BrowsingItaly Sharing stories, experiences, photos, tips and all things good on Italy
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: Camp de’ Fiori market in Rome
This week’s roundup includes the return of the wreck cruise liner Costa Concordia to Genoa, use of Google Glass in an opera house, markets in Italy, insights into how Venice stays afloat, and more.
Culture and Travel
Floods at the Verona arena hit Italian opera-goers by The Guardian – It’s been a wet summer and there are ideas of having a detachable cover for the Verona arena as performances have been affected by the unusual weather situation.
Humble, ambitious Nibali had early cycling dream by Fox Sports – Congratulations to Nibali for winning the Tour de France! All the sacrifices finally paid off.
Costa Concordia comes home to die by Telegraph – An unprecedent as well as costly operation that brought the Costa Concordia back to Genoa where it was made, and now will be dismantled. The time lapse video is pretty neat.
Capri’s 10 Must-See Art Galleries and Museums by Culture Trip – Better known as the destination for the rich and famous, and bursting with natural beauty, Capri is not only all about beaches.
How Venice Stays Afloat by Conde Nast Traveler – Fascinating insights shared by a marine scientist in Venice.
Google (Opera) Glass Makes Debut in Puccini’s Turandot in Italy by Wall Street Journal – An interesting initiative to attract younger audiences, the opera house in Cagliari, Sardinia, is trying this out.
Avoid the crowds at these little known, picture perfect Italian port towns by Yahoo Travel – While most visitors head to the known coastal towns, Italy is studded with many more charming towns still under the radar. For example Ponza, in the region of Lazio is still beautifully wild!
Digital Duomo: Touring Florence by smartphone by CNN – Can you visit Florence only with a smartphone? Congratulations to TooMuchTuscany for the mentioned of her app in this article. Check out her post on this site: “Show and Tell”: Mugello, Tuscany.
Food and Drinks
15 markets in Italy you have to visit by Swide – We love markets, the vibrant energy and colors make for a great experience. From antiques to fish to just about everything check out these markets if you are visiting Italy. And if you want to make the most of your experience, here are some good tips on open-markets in Italy.
Life in Italy
August in Italy: chiuso per ferie by ArtTrav – Simply put, Italy shuts down in August. Most residents head to the beach or mountain often to seek refuge from the stifling summer heat. However, this summer has been unusually rainy and much cooler and maybe that’s the reason, as I have noticed today, why Rome is still bustling? If you are in Rome this month, here’s a handy article on places to eat in Rome that will be open.
Have you come across any great reads or resources on Italy this week? Share them with us in the comments below.
Wow, i am in seriously good company this week! many thanks for including my August article. It is actually from last year, and the update is that while last year I took 2 weeks of holiday, this year I am taking only one. We have a ton of work to do, and August is a great time to get it done! Plus you feel like a martyr doing it 🙂
I am going to have a party at Easy Living beach on the arno on August 20 for florence-residents “who stayed”. The theme might be martyrs, but as that’s difficult, I’ll go with a beach theme. If any Browsing Italy readers are around, come! It’ll be announced on The Florentine’s Facebook.
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra, that post is evergreen and accurately depicts life in Italy. I will only be taking a 9-day vacation and then weekends away to visit family. To be honest, to don’t mind spending August in Rome as it’s the quietest period and nowadays not everything closes down. I will be on the look out for your beach party announcement. That sounds like fun!