Although the famous gardens of Villa Borghese are lovely at any time of the year, the brisk days of winter and early spring, when the air is fresh and crisp, are an ideal time to visit. The garden occupies an area of give-or-take 100 hectares and it is now in the heart of the city. When, in 1604...

Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night famously notes: “If music be the food of love, play on.” However, there is less than a love affair happening between music and the city of Rome. Unfortunately for musical artists in the Eternal City, music is not, well, food and the live music scene lea...

Teatro S. Carlo in Naples opened its 2010 season in January in a completely restored opera house. The gold and stucco work in the main auditorium has been returned to its original splendour and now shines so brightly that it hurts the eyes; the painted cloth that hangs above the stalls in place o...

As we write it is hard to know exactly how the latest scandal will play out. We don’t know if civil protection chief Guido Bertolaso, despite the ongoing support of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, will be forced to resign. We don’t know of what, if anything, the country’s most admired high-prof...

Rome has often been described as an open-air museum but its picturesque majesty and theatricality also lend themselves to providing an excellent film set. Be it ancient Roman splendour, baroque decadence or neo-realistic squalor, its appearance, unchanged through the ages, makes it a natural choi...

Two days before Christmas 2009, 350 people gathered in Piazza Vittorio in the Esquilino district of Rome for a community photo. The group was diverse in nationality, age, gender, social status, religion and occupation. It was to be a moment in the life of the community; not a demonstration agains...

On 1 March foreigners in Italy are organising a 24-hour strike to underline their role in the country and to protest against recent episodes of racism and discrimination. Inspired by a similar protest in France on the same day, the event is being coordinated by a network of local committees with ...