The vibrant southern Italian city of Naples seems to run on espresso. Seth Doane explores the Neapolitan love of coffee with tour guide Marcello Uzzi at Caffè Gambrinus, and attends lessons at the Italian coffee powerhouse Illy’s own University of Coffee in Trieste, where the highly-calibrated method of preparing the perfect cup of espresso is taught. Source
Author Archives: Stonecom Interactive
Turning street signs into art
In Florence even the street signs are pieces of artwork. Playful, funny, irreverent, hundreds of them dot the landscape, thanks to street artist Clet Abraham, a Frenchman who saw an opportunity to do something different in a place imbued in history. Jane Pauley reports. Source
Treasures of the Uffizi
Seven years before America’s Declaration of Independence, the Uffizi opened its doors to the public. Containing perhaps the greatest collection of artwork in the world, including masterpieces by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Botticelli, the Florentine museum holds treasures at every turn. Jane Pauley reports. Source
Trafficking in art
In Florence the hottest new art pieces are Clet Abraham’s doctored street signs – playful, funny and irreverent Source
Sting and Trudie Styler, at home in Tuscany
Il Palagio, a 400-year-old villa in Tuscany, is a summer house that the singer-musician Sting, and his wife, Trudie Styler, bought for a song or two. They’ve fixed it up, and brought the olive groves, vineyards and vegetable gardens back to life. Sting and Trudie talk with correspondent Alina Cho about music, raising a family, and revitalizing a cherished homestead. Source
The spread that made hazelnuts famous
The rich chocolate-hazelnut creation has been a staple for generations of cooks in Piedmont, Italy Source
Brunello Cucinelli: A fashion for industry
In a country where thousands of little towns are being deserted, one village is thriving, mainly due to the work of one extraordinary man: designer Brunello Cucinelli. His company, which makes some of the finest and priciest clothing in the world, has raised the fortunes of Solomeo, restored the town’s ancient buildings, and upheld the dignity of local workers by forging what has been called a “humanistic enterprise in the world of industry.” Tracy Smith reports. Source
Michelangelo’s David
Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the 17-foot-tall statue of David, stands front-and-center at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence. Jane Pauley reflects on the quintessence of Renaissance art. Source
Brunello Cucinelli: Fashion and philosophy
The designer’s company, which makes some of the most exclusive clothing in the world, has raised the fortunes of the Italian town of Solomeo by upholding “the moral and economic dignity of the human being” Source
The world’s oldest pharmacy
Rose water was just one creation of the Dominican monks who in the 13th century began experimenting with alchemy at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy Source