The Salty Gold That Sardinian Fishermen Have Made the Same Way for 3,000 Years
In the lagoon town of Cabras, on the western coast of Sardinia, there is a smell you notice before anything
Italian Family
How One Italian Family Bankrolled the Renaissance and Shaped the World
The Medici family of Florence didn’t just fund the Renaissance — they invented modern banking and changed how the world thought about art and power.
The Puglia Grape That America Fell in Love With Under a Completely Different Name
Millions of Americans drink it every year without knowing its Italian roots. Primitivo di Manduria, the ancient Puglia grape behind Zinfandel, has one of wine’s great untold stories.
Why Every Italian Wipes Their Plate Clean — and Why Chefs Secretly Love It
Fare la scarpetta is the Italian art of wiping your plate clean with bread — and learning why reveals everything about how Italians truly feel about food.
Why Italian Truffle Hunters Guard Their Secrets More Closely Than Gold
Every October, hunters disappear into the fog-draped hills of Piedmont before sunrise. The art of Italian truffle hunting is ancient, secretive, and fiercely guarded — here is why.
Why Two Italian Cities Have Been Fighting Over Tiramisu for 50 Years
Every Italian knows tiramisu. But ask where it came from, and you will start an argument that has lasted 50
The Household Rules Every Italian Knows — and Foreigners Break
Italian household superstitions still observed today — bread upside down, hats on beds, touching iron — each with a history older than you think.
Why Italian-Americans Have Kept Traditions Their Cousins in Italy Have Long Forgotten
Italian-Americans have preserved traditions from 19th-century southern Italy that modern Italians barely recognise. Here is why the diaspora kept old Italy alive.