10 Favorite Reads on Italy this week: July 11

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: Stunning view from the ancient Greek theatre in Taormina.

This week’s roundup includes a beautiful story about ceramic artisans in Umbria, the consequences of mass travel in Italy, beautiful photos from Abruzzo, cooking with herbs and more.

Culture and Travel

Letter from Umbria | A Storied Ceramics Workshop Where Visiting Artists Can Get to Work by NY Times – Beautiful read and we are all for artisans.

What Rome’s Arch-Enemies Wore Into Battle by Forbes – Fascinating find recovered from the site of the Battle of the Egadi Islands, northwest of Sicily.

Postcards from Abruzzo by Domenica Cooks – From the mountains to the sea and so many stunning sceneries in between, the region of Abruzzo remains unexplored by most international visitors.

A new dawn for the Mezzogiorno? by BBC Travel – Personally, I absolutely think so as more and more international visitors are flocking to regions in the south. This is also credited to efforts by regional tourism boards that are more active in promoting their region.

Where has all the glamour gone? by Sydney Morning Herald – I couldn’t agree more with this article especially as spending the last few days in Positano, I’ve seen mass visitors coming to Positano by ferry for the day from neighboring towns and maybe even from the cruise ships that stop in Salerno. The same for Venice, just hordes of visitors and while I agree it does help the economy, I too think that the “mass has overwhelmed the individual experience of some places”.

Food and Drinks

Harvesting herbs for cooking, in Pistoia by Tuscanycious – It’s while reading these posts that I wish there was a feature that allowed you to get a sniff of an article. The scent would be heavenly.

Why July is my special month and a lemon polenta cake by Juls’ Kitchen – This post had me at lemon. Especially in summer, any lemon recipe gets my attention.

Talking To: Sommelier Diego Meraviglia by Italy Magazine – Great insights into the current situation of Italian wine in North America and the tips on upcoming Italian regions and wines. For more on Italian wines, here are more articles on wines from the different regions in Italy. 

Life in Italy

Crazy Fun at Spoleto’s Corsa dei Vaporetti by Brigolante – This must be outrageously fun! Small hill top towns sure know how to come up with some of the most creative ways to entertain themselves. I first heard about the Corsa dei Vaporetti during a visit to Paciano, another hill top town in Umbria, which also has a similar event. However, it wasn’t scheduled during the time we were there. See what I mean about hill top towns being creative?

Exploring Castiglione della Pescaia and Finally Jumping Into a Sunflower Patch by Tiana Kai – I’ve always wanted to jump into a sunflower patch too! And if you are looking to plant yourself on a beach in Italy this summer, Castiglione della Pescaia is a charming town boasting Italy’s most eco friendly beach. 

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