The first big meeting can elicit all sorts of similarities, and differences.

Knowing I was leaving Italy in two weeks, I began the Sisyphean task of getting Bella her "documents."

Good Italian girlfriends are hard to find for an American 'straniera.'

The sinister rustle in the undergrowth dulls some of the pleasure of the spring ritual of asparagus-picking.

Rome's Ego-Yoga is no cakewalk in the yoga wilderness. On the contrary.

Many Italian restaurants, cafes, shops, offices, trains, churches and even butchers welcome animals with open arms.

Italian children hardly ever go to school, or so it can seem.

Like it or not, Italianism are destined to make their way into your vocabulary.

Weight is an unhappy subject when a would-be mother-in-law weighs in.

In Italy, funerals are marathon affairs that can make you ravenously hungry.

"My Big Fat Calabrian Wedding" doesn't look so appealing close up