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Business Insider
05-07-2025
- Business Insider
My teenagers loved our trip to Italy. Booking a guided group tour made it easy for me.
I took my kids on a guided group tour across Italy. Visiting Europe with my teens was magical, and I didn't want to come home. I'd recommend Italy to families looking to try traveling abroad. My husband and I visited Italy for the first time a few years ago on a Disney cruise, kid-free. Italy was so special, I returned home dreaming of returning with my teenagers. It took a few years, but this summer, we booked an Adventures by Disney trip — a highly organized form of group travel — and spent more than a week experiencing Rome, Tuscany, Florence, and Venice with our 17-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter. I love traveling with my family, and we've been on some pretty incredible trips. But with responsibilities back home, I'm always ready to get back to the real world. As we walked through Venice on our last day in Italy, gelato cones in hand, I said to my family, "I wish we could stay a little longer, suspended in time just like this." Preparing for our trip to Italy in advance made it go smoothly I'm not sure if it was the specific trip we booked or Italy as a whole that captivated my family, but everything about the country fit our vacation style. Before traveling, we spent a few months learning basic Italian and, since we'd received our itinerary in advance, we watched videos and read articles about things we'd do in Italy, from touring the Vatican Museum to seeing Michelangelo's David. Taking kids who felt familiar with Italian culture on a tour across the country made everything run smoothly. We did touristy things, but I let my kids do teenager things, too It was delightful to watch my teenagers experience the country for the first time. Little things felt incredibly rewarding, like watching them savor delicious pizza or learn to make fresh pasta by hand. Yes, my teens liked checking out important bits of Italian history and culture, but they also loved ordering different menu items from Italian McDonald's or finding Starbucks shops and trying new-to-them sips. When my husband made a comment about them only wanting to do things we had back home, I reminded him that it's their vacation, too, and the way to get kids to enjoy travel is to let them pick some activities based on what they like. There was something to do for everyone Although our group tour consisted of about 40 travelers we were exploring the country with, we loved that there were periods of free time built into every day. On our own, we took my film-loving son to a movie at a Roman theater and saw my daughter squeal with excitement over shopping for clothes at Italian stores. Italy felt like the perfect place to see sights and learn, but was also a wonderful spot to do things my kids were interested in, right down to the cat sanctuary we visited in Rome, located within the ruins of the spot where Julius Caesar was killed. A group travel-style trip is perfect for a family's first time in Europe My kids had been out of the US on vacations before, but mostly to places like all-inclusive resorts in spots like Turks and Caicos. I was nervous about taking them to Europe for the first time, and was glad I turned over the planning to a company like Adventures by Disney so I could enjoy the trip without worrying about logistics. Everything on our trip was handled by our guides, who traveled with us and helped get everyone in our group safely to the next activity. Tickets for a tour of Rome's Colosseum or a walking tour of Doge's Palace in Venice were all part of the trip cost, as were fun activities like a pizza-tasting party and dinner at a medieval villa, complete with Italian folk music performers. I wasn't alone in my appreciation for the itinerary-planning help: Every mom I chatted with on the trip said they'd booked it because all they had to do was show up and enjoy, rather than spending their entire vacation buying tickets, scheduling activities, and dealing with things that would inevitably go awry. Visiting a foreign country with kids can feel daunting, and doing so as part of a group travel experience with dedicated guides made all the difference. Our trip was so successful, my teens already want to go back to Europe My kids loved Italy so much that they're already asking when we can travel abroad next. Bitten by the European travel bug, they've asked about visiting countries like France and England. Italy was the perfect jumping-off point for my teenagers, and the friendly people there (who graciously spoke English whenever they realized we were Americans, and were very patient with us practicing our Duolingo-learned Italian) were so kind to my kids. In fact, while I'm thrilled they want to visit other countries, I'd take them back to Italy again to try to recapture the magical time we spent there.
