The Frescoes of Trento, The Painted City
Italy is well known for its frescoes, but I’ve never seen so many in one place as in Trento, in the far north of the country. The pictures are everywhere, clinging to the sides of buildings like a kind of Renaissance street art. They are inside the buildings, too,...
Castel Roncolo, Bolzano: A Romantic Hilltop Castle
The South Tyrol region of Italy is full of medieval castles – more than 800 of them! Often perched on hilltops, with commanding views of the countryside, they were ideal for defence in the turbulent Middle Ages. But many were really grand country houses, the homes of...
Book Review: Sparkling Wine (Vineyards of England and Wales)
It would be hard to ignore the revolution that has taken place in British winemaking in recent years. Although the Romans planted vineyards in England, winemaking later became a minority interest, mostly confined to monasteries or aristocratic estates. But now there...
