Buongiorno Italy readers!

In our latest “Italy Stay Strong” series, we look at one leather designer in Florence whose mantra has always been human connection – his thoughts on staying afloat during Italy’s lockdown. 

This artisan-made design is a nightstand for your books made of laminated fir wood. Created to order in 2 weeks and entirely handmade in Italy.

Easter is a big celebration in Italy, full of regional and national traditions and great food all over the country. It is an important time in the Christian calendar so here are some popular Easter expressions in Italian. 

This no-bake dessert is a snap to make and quite pretty. Store-bought savoiardi, ladyfingers, are dipped in liqueur, layered with chocolate sauce and then refrigerated until firm. It slices just like pound cake. 

Like all businesses in the tourism industry, language schools are suffering as well due to the coronavirus emergency, which caused Italy, the first country in Europe to have a major outbreak, to go under a nationwide lockdown, in place since March 9. We heard from one school in Sicily. 

Concert halls have been closed due to the coronavirus emergency, but music doesn’t stop: opera houses around world and theaters large and small are transferring their concerts online and inviting a virtual audience to attend for free.

Yes, travel has had to come to a halt in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak (to focus on the silver lining, let’s not forget how good this is for the environment), but you can still travel virtually to Italy and feel close to the Bel Paese, dream of your next adventure here, enjoy Italian recipes, read a good Italy-inspired book, dream of even buying a house in Italy (why not?!), all through our Italy Magazine website.

Ferrara, a pleasant, bike-friendly small town in Emilia-Romagna, has been a Unesco World Heritage site since 1995, along with the surrounding agricultural lands of the vast Po river delta. Let's learn more in our latest #duallanguage article.

As part of the celebration of the artist’s life in 2020—the 500th anniversary of his death—the time has never been better to reflect on Raphael’s hometown of Urbino and some of its unsung artistic gems.

Dream villa for sale in Como. This wonderful lakeside villa also includes a beautiful garden with its own greenhouse along the lake shore and a large private boat mooring on the property. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend from Georgette, your editor, and the Italy Magazine team.