Buongiorno Italy readers!

This past Monday was an important day for Italy as many businesses were allowed to reopen (with safety precautions in place) including museums, retail stores, restaurants, coffee bars and churches. More on this latest easing of restrictions here. 

Last week we suggested some fun, engaging reads on Italy to pass the time a bit more pleasantly during your quarantine. This week, we’re suggesting five videos to watch that will entertain you, teach you something new, and make you dream of Italy. 

“Siena is the embodiment of a medieval city,” writes Unesco, which inscribed it into its World Heritage list in 1995. “The whole city of Siena, built around the Piazza del Campo, was devised as a work of art that blends into the surrounding landscape.” – read this article also in Italian as part of our dual-language series. 

Need dinner ideas for the weekend? What about "Pollo in Potacchio" -- this popular chicken dish is made with rosemary, garlic and tomato sauce with origins from the region of Le Marche. 

People have been asking us about how to help local makers and one such artisan studio has created a design mask collection completely made in Italy using zero waste. This washable mask is made of Italian cotton; an anti-drop filter is applied on the inside. The mask with the filter is washable and reusable as many times as you want! 

On May 18, restaurants, cafés, pizza parlors, trattorias, gelato and pastry shops were allowed to reopen in Italy for dine-in or eating/drinking at the counter. Restrictions and safety precautions remain in place; let’s look at them point by point to give you a sense of what you can expect from the dining/coffee experience. 

Today’s language lesson is about how to use the passive form in Italian. There are two forms of verbs: passive and active. An active verb form is when the subject does the verb and the object receives it. 

Spring is one of Italy's tastiest seasons and we have a curated selection of mouth-watering recipes from appetizers to dessert in one FREE eBook for our readers! Here's where to get your copy. 

We recently asked you to send us photos and stories of your best travel memories from previous trips to Italy and the destinations you want to visit as soon as it is safe to do so. We shared part one last week, now let’s see what else inspired your Italy love this week. 

Rome's main museums reopened Tuesday after being closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus lockdown, here’s why the Capitoline museums’ in Rome should be on your list. 

The ever-evolving COVID-19 situation poses extreme challenges for the tourism industry. However, genealogy experts Southern Italy Travel have launched "Virtual Ancestry Tours": a brand-new service to allow you to experience your ancestral town virtually! 

Founded in 1974, thanks to contributions of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Language Program of The Italian Cultural Society of Washington DC offers a variety of online courses to learn the Italian language and discover Italian literature, art, history and more.

For sale: Villa Gloria is a beautiful newly-built 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with commanding panoramic views and a dramatic landscaped setting, located only a few minutes drive from the heart of the historic centre of the ancient hilltop town of Arpino. 

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