Every year, the city of Lucca celebrates The Festa di Santa Croce. As expected, last year’s event was canceled but this year it was brought back, although on a smaller scale. The events begin on the evening of September 13 with the Cross di …

Every year, the city of Lucca celebrates The Festa di Santa Croce. As expected, last year’s event was canceled but this year it was brought back, although on a smaller scale. The events begin on the evening of September 13 with the Cross di …
Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a beautiful church in Florence, Italy. It is located very close to the railway station named after it. The church has a magnificent facade inlaid with green and white marble. The price of admission …
The 4th Largest Cathedral The 4th largest cathedral in the world is located in Florence Italy. Florence’s cathedral is the fourth largest in the world after Saint Peter’s (Rome), Saint Paul’s (London), and the Duomo in Milan (Italy). The cathedral …
The Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is found in Florence, Italy, and spans over the narrowest point of the Arno River. The bridge is made of wood and stone and dates back to the Roman era. It is …
Piazza della Signoria The Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square located in front of the Palazzo Vecchio and was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio. The building is beautiful and amazing. Look at the different …
Gallerie dell’Accademia The Gallerie dell’Accademia is a museum of pre-19th-century art in Venice. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the section of Dorsoduro. It is a beautiful location for a …
Modica, Sicily – what’s so special about this town… other than it’s our surname? Modica is old – in fact, extremely old. But there is a charm about this town with homes all in a creamy yellow color. They seem …
We walked past il Mercato several times on our first trip to Florence and never did find it! Even though the building is huge – perhaps a football field in length, it is hidden by the street vendors of San …
Spoleto, Italy We weren’t sure what to expect when arriving in this small medieval town. We hadn’t seen photographs or heard much about it. It was, however, conveniently on our train line when staying in Arezzo in Umbria. We looked …
Trento, Italy Gary and I stayed one night in Trento at a lovely B&B located across the street from the castle. We stopped here during our train trip to Innsbruck, Austria. We were staying in Verona at the time and …
The Pantheon The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, now a church, located in Rome, Italy. Because the Pantheon was turned into a church, it was kept remarkably well preserved. There is no fee to enter and go back in time. …
Top 20 Italian Surnames Have you ever wondered what are the most common Italian surnames and where your family’s surname came from? I know I have and as a matter of fact, I thought my surname “Modica” came from the …