Kuwait Times
24-06-2025
- General
- Kuwait Times
Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro dies aged nearly 99
A view shows the 'Sphere within a sphere' by italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro in the Vatican Museum on its reopening day to the public on February 1, 2021 in Vatican City.--AFP Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, renowned for his huge bronze spheres, died at the weekend, a day before his 99th birthday, his foundation said on Monday. Born in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna on June 23, 1926, Pomodoro began investigating solid geometric forms in the early 1960s. He created monumental spheres, cones, columns and cubes in polished bronze, whose perfectly smooth exteriors split open to reveal interiors that were corroded, torn or simply hollowed out. This 'contrast between the smooth perfection of the geometric form and the chaotic complexity of the interior' became his trademark, the Milan-based foundation said on its website. Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said on X that Pomodoro, who died at his home in Milan on Sunday, had 'sculpted Italy's soul'. 'The art world has lost one of its most influential, insightful and visionary voices,' added foundation director Carlotta Montebello. Pomodoro was one of Italy's most prominent contemporary artists. He won numerous awards and taught at Stanford University, Berkley and Mills College in the United States. His iconic works grace public spaces the world over - at the Vatican in Rome, the United Nations and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the Universal Exhibition in Shanghai and Trinity College Dublin. — AFP
Business Insider
13-06-2025
- Business Insider
I traveled to Italy twice — once as a drinker and once sober. I preferred the latter.
I've been to Italy twice, each trip exactly two years to the day apart. While iconic spots like Rome's Colosseum or Florence's Piazza Santa Croce haven't changed at all, there's a lot about me that's unrecognizable since my first visit. In recent years, I've started therapy, abandoned toxic friendships, and embraced a consistent exercise routine. But one of the most notable changes I've made was my decision to stop drinking alcohol. I've been sober for about 600 days, and the idea of returning to the land of vineyards and Aperol Spritzes didn't worry me at all. Getting sober has changed everything about me, from what I put up with in relationships to how I parent. I have found traveling alcohol-free rewarding. During my weeklong vacation across Italy with my teenagers, I soaked in every single moment of the country's beauty, and never once missed alcohol. Here's why my weeklong sober trip was one of the most memorable vacations of my life. Embraced alcohol-free activities The trip across Italy started in Rome with stops in Tuscany and Florence before wrapping up in Venice. While there were wine tastings and Aperol Spritz signs everywhere, I found plenty to do that didn't involve alcohol. In Rome, we shopped downtown and visited St. Peter's Basilica. I soaked in architecture in Florence, attended a pasta-making class in Tuscany, and did everything from Venetian mask-making to a gondola ride in Venice, all booze-free. On my previous trip to Italy, everything revolved around my next drink, from buying bottles of limoncello on the Amalfi Coast to finding wine windows in Florence. Much of my initial trip to Italy was based on drinking. It felt great to be sober and focus on other Italian treasures, like gelato and pizza. Traveled with my kids My teenagers had never visited Italy, and I enjoyed seeing the country through their eyes. From my film-loving son's fascination with the Colosseum, which he'd previously only seen on-screen in "Gladiator," to my daughter's absolute delight at how delicious pasta tastes in Italy. Fully present and not impaired by alcohol, I made memories with my teens that I'll actually remember. Started my days early Because our trip was a guided group tour, we had lots of early-morning wake-up times for special access to things like the Vatican Museum or a bullet train ride from Florence to Venice. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. can feel overwhelming, especially if you've been throwing back cocktails the night before. Instead, I was in my bed each night by around 10 p.m., reading a book on my Kindle and drinking herbal tea in my pajamas. I'd wake up ready to take on whatever the day's itinerary had in store. On my previous trip to Rome, I remember visiting the Colosseum and feeling a bit hungover. I was stressed out by the heat and the crowds because I'd already started my day a bit under the weather. Sober mornings truly never get old, whether at home or while traveling. Stuck to a structured itinerary Alcohol is a huge part of life in Italy. I wasn't sure if it'd be tough to have a pasta dinner without my formerly beloved glass of red. To my delight, I didn't miss drinking. It helped that we were on a highly organized group trip with guides and a detailed itinerary. I chose the trip in part because I could see the itinerary in advance and knew that, while there were a few alcohol-related activities, the majority of the trip was about experiencing Italy's history and culture and trying lots of incredible food. Even in Tuscany, Italian wine country, I busied myself with a farm tour. While other travelers in my group tried wines. My choice to abandon alcohol had less to do with a "drinking problem" and more to do with wanting to eliminate anxiety, exhaustion, and health issues in my life. Plenty of travelers still include alcohol in their vacations, my husband included. Comparing my two trips to Italy — one when I had a vacation buzz going on most of the time and the other when I was sober and fully present — I'd take the latter any day.
