experience.

Wine Tourism Mega Hit: Just Add The Music by Forbes – A four-day event in Barolo to ring in summer with food, wine and music. A huge success and one that is getting more popular every year. Read more about the Collisioni Festival by Wine Pass on this site.

Food and Drinks

Top 10 summer food festivals in Tuscany by The Florentine – It’s not much of a summer we are having here in Italy with frequent rain showers but at least we can still enjoy the food festivals. If you are in Tuscany, check these out. It will give you an authentic taste of life in Italy.

Coffee Semifreddo in Trieste by Ciao Chow Linda – Lovely post covering delicious food and stunning sights to see in Trieste. Linda also includes a recipe for coffee semifreddo that I’ll be trying out soon.

Life in Italy

What’s on in Italy 2014 by Italy Magazine – A lot going on in August in Italy: festivals, music events, films, processions and more. Here’s a handy resource.

Mozza Mamma meets Italian Teenage Summer by Trisha Thomas – It’s been a while since I had a good laugh reading a post and this had me cracking up. I can imagine it must be an extremely challenging period for Trisha having to deal with three teenagers and feel for her. As for the bikinis and pieces hanging out, that’s why I buy mine when I’m in the US – no brazilians! Good luck Trisha!

Have you come across any great reads or resources on Italy this week? Share them with us in the comments below.