Instantly Italy

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The Feast of Saint John in Italy: A Magical Time of the Year

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It’s the day of Saint John tomorrow and there is some magic in the air. 

Saint John, San Giovanni in Italian, is the patron saint of many big and small Italian towns and this makes it a very special day. The day of the patron saint is a public holiday in Italy and this means that tomorrow many people will be taking a day off if the town where they work celebrates its patron saint.

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[What To See in Liguria] The Magnificent Beauty of the Hanbury Botanical Gardens in Ventimiglia

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Sometimes it seems that heaven on earth really exists. 

This is what I thought a few weeks ago when I visited the Hanbury Botanical Gardens in Ventimiglia, some really magnificent gardens with an interesting history that are located on the westernmost side of Liguria, right on the border to France.

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[Italian Books] La figlia oscura by Elena Ferrante, a book about motherhood and life choices

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I have multiple ways of selecting books for this section of the blog.

As you may already know, the only rule I follow is that the Italian books I write about here must be available in English as well because I want to give people who are interested in Italian literature the chance to enjoy interesting books even if they cannot read Italian.

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How to Avoid Crowds in Italy

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How can I avoid bustling crowds of foreign tourists when I visit Italy? 

This is probably one of the questions I get asked the most and I thought it might be interesting to answer it with a proper blog post.

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[What to see in Liguria] A day trip in Camogli

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I had been talking about going to Camogli since the Christmas holidays. 

For weeks, I kept telling my husband that we absolutely had to plan a day trip there but somehow never found the right moment to go – until this past Saturday.

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[Italian Books] Scherzetto by Domenico Starnone

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After reading Lacci a while ago and loving it, I’ve finally decided to read another book by Domenico Starnone. 

I read his book Lacci in 2019 and wrote a post about it. In fact, I’ve enjoyed that book so much that I have been meaning to read another title by him for ages.

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The Unique Character of Italian Christmas Holidays

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The Christmas holidays in Italy have a special flavor and I have realized it only recently. 

For some reason, I have always thought that this was a very special period for many people around the world but Christmas and the Christmas holidays in Italy are a bit different than in some other places.

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[Family Recipes] Le cupete piemontesi

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I was born and raised in Liguria but half of my family comes from Piemonte. 

My mom was born in Sale delle Langhe (a tiny village that carries the name of a fancy tourist destination for foodies but doesn’t have anything to do with it) and one of her sisters lives in Mondovì, a town located between the mountains and the plains, 80 kilometers south of Turin.

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A Winter Weekend in Florence

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Florence is always a good idea, especially in winter. 

Florence is one of the most beautiful Italian cities but it tends to be overcrowded in high season and I feel this ruins its incredible atmosphere. This is why lately I have chosen to visit it in winter.

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