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Pope Leo XIV heads the Catholic church from Vatican City — where a secret tennis court awaits
ROME — When in Rome, head to the corner of the Via Leone IV and the Viale Vaticano and turn west for about 50 yards along the latter, to where the line starts to build for entry to the Vatican Museum. Crane your neck up to the top of the 39-foot-high Vatican City wall, and there it is — one of the few things besides trees and buildings that peek above the fortifications to be visible from street level. Advertisement A high, netted fence juts above the wall, stretching a few meters across. It would not deter anyone who had just overcome 12 meters of vertical brickwork, but it is not there to protect the Pope, the Cardinals, the Swiss Guard and Vatican staff. It is there for the benefit of the people walking below: to stop a bad shank, an over-enthusiastic lob or a spiked smash sending a tennis ball plummeting to earth and onto the heads of passing pedestrians. That fence encircles the campo centrale of the Catholic church: the Vatican City tennis court — now under the dominion of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, or rather Pope Leo XIV. After white smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on May 8, the new leader of the Roman Catholic church was beamed onto the stadia at Rome's Foro Italico, where the crowds at the Italian Open turned their attention from the tennis to cheer. Then the questions rolled in. Can Pope Leo XIV unite the progressive and conservative wings of the church and its 1.3 billion souls? Can the first pontiff from the United States manage the baggage that comes with hailing from the Western superpower? And does this guy need tickets for the Italian Open finals next weekend, just shy of two miles north of his new domain? To the extent that he had much of a reputation outside of those in the know at the Vatican and his coterie of longtime friends in Chicago and at Villanova University, Penn., Pope Leo XIV had already told the world that tennis is his sport. 'I consider myself quite the amateur tennis player,' the future Pope Leo said in an interview with the website of the Augustinian Order in 2023, when his predecessor, Pope Francis, gave him his red Cardinal's hat on his arrival in Rome. (No, not the St. Louis Cardinals. When it comes to baseball, Pope Leo is a Chicago White Sox fan, meaning temperance and perseverance in adversity are in his wheelhouse.) Advertisement 'Since leaving Peru (where he worked for the previous nine years), I have had few occasions to practice, so I am looking forward to getting back on the court,' he said. At first, he appeared to have said that he was a Carlos Alcaraz fan, which might have perturbed the local denizens of his new home given Jannik Sinner's standing as Italy's sporting pontiff. They need not worry: the claim was fake. Unknown to some longtime close Vatican watchers, devout Catholics, and even several of the higher-ups at Italy's tennis federation, the FITP, there has long been what satellite images show is a lovely red court, tucked into the northern corner of the Vatican City. A security worker on duty outside the museum the morning of May 8 said most people don't know about it because it's not easy to find. People either know it's there, across the road from the building that surrounds the Cortile Ottagono courtyard, or they don't. The gardens and area around the tennis court have been closed to the public since April 28 for the conclave to choose a new Pope. Having a hit was not high on the Cardinals' priority list. A tennis court may not figure highly in Vatican City apocrypha, but what information it has preserved paints a portrait of what was once a lively tennis scene, with Cardinals competing in a tournament that also included members of the Swiss Guard and was eventually opened up to Vatican employees and their children. On May 9, a spokesperson for the Swiss Guard, Cpl. Cinotti Eliah, wrote that as far as he knew, none of the guards now play tennis, which may be both good and bad news for Pope Leo. It could create an easier path to victory in any tournament he might organize, though perhaps it will be a little harder to find a quality young partner to join him in a last-minute hit. Advertisement Any laity who faced the Pope on court would face several moral dilemmas. Is it cool to hit a winner past him if he comes to the net? Tagging the leader of the Holy See during a net duel also sounds like a one-way ticket to excommunication. Messages that included questions about the tennis court sent to the communications office of the Holy See were not returned. The golden era of Vatican tennis was the late 1970s, after the court was renovated. Even the Cardinals got caught up in that first tennis boom of the modern era, according to archival research from the Pontifical Council for the Laity. A 'Tournament of Friendship' began in 