Times may change but over half of all Italians still break bread together on long, big Sunday lunches. Though brunch has made headway in Italy recently, especially in cities and among young people, 52% of the 1,834 families polled by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Academy of Italian Cuisine) still follow the Sunday lunch tradition. [...]
Two million romantics flock to see Romeo and Juliet’s balcony every year in Verona. Unfortunately, many of them also carve their names or scribble hearts on the monument, making it more of a tourist trap than attraction. To stop love-struck tourists from ruining the building, managers of theater Teatro Stabile, who own the famous balcony, [...]
Italian researchers nosing around have discovered traces of DNA from Chinese truffles mingled with prestigious, costly local black truffles. The trouble with truffle intermingling? Scientists say it is one reason, along with environmental changes, that the prized tuber has become even more scarce in recent seasons. Truffle cousins from Asia sprung up in European markets [...]
Just what was on the table in Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper?” Historian John Varriano has his theory, outlined in Gastronomica in a pithy account which draws inspiration from Leonardo’s shopping lists and anecdotes from Vasari. The plates in front of Andrew and Matthew—the fourth figures to Christs’ right and left—are heaped with food. Not [...]
Set to the tune of “Volare,” gondoliers in Venice stump for Obama. Obama, oh oh, Joe Biden Vice President. Only in Italian accents does the word “can” sort of rhyme with “president” (presidennn). Very catchy. Who thought such a romantic backdrop could deliver a political punch. Via iReport
