A third-grade prophecy, a Long Island psychic, and a beach house in Calabria that somehow, impossibly, was always the plan. Victoria Reed finds a version of home she didn't know she'd inherited.

Benjamin MacShane on Ferragosto, four hundred neighbours and what it means to feed a community in crisis

Ernest Bisgrove writes from Maratea, where doing very little takes up the entire day

Paulina Tegner Galzignato, on the pace of life, the food and the culture of one of Italy's most beloved islands.

Tanita Dzoba on her slow life rituals in a small ancient town, and what to do when you find yourself in Tuscia

DJ Mikael Garofalo takes us from Rome to Bologna, Venice and Capri in search of Italy’s best summer music

Kristina Kappelin on becoming a Capri lady, with her favourite places on the island

Stella Scocco reflects on family rituals and how places connect us to time

Elisa Amorelli on why Rome might just be the best wine city in the world, and where to drink in it.

The World Cup is about to begin without the Azzurri. Again. Match analyst Adriano Bacconi thinks the real problem is not talent, but a country that no longer knows how to develop it.

What started as a weekly digital newsletter on Substack – a curated guide to the 10 best cultural happenings in Rome each week – has now taken a physical form.

Ernest Bisgrove belongs to a generation of Italians often described as cervelli in fuga – literally, brains on the run. For many, departure was simply what you did. Bisgrove left Rome for Milan, then London, then Barcelona. Returning changed how he saw the city.

In San Lorenzo, a dense network of artist-run spaces, studios and cultural initiatives has taken shape within just half a square kilometre, building on a long tradition of self-organised art rooted in the neighbourhood.

Nearly two millennia ago, before paved streets and a buzzing nightlife, the landscape outside the Aurelian walls was mostly fields. The views were interrupted only by the Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mura, built on the grave of the martyr Saint Lawrence (whose Italian name was, you guessed it, San Lorenzo).

We ask for a table. The room is full.

Tania Fauci looks up, reaches for a notebook, writes down a name and says to come back in fifteen minutes. No phone number, no app, no hostess desk. Just paper, pen and a system that exists entirely in her head.

At Sapienza University, a protest against gender-based violence sparked a wider debate about culture, tradition, and accountability in contemporary Italy. Set against a backdrop of recent femicides and legal reform, the essay argues that while the law increasingly recognises structural violence against women, the roots of the problem remain embedded in enduring social norms that cannot be legislated away.

The Aurelian Walls mark the southern edge. The cemetery of Verano, the largest in Rome, marks the east. Between them: one of the city's most stubbornly alive places. What follows is a selection of what’s worth coming back for, from somebody who lives in San Lorenzo.