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Turin: Italy’s “most underrated city” is still punching above its weight

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We came to Italy’s “Most Underrated City” to celebrate our 11-year anniversary. It’s a city in which we’re both familiar but it never disappoints. It has some of Italy’s most beautiful piazzas, long portico-covered walkways, beautiful parks and the best chocolate and wine in the country. We also hit it during its annual May Day parade which held up Turin’s history-long tradition of resistance.

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Mussolini at the table: On the anniversary of his death, I look at a restaurant-museum honoring his name

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On my way back from assignment in Fiuggi Sunday, my two friends and I stopped at a restaurant in the town of Artena. Il Federale is a “restaurant-museum” honoring Benito Mussolini. Hundreds of photos of him adorn the wall. So do fascist signs. A mannequin wears an old Italy fascist flag and Mussolini’s beret. I wasn’t going to write about it until I looked him up. Today is the anniversary of his death. He died April 28, 1945.

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Arezzo: Tuscany’s “other” city a little artistic jewel

Marina and I at Vasari Cafè on Piazza Grande.

In lieu of my cancelled birthday trip to Maldive Islands, we spent four days at a spa in Tuscany. It was a terrific save. The town of Arezzo is a little-known city overshadowed by Florence and Siena in Tuscany. Arezzo is a growing arts center with a terrific restaurant scene and a unique sloping main piazza which adds to the quirkiness of the place. Of course, soaking in a Jacuzzi in a luxury spa didn’t hurt, either.

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Italy reels in shame as it’s three strikes and it’s out of the World Cup again

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I watched Italy’s pratfall in Bosnia from a pub in Tuscany and am seeing the vile aftermath of it missing its unprecedented third straight World Cup. The manager, delegation head and federation chief are all out. The next steps are what to do next and it goes all the way down to the youth level. I take a quick look at the latest Italian soccer crisis.

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Turning 70: How a war turned a birthday week in the Maldives into three days in Tuscany

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I fully intended to be sitting on a sandy beach in the Maldives while you’re reading this. Turns out, I’ll likely be sipping a glass of wine at a Tuscan winery. I turned 70 Sunday. The Iran War poleaxed my birthday plans as flying to the Maldives through Doha became impossible. But I think I’ll survive with three nights in a spa in Tuscany. This goes down as one of my many landmark birthdays that turned into disappointment. But since moving to Rome in 2014, my birthdays have remarkably improved.

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Fall colors: Seven great spots from Oregon to Vermont

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I tell Europeans that the best time to visit the United States is in the fall. That’s when the famous fall colors put the U.S. on the map of the most beautiful places in the world. The Georgia CFY editorial team put together a list of seven great places to view the fall colors. It’s my guest blog this week.

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Italy soccer: Can Italians miss their third straight World Cup?

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In what would be one of the greatest embarrassments in international sport, Italy faces the prospect of missing its third straight World Cup, unprecedented for a former World Cup champion. The winner of four World Cups, Italy hosts Northern Ireland Thursday in a four-team playoff for one of the last World Cup bids. If they win, they’ll travel to the winner of the match between Wales and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The odds are in Italy’s favor. But they were in 2022 and 2018 also.

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Rome fountains: My five favorites — and they’re free!

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On Feb. 2, Rome started charging visitors €2 to get close to Trevi Fountain. Why? It was getting too crowded. It’s still too crowded. But there are 2,000 other fountains in Rome to enjoy. Here are my five favorites, all in interesting parts of the city.

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