Italy
History of St Joseph’s Day: Why isn’t it more popular?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF ST JOSEPH Podcast version arch 19 is Saint Joseph’s Day, or the Feast of St. Joseph. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches worldwide. The terms feast and festival are often used interchangeably and often refer to a religious holiday. What is the history of the holiday…
Read MoreHistory of the Ides of March: Who Should Beware?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF THE IDES OF MARCH Podcast version ccording to the ancient Roman calendar, the ides fell on the 13th of the month except for March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the 15th. Something epochal occurred on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.
Read MoreHistory of the Winter Olympics
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF THE WINTER OLYMPICS have written previously about the history of the Olympics, but the Winter Olympics are unique among the Olympic Games. The Jeux Olympiques d’Hiver, or Winter Olympic Games, start today in northern Italy. Their history is much shorter than the Olympics in general. When did the Winter Olympics begin,…
Read MoreHistory of the Ides of March: Who should Beware?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF THE IDES OF MARCH According to the ancient Roman calendar, the ides fell on the 13th of the month except for March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the 15th of the month. Something epochal occurred in 44 B.C. Et tu, Brute? On March 15, 44 B.C., the Roman dictator…
Read MoreItaly Tour: Pisa in a Day
Reading Time: 2 minutesITALY TOUR: PISA IN A DAY Can you visit Pisa on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, a day trip will do it quite easily. Cruise ships regularly dock at the nearby Port of Livorno. Pisa is a Tuscan city passed through by the Arno River, which also passes through Florence further…
Read MoreItaly Tour: Naples in a Day? Pizza!
Reading Time: 3 minutesITALY TOUR: NAPLES IN A DAY Can you visit Naples on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, but you are required by law to eat pizza while there. I went to Naples by mistake (see my funny story here), but while there, I had some pizza; it was invented there. Very popular there…
Read MoreItaly Tour: Florence in a Day
Reading Time: 3 minutesITALY TOUR: FLORENCE IN A DAY (OR TWO) Can you visit the major Florence sites on an Italy Tour in a single day? If you’re fast or have a bit more than a day. Think of Florence as “Renaissance with a capital R.” Thanks in part to the patronage of the Medici family, the city…
Read MoreItaly Tour: Rome in a Day
Reading Time: 8 minutesITALY TOUR: ROME IN A DAY (OR TWO) A friend of mine is going on an Italy cruise and asked me to suggest some places for the cities where he has a day or two. I was going to put together a spreadsheet, but I didn’t have enough time, so I wrote this Italy Tour…
Read MoreFlorence Galleria – Michelangelo’s David
Reading Time: 2 minutesFLORENCE GALLERIA – MICHELANGELO’S DAVID To see the statue of David for the first time takes your breath away. In the tribune at the end of a long gallery lit naturally from above by a glass cupola, this statue is the most beautiful man-made thing I’ve ever seen. You know the familiar story from the Bible…
Read MoreDriving In Italy
Reading Time: 3 minutesDRIVING IN ITALY It has been said that you have to be CRAZY to drive in Italy, but I tell you that you MUST be crazy to drive in Italy — preferably homicidal. Drivers here are assertive and aggressive, believing it is more blessed to take the right of way than to give it. Indeed,…
Read MoreSerendipity
Reading Time: 2 minutesSERENDIPITY I believe travel should be like a well-oiled machine. The saying goes that Mussolini “made the trains run on time” in Italy and I figured I should take advantage of that. Upon our arrival in Rome, I navigated us on the Airport Express train to Rome‘s main train station, the Termini. It is named…
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