Our easy to make recipe to prepare this typical Umbrian sweets, in celebration of Carnival despite Covid-19. Treat yourself to a typical Italian Carnival sweet – “Struffoli Perugini” –  with an easy to make recipe of the Umbrian tradition, in celebration of Carnival despite Covid-19. Carnival is celebrated on a different date each year depending on when Easter Sunday falls. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first spring full moon and this year this will take place on Sunday April 4th. […]

Thanksgiving Day is an important national holiday, celebrated annually in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. A day of the year for Americans to focus on gratitude and thankfulness. After such a long and trying year, Thanksgiving is going to look and feel different this time round. And not just for Americans. The rest of the world is enduring one of the toughest challenges ever experienced. As Covid-19 continues to impact lives on a global scale, the […]

Rome’s Fiumicino airport, known officially as Leonardo da Vinci , has been rated Europe’s Best Airport for the third year in a row. This is the first time in the history of ACI surveys that the first place is awarded to the same airport for three consecutive years. The recognition, awarded by Airports Council International (ACI), is in the category of hubs with over 40 million passengers. The award is the latest in a string of prestigious accolades for Fiumicino in recent years, which registered […]

Under Italy’s latest emergency decree, the Italian goverment tightened the coronavirus rules for the fourth time in three weeks in response to the country’s worsening coronavirus situation. As well as introducing a nationwide curfew, the government announced a new national three-tier framework which means certain rules now differ based on where you are in Italy. So many of Italy’s Covid-19 rules are different from region to region. As well as their official websites, several regions have created dedicated coronavirus portals where […]

Given the unforeseen circumstances of today’s world, it’s no surprise to know that people are relentlessly browsing through different websites to find an authentic source of information regarding the Covid-19 virus. Figuring out where you can travel during the pandemic has proven to be no small task. In Europe, the rules vary from country to country—some have mandatory quarantines, others have COVID-19 testing requirements, and some have no entry restrictions at all. And they often differ depending on which country […]

As you may have read, on June 3, Italy became the first country in Europe to reopen its international and regional borders and eliminate a 14-day quarantine requirement for visitors arriving from abroad. An achievement which carried a mix of anxiety, trepidation and relief but most of all hope for the future, hope for our country. My Region of Umbria has been one of the Regions with the least number of Coronavirus confirmed cases and victims.  As of June 16th, […]

(The Frecce Tricolori flying over Perugia on May 26thphoto by Adriano Scognamillo) As it starts to feel possible that there may be light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, I wanted to share a quick update on the situation in Italy, my region of Umbria and news about our Estate. In cities like Rome and Florence, a sense of cautious optimism seems to be in the air. Last weekend—the first weekend since Italy entered Phase Two—Romans took to the […]

Lockdown in my home Country, Italy, has eased and the Government has announced the start of Phase 2 and we getting ready for Phase 3. Wheres Italians are now allowed travel to neighboring villages, they are still not permitted to cross the border into other Regions let alone the rest of the Country. This will happen on June 3rd when Italy will also reopen (hopefully) the borders to the Schengen members countries. Will Italians, or more in general the rest […]