History & culture

Textiles in Renaissance Painting

June 2017 |
Textiles were an important and expensive commodity in most affluent homes in Renaissance Italy. An inventory made in 1600 of the Florentine noblewoman, Camilla Magalotti, following the death of her husband, reveals no less than 929 braccia (1,771...

Italy's Republic Day

June 2017 |
Il 2 giugno segna il 71 ° anniversario della Repubblica Italiana. In quel giorno, milioni di italiani, in patria e all’estero, si fermeranno per commemorare solennemente il significato di un evento  che, forse ormai lontano nel...

St. Benedict’s Feast: Banners Waive Despite Destruction

June 2017 |
Only the facade of the Basilica dedicated to St. Benedict still stands in Norcia following the earthquake of October 30, 2016: a sobering backdrop to the celebration of his feast day this year. Declared “Patron Saint of Europe” by Pope...

Honoring Padres and St. Joseph: What it Means to Celebrate Father's Day

June 2017 |
Father's Day is a holiday known around the world as a day to celebrate fathers and fatherhood while strengthening the bond between fathers and their family. Celebrated in nearly 50 countries globally, this holiday started with the Spanish and...

Jacopo Sansovino, Renaissance Sculptor and Architect

May 2017 |
Jacopo d’Antonio Sansovino (1486-1570) was a master sculptor and architect traditionally credited with introducing the style of the High Renaissance into Venice. He is best known for his works in and around the Piazza San Marco in that city....

Good Friday in Trapani Sicily / Venerdi Santo a Trapani Sicilia

April 2017 |
Every year on Good Friday, the longest religious display in Italy (lasting 24 hours) and repeated among the oldest year after year (400 years), takes place in Trapani, and many tourists pay a special visit.  This Procession of the Mysteries...

Easter and its eggs

April 2017 |
In Italy, eggs are traditionally presented as an Easter gift. Nowadays, "Easter eggs" are made of milk chocolate or dark chocolate and hide inside a small surprise for the youngest; however, in the past, they were simple eggs perhaps decorated with...

Italian Illuminators in Paris

April 2017 |
Il “Libro delle Ore” comprende la raccolta delle ore liturgiche per i diversi periodi dell’anno e consiste nel canto di salmi, cantici e inni, con l’aggiunta di preghiere e letture dalla Sacra Scrittura. Per secoli, in...

The U.S. Italian Community and the Immigration Act of 1924

March 2017 |
In 1924, Congressman Albert Johnson and Senator David Reed introduced and helped pass an act of Congress that drastically reduced immigration from Southern, Central and Eastern Europe. As one of the targets of the legislation, immigrants from Italy...
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