1978. Giovanni Battista Re, who would become the Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals, took the title. At the time, he was a priest who worked for the Secretariat of State, which performs the political and diplomatic functions for the Pope. In the final, Battista Re topped Roberto Tucci, an Italian Jesuit and the director general of Vatican Radio. He became a Cardinal, too. There was a third-place match. Peter Hasler, a Swiss Guard, beat Faustino Sainz Munoz of Spain, who became an archbishop. Priestly tennis benevolence proved their undoing. They stopped winning when they opened up the tournament to the employees of the Holy See's Property Administration, and then children of employees — a bad idea for older guys interested in winning championships. Eventually, participation waned and the tournament ended, before Vatican Museum employees started it again in 2008. Pope Leo won't have to work hard to find support among the sport's current pros if he wants to make tennis a bigger part of his reign. Iga Świątek said in a news conference that she would love to spend some time in St. Peter's Square waiting for the white smoke to emerge from the Sistine Chapel if she could work it out in her schedule. Emma Raducanu predicted a long conclave Wednesday night, a call which did not age well — Pope Leo was elected after a little more than 24 hours. Advertisement Madison Keys said Thursday night that her good friend Desirae Krawczyk, a doubles player, had hustled down to St. Peter's Square to join the excitement. All of it has made this opening week one that the Italian Open will never forget, especially come the announcement of his election appearing on stadium screens during matches Thursday evening. Turns out that was fitting. All these years later, Robert Francis Prevost finally made it in pro tennis. (Top photos: Andrej Isakovic, Alberto Pizzoli / Getty Images; Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; Graphic: John Bradford / The Athletic)
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
JD Vance sparks fury by breaking Vatican protocol...can you see what he did wrong?
A photo of JD Vance from his visit to Vatican City has sparked outrage after viewers spotted a huge breach of protocol. The seemingly innocuous snap showed the Catholic Vice President holding his son inside the Sistine Chapel over Easter weekend. However, photography and the use of electronic photography is strictly prohibited inside the holy site, according to the Vatican Museum's website. The image soon sparked a backlash, with many online branding it disrespectful. 'For anyone who still says JD is a "good guy," Taking this pic is basically like giving God the finger,' one person wrote on X. 'It's prohibited to preserve the amazing art and sanctity of the space. (I'm not Catholic, and even I know this. You'd think the #VP would, too.' 'I guess JD Vance thought the Sistine Chapel's strict no-photography rule was just a humble suggestion for Easter weekend, huh?' another added. 'Taking pictures in Sistine Chapel is strictly prohibited,' a third person fumed. 'JD Vance behaves like a hobo it's highly disrespectful. US administration act like 4 yrs old boys in a playground believing that they deserve all toys.' The photograph was taken by official White House photographer Emily Higgins. There is also precedent for other prominent figures being pictured inside the 552-year-old chapel, including former First Lady Michelle Obama. Vance was in Italy for a meeting with the late Pope Francis. They had an awkward exchange at the Vatican on Easter Sunday after the 88-year-old Pontiff slammed the Trump administration's treatment of illegal migrants. It came just one day after Vance, an adult Catholic convert, appeared to have been snubbed by the Pope and was initially forced to meet with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Peter Gallagher. The vice president and the Holy Father did later meet for a 'brief' exchange which lasted lasted a few minutes. The Pope offered the Catholic vice president three big chocolate Easter eggs for Vance's three young children, who did not attend, as well as a Vatican tie and rosaries. Vance and the Pontiff's stances over migration and the Trump administration´s plans to deport migrants en masse clashed sharply. Francis made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy. 'I know you have not been feeling great but it's good to see you in better health,' Vance told the Pope. 'Thank you for seeing me.' The Holy Father passed away the next day from a cerebral stroke, prompting worldwide mourning. Francis died some 90 minutes after he was awoken by his alarm clock on Monday. The Pontiff, who died today aged 88 at the Saint Martha residence in the Vatican, 'passed away peacefully', according to his doctors. He reportedly woke up when his alarm went off at 6am, fell ill at 7am and died from a stroke at 7.35am, according to Corriere della Serra.
