When you visit Venice you can easily buy a Venetian mask, ‘Murano’ glass made in China or an I love Venezia t-shirt from any one of the souvenir stands that dot Venice and line Campo San Marco and the route to the Rialto Bridge. But explore the backstreets of San Polo and Dorsoduro and you’ll find hidden … Read more
Our favourite restaurant in Venice, Antiche Carampane, has a warning sign outside so you know what kind of restaurant it is: “No pizza, no lasagne, no menù turistico“. Here’s why we love this very special Venetian restaurant, secreted down a hard-to-find lane in Venice’s San Polo neighbourhood. Hidden down a lane in the Venice sestiere … Read more
Bookbinder Paolo Olbi and his typesetter Beppi may be Venice’s last great artisans, making every component of their beautiful products by hand in Paolo’s atmospheric workshop in Castello, Venice. We met these generous Venetians when we settled into a Grand Canal-side palazzo apartment for two weeks to get an insight into how locals live in … Read more
‘Dalla terra alla tavola’, from earth to table – or from ‘paddock to plate’ or ‘farm to fork’ as we say in Australia – may not be a new concept in Italy, or Australia or the UK for that matter, but it’s one that has always excited us. When Francesco, owner of Antiche Carampane, our … Read more
In Alberobello, self-sufficiency extends to everything from olive oil and cherry tomatoes to limoncello and cherry liqueur – from filling the fridge to supplying the liquor cabinet, everything is homegrown and homemade in Puglia. In Alberobello, there are only a couple of supermarkets and one market, and there’s no need for more because here it … Read more