Culture
When D H Lawrence visited Sardinia with his wife, Frieda, back in 1921, they weren’t much impressed. Food was scarce, and they found little to eat but cabbage and bread. Some ‘hotels’ were little more than shacks, and yet in Sea and Sardinia he wrote:
Thanks to its position between East and West, Estonia has often been a battleground. Over the years, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Sweden and Poland have all fought over it. In 1906, when the country was under Russian rule, Louis Kahn’s family moved to the United States. Kahn was five years old. He went on to become one…
When you consider Emilia Romagna, think food. Bologna, Parma, Modena, and Ferrara, are just some of the fabulous foodie destinations to visit. In addition, one of the best food festivals of the year is Emilia Romagna’s lesser-known town of Forlimpopoli. Festa Artusiana is a celebration of the life and works of Pellegrino Artusi, the ‘Father…
One of the best reasons for visiting Liguria (capital, Genoa) is the wonderful food. With its long coastline, the region is renowned for its excellent seafood. Then there are regional products like foccaccia, farinata (a delicious chickpea pancake), Albenga artichokes, salt cod, and, of course, pesto. Pesto championships The capital of the region, Genoa, hosts…
Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the busiest cities in the world – all neon lights and skyscrapers – but hop on a bullet train and within a couple of hours you could be relaxing at an onsen (hot spring) in a green tea bath, in the middle of a forest, with nothing for company but the sound of birdsong…
Listed below (thanks to the Italian Tourist Board) are some of the most interesting Christmas markets in Italy. Naple’s San Gregorio Armeno is one of the best, and is open all year. Via San Gregorio Armeno is an entire street of workshops where you’ll find hand-carved nativity scenes, known as presepe. The wood-carving has been…
William Ellory Channing was a Transcendentalist poet, born in 1818 in Boston, Massachussets. Channing wrote about the importance of being true to yourself: ‘To live content with small means – to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich – to study hard,…
August 2015 Just over a year ago, my friend, Yolanda, and I were asked if we’d like to write about architectural skylines around the world. Not just any old skylines; they would be buildings or our choosing, creating an imaginary skyline that would hopefully encapsulate the history, culture and heart of the cities we had…
March 2015 From time to time, the charitable foundation, the Bulldog Trust, opens the charming Two Temple Place for excellent exhibitions. This one is no exception. ‘Cotton to Gold’ brings together some of the extraordinary collections of wealthy philanthropists who made their fortunes in the Industrial North West. The collections were generously loaned by the…
Cremona was home to three of the most important violin-making families: Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati. The recently opened Museo del Violino tells their story, and offers an insight into five centuries of violin-making.