Tag Archives: Italy

The dumbest souvenir of the year

Posted on December 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

My favorite place to chill out in Italy is the little town of Varenna on Lake Como. The only souvenirs that I have of my time there are a few photos and some very fond memories. But apparently the region … Continue reading →

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End of an Era

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

If you have traveled in Italy during this century, it’s likely that you have enjoyed an invigorating little cup of espresso at the bargain price of €1. Sadly, Italy’s beloved inexpensive espresso, a cultural icon served at bars across the … Continue reading →

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Leave the gun, take the cannoli

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The historic southern Sicilian city of Agrigento is preparing to be Italy’s 2025 Capital of Culture and has taken a controversial stance against its infamous Mafia past. In a bid to reclaim its cultural identity, the city has banned the … Continue reading →

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Walk This Way

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The ancient Roman Appian Way road network has become Italy’s newest UNESCO World Heritage Site. The  Via Appia Antica, or Appian Way,  the oldest and most significant road built by the ancient Romans, has been named a Unesco world heritage … Continue reading →

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Bookstore Tourism: Il mio tipo di posto

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been more than a decade since I’ve visited Florence, so you will have to forgive that I missed the grand opening to the amazing Libreria Giunti Odeon. This fabulous mash-up of a cinema, bookstore and cafe premiered in November … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Film, History, movies, Restaurants, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

When in Rome

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

When I visited Rome for the first time more than four decades ago, I quite randomly chose to pop in at the Museo della Civiltà Romana to see the massive model of the ancient city. The archaeologist and architect Italo Gismondi … Continue reading →

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Smoke Signals

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

 Mt.Etna‘s Southeast Crater has begun emitting countless graceful vapor rings (“volcanic vortex rings”), a phenomenon never seen like this before. Someone said “maybe because we receive so much bad news lately, Etna has decided to do something simply beautiful”.  

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Venice fights back and I say bravo

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I count myself lucky to have visited Venice for the first time nearly half a century ago. In that distant halcyon era of European travel, Venice was gloriously free of massive cruise ships and mobs of day-tripping bus groups. It … Continue reading →

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Making Do

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“Making Do” by Italo Calvino translated by Tim Parks There was a town where everything was forbidden. Now, since the only thing that wasn’t forbidden was the game tip-cat, the town’s subjects used to assemble on meadows behind the town … Continue reading →

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Café Americano

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Two of my favorite things are coffee and Italy. So, I loved this charming, but a little silly, video about the search for the perfect cup of coffee in Italy by bike. Filmmaker Joey Schusler followed mountain biker Shawn Neer … Continue reading →

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