With every eruption, towns such as Giarre experience an average of 12,000 tonnes of ashfall daily, which the wind can transport as far as 800km (497 miles). In July 2024, Catania Sicily's second-largest city, located at the foot of Mount Etna registered 17,000 tonnes of ash daily, which took nearly 10 weeks to collect.
Country of origin labeling became mandatory on all international products entering the United States in 2009. The goal was to ensure American consumers knew where the products they were buying came from, enabling shoppers to make informed buying decisions. These products include everything from Mexican avocados to French wine to pasta from Italy, with the latter thankfully safe from recent U.S. tariffs. However, does the location a product comes from actually matter?
A man in Catania, Sicily, trained his dog to dump bags of rubbish by the roadside in an attempt to evade cameras installed by local authorities to combat fly-tipping, municipal police have said. The episode was detailed in a Facebook post on the city of Catania's official page. Accompanying a video of the dog was a remark from the police that inventiveness can never become an alibi for incivility.
Italy's finest ski resorts are often overshadowed by their French and Swiss equivalents. Pity really, as their piste-side rifugi lunches are a divine alchemy of Mediterranean and Alpine cuisine, their hotels, chalets, sunny terrace lunches and ski passes sit at a more civilised price point than the wildly expensive Swiss and French resorts, and their well-connected ski areas wiggle across great swathes of map.
Pecorino Romano is one of the oldest cheeses in the world, with roots going back to Ancient Rome. But today, most of it is no longer made near Rome at all. In this episode, we visit I Buonatavola, one of the very last producers still making Pecorino Romano in Lazio, the cheese's original territory, to understand how global demand, especially from the United States, reshaped where and how this cheese is made. We explore the differences between Pecorino Romano made in Rome and the versions
Historically speaking, an osteria was a spartan, no-frills establishment where people would go to have a drink. The original osterias date all the way back to the Roman Empire. If you go to Ostia Antica or Pompeii, you find the osterias of the era. They were like bed-and-breakfasts, with rooms for rent above the dining room where people could listen to music.
Trying the oil, I found this cold-pressed EVOO's taste was superior to the others, noted flavors of freshly cut grass, wild artichoke, and fruity green apple. The mouthfeel of this oil was also a huge help in getting it the number one spot. Compared to some of the other olive oils in the tasting, which were lacking in the unctuous, rich texture, Specially Selected's smooth, buttery mouthfeel was a memorable part of the tasting experience.
Italian food products and cuisine have infiltrated just about every corner of the globe, but nothing compares to trying classic Italian dishes at their source-and there's so much more than pizza, pasta, and gelato. Don't expect to find the same dishes on menus all over the country. From carbonara in Rome to the best street food in Palermo, each Italian region has its own recipes.
During my recent 17-day trip there, I realized Ischia has everything its more popular neighbor offers - great shopping, a castle, beaches, a botanical garden - but with fewer tourists. Here's why it belongs on your Italy itinerary.
The ravioli-type dish, also known as casunziei all'Ampezzana, consists of homemade half-moon shaped pasta filled with boiled beets, topped with a sauce of melted butter, Parmesan cheese and poppy seeds. It's a simple dish that harks back to the Alpine region's poorer past - long before Cortina transformed into a winter playground for the international jet set. Even in the coldest days of winter, local families had the ingredients in their cupboards.
Among the Pontine Islands, Palmarola emerges as an unspoiled, scenically unique land. You'll find no big luxury resorts, loud clubs, or lines of restaurants. There aren't even any paved roads, or an established electrical grid-and there's certainly limited telephone coverage, so forget working from home. However, the lack of modern amenities means less traffic and crowds.
Typically made from cow's milk, it's produced by heating whey - a common byproduct of other cheesemaking processes. Hence, the word "ricotta" translates to "recooked" in English. When the whey is heated and acidified, it forms the soft, fine curds that are so characteristic of ricotta, resulting in a delicate, airy cheese that's creamy yet relatively low in fat. You can even make your own ricotta at home by curdling boiled milk with lemon juice and then straining the mixture through a cheesecloth.
Northern Italian cooking is built for long meals, cold weather, and patience, which is exactly the sort of food you want when settling in for hours of competition. From Lombardy and Piedmont to Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, these regions favor slow braises, creamy risottos, rich broths, and breads meant to be torn and shared. Whether you're feeding a crowd or committing to a cozy afternoon
This coccoli, which can be a street food or restaurant appetizer, is truly an icon in Florentine - a term that simply means "from Florence" - fare. The word "coccoli" translates literally to "cuddles," and these fried dough balls do indeed feel like warm little hugs. They're about the size of dumplings; served hot, they've got a crispy exterior to crack into - with just the right amount of grease - where you'll find both fluffiness and chewy doughy-ness all at once.