John Henderson's Travel Adventures in Rome and Beyond

September 1, 2020

Covid-19 making a slight comeback in Italy and officials are clamping down again

Rome police are fining an average of 10 people a night over Covid-19 violations. They aren’t starting fistfights over masks. They’re not starting riots in front of government buildings. They’re merely not wearing a mask in public at night. Five hundred guests at a resort in Sardinia are in quarantine after a staff member tested […]

August 25, 2020

Procida: A picture blog of my favorite isle in Italy by photographer Marina Pascucci

PROCIDA, Italy — In light of the political conventions happening in my native U.S., my blog this week will also feature a guest speaker. However, this guest speaks with her camera, not her mouth. Marina Pascucci, my uber photographer for this blog the last five years, is taking center stage. Last week we teamed up […]

August 19, 2020

Procida’s prison in paradise: after 150 years of jailing mafiosi, fascists, and worse

Procida is my favorite island in Italy and the hulking prison overlooking the beautiful isle only adds to the charm — and mystery.

August 12, 2020

As Roma gets a new owner, and a new future, this fan remains skeptical

Life as a soccer fan in Italy has been practically back to normal for nearly two months. It’s odd watching games in empty stadiums but from a pub you rarely see the stands as a TV graphic. Besides, soccer announcers talk so much you can’t hear the players’ ubiquitous cursing over the TV anyway. Juventus […]

August 4, 2020

Fregene: Rome’s one-time glittery beach escape still a slice of paradise for us

FREGENE, Italy — The scene is always the same. We park Marina’s car on a quiet, narrow side street and walk down the short driveway to Il Capanno dei Pescatori, the little beach-side restaurant that sells us lanais chairs for only 7 euros. A young cabana boy plops them down on an empty beach, pulling […]

July 28, 2020

Covid-19 and travel: Ten important safety tips during and after this pandemic ends

(Editor’s note: Covid-19 isn’t going away soon and even when it does, you should be careful while traveling. My guest blogger, Emma Willson, has written 10 important tips on how to be cautious in this coronavirus world. Emma is a Californian who has visited 16 countries in North America, South America and Europe and has […]

July 21, 2020

Raphael exhibition a great tour of a grand artist as Italy opens back up to the world

Three things you probably didn’t know about Raffaello Sanzio, known outside Italy as Raphael and part of the trifecta of Italian Renaissance painters: He scored his first commission at 17 and one of his first was painting an altarpiece for a family funeral chapel that housed the bones of some of the 130 men slaughtered […]

July 15, 2020

Covid-19 making a slight comeback in Italy and officials are clamping down again

Procida: A picture blog of my favorite isle in Italy by photographer Marina Pascucci

Procida’s prison in paradise: after 150 years of jailing mafiosi, fascists, and worse

As Roma gets a new owner, and a new future, this fan remains skeptical

Fregene: Rome’s one-time glittery beach escape still a slice of paradise for us

Covid-19 and travel: Ten important safety tips during and after this pandemic ends

Raphael exhibition a great tour of a grand artist as Italy opens back up to the world

Traveling in Italy: Trip to Puglia reminds me of why I live here but caution flags rise

Italy restaurants: My 5 favorites after eight years living in this gastronomic paradise

Stay away, Americans! EU says you and your coronavirus are not wanted here in Europe

What’s your idea of romance and Rome?

Madain Saleh: Saudi Arabia’s 2,000-year-old UNESCO Heritage Site and sister city of Petra