Archive for 'Northwest Italy'

Milan is known internationally as an important industrial centre and the fashion capital of Italy. Of course, as it is an Italian city, it is known for its art but doesn't have quite the reputation and glorious past of other cities. However, it does have a rather exceptionally rich tradition in street art.

So much so, in fact, that you can take a specific guided tour around the city in which you will be informed of the history of street art in Milan and be shown some of the most important works.

Even if you don't take the tour, there's something to see around every corner so merely wandering around with an ice-cream or coffee in hand becomes a fantastic activity in its own right.

Find a holiday rental in Milan and discover the art of its streets.

The surrealist painter, Giorgio de Chirico once described Turin as “the most profound, most enigmatic, most disquieting city not only of Italy, but of the world.” It is hard to imagine that he wasn't referring to the rich magical heritage of the city which sees symbols of the occult and confusing mixed messages in public monuments located at every turn. In our first and second articles on magic in Turin, we discussed the magical origins of the city and the major magical destinations. Yet, there is even more to be said! More than could be said in a few articles. However, this is a good place to start to prepare you for what you might expect once you've found a vacation rental in Piedmont and are exploring the city of Turin to take in this spooky past.

From the previous article, you'll know that Turin is a city long connected to magic and which is said to sit at the centre of black and white magic in the world. Due to this, there are some rather unusual sights dotted around the city which have popped up over the ages. On the surface, Turin is just a beautiful Italian city with elegant streets that are reminiscent of Paris and a rich cultural heritage as evidenced by the proliferation of palaces, museums, churches and other stunning buildings. However, once you scratch this lovely surface, you'll see the evidence of its magical past, often out in the open and hiding in plain sight. Find a holiday rental in Piedmont and you can spend a day wandering the streets of Turin and exploring its hidden past.

Turin, Piedmont, is best known for the Turin Shroud, Fiat and its beautiful and elegant streets but locals are aware of another legacy that may be unfamiliar to those visiting the city as tourists. In fact, Turin is a city known for being mysterious and has been associated with magic since its beginnings – both white magic, and black.

According to legend, the city was founded by the son of the goddess Isis, Phaeton. He established the city in order to honour the cult of Apis, which had the features of a bull and this is the animal that was to become the very symbol of Turin.

Pizza all'Andrea is a pizza dish from the Liguria region of Italy. It is also known as sardenaira or sardinaira and is similar to the pissaladière of Provence in France. It is classified as a pizza but is often considered more like a focaccia and is made with anchovies and olives on top. The origins of the dish are a much debated thing but it is often attributed to admiral Andrea Doria (1466-1560) and is thought to be named after him as well. He is said to have invented and loved the dish: a slice of bread topped by olive oil, garlic and salted anchovies. The dish was invented before tomatoes were readily available and used in Italy, pre-dating the better-known Neapolita pizza, and, therefore, traditionalists do not add tomatoes. However, we are presenting you with a recipe that includes tomato as some can find it too dry without. Enjoy this dish now and then find a villa with pool in Liguria and taste it again while on holidays.