Best hiking trails in northern Italy After months of lockdown, the desire to go out and meet again outdoors is irresistible. One of the best holiday options for fulfilling this craving is to go hiking! And where else than in beautiful Italy? I suspect that when it comes to Italy the first images that come […]
Arena of Verona, an evening at the Opera in Italy The Arena in Verona announced and confirmed the dates of the summer Opera Festival. The shows will run from 19th June – 4th September for year 2021. The history of the Arena of Verona The Arena was built in the 1st century A.D by the […]
Grand Hotel Tremezzo, a 5 star paradise on Lake Como I now know that there are some destinations in the World where really the only way to experience them properly is as a big spender and from the lap of luxury. And Lake Como is one of them. We have visited Lake Como on various […]
Easy recipe for Italian Borlotti Bean soup or minestra Although in Italy the bean soup is a winter dish, we also like it in the summer or at any time really. It is one of our “family favourite” dish! It is not only delicious, but also very easy to make and healthy. Bean soup is […]
Italy has opened its borders to international tourists from the EU, UK, Israel and USA, UAE, Canada and Japan Italy is ready to open its borders! Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the Health Minister Roberto Speranza have been working on a step by step plan to reopen the country both for national and international tourism. […]
Best trail running races in the Aosta Valley There are so many incredible running trails in Northern Italy, especially in the Aosta Valley and in the Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso that stretches to Piemonte region. Running on these trails offers you breathtaking, panoramic views of the Italian Alps, waterfalls, deep valleys, glaciers, incredible rock formations […]
Guide to trail running and races in northern Italy What is Trail Running? Trail running is a popular activity for the period of April – September, focused mainly for the summer season. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have mountains for trail running. Trail running can in fact be done everywhere. It is […]
Two Mondays ago I got to spend a couple of hours with Egon Boccadelli Real, Marco Scagliarini and Andrea Zemoz at our favourite Aosta ski shop, Technosport. The guys had just about wrapped up another successful but thanks to COVID, challenging winter season and were in the process of preparing the shop for the summer. […]
3 beautiful inland lakes to visit in Liguria, Italy Escape from the beach – but stay by the cool water This cute little article was kindly prepared for us, in her native Italian, by Selene Scinicariello. Selene is a travel and gastronomy writer & blogger. She is also editor of the website Viaggi Che Mangi! […]
Discover the Lake District of North West Italy There are many lakes all over Italy, in fact more than 1,500, more if you include all the little mountain lakes. But most of the larger lakes are concentrated in Northwest Italy, in the Lombardia and Piemonte regions, not far from Milan. The Italian Lake District The […]
Because of Covid we are not able to get out and about around our area of North West Italy as we would like, in order to bring to you stimulating information about places and experiences that you might find useful when you are next in this amazing part of Italy. There can only be so […]
As part of a new series of interviews and features coming from the other parts of Italy: North East, Central and Southern & Islands, we are very excited to be able to take a first Good Life Italy look at the gorgeous and refined region of Umbria through the eyes of David and Chrissie Lang. […]
A holiday home in Western Liguria – La Riviera dei Fiori Introducing LiguriaHomes Casamare We are delighted to say that Matteo Scandolera, the charming and approachable Director of LiguriaHomes Casamare has agreed to help us with our Goodlife Property project. Matteo will be sharing with us some of the fabulous properties that he has for […]
Introducing Agenzia San Grato – Pila’s No. 1 estate agent We are delighted that Agenzia San Grato has kindly agreed to help us with our Goodlife Property project. Agenzia San Grato is THE estate agent for the lovely little Aosta Valley ski resort of Pila. They are the only agent with a shop in the […]
Thanks to Richard Noble, owner and manager of Villa Ribota guesthouse in the Langhe for this topical guest blog…. Undeniably a good question, especially when you consider all the political manoeuvring that’s going on… but I want to focus on the dreaded Coronavirus for now. At the beginning of the pandemic, almost a year ago […]
Let’s discover together the Italian Carnival – Carnevale traditions and events in North Italy ! What is Carnival and when is it celebrated Carnival in Italy is a Catholic and Christian celebration but in reality it has very distant origins going back to ancient Greece and the Roman world. The word Carnevale is an Italian […]
Take a virtual visit to Italy through these fabulous films Travelling is difficult at the moment. But we can still immerse ourselves in the extraordinary beauty of Italy through watching films at home. So let’s take a cinematic journey through Italy with this great collection of light-hearted comedies, romances and even some action movies. […]
Easy recipe for Polpettone alla Ligure The origin of Polpettone alla Ligure The Italian Riviera is awash in some of the finest fish in the Mediterranean. However, this long and narrow land is trapped between the mountains and the sea, which gives several beautiful fresh ingredients for the Ligurian cuisine. From the slopes we get […]
Recipe for gluten-free Schwarzplententorta: delicious and healthy The origin of Schwarzplententorta (TORTA GRANO SARACENO) Torta Grano Saraceno is a typical dessert from the Trentino Alto Agide region of Italy. As it is close to the Austrian border (South Tyrol) they share some customs and culinary delights, like this delicous cake. The cake is prepared with […]
Easy recipe for Colomba di Pasqua, the Italian Easter sweet delight What is Colomba di Pasqua and where it comes from Colomba di Pasqua is a similar sweet bread to Panettone and Pandoro, but it is made traditionally for Easter. Shaped like a dove, the bread is glazed and covered with crystallized sugar and unpeeled […]
Liguria, a tiny region located in north-west Italy, is famous for its breath taking landscapes, picturesque hamlets and great cuisine. However, the most important reason that attracts every year millions of tourists from all over the world (apart from during the pandemic period of course) is its beaches. But they are not all the same, […]
Let’s discover the 8 officially prettiest inland villages in western Liguria! Inland, away from the luscious sea side, western Liguria, i.e. the part between Genova and the border with France is a varied and relatively wild land of vineyards, olive groves, lemon trees and forests. It is a mountain landscape dotted with medieval towns and […]
North West Italy: reasons to visit this region Now that we have produced a few articles and got the Good Life Italy site up and running I thought I would do a little summary of what we have discovered so far about the four regions that make up our region of North West Italy. Namely […]
Recipe for easy zucchini and gamberetti (prawn) pasta This recipe is a family favourite, even our 8 year old son adores it. It is also a good way to get children to eat some seafood and vegetables. When I started working with Alessia 15 years ago and was living in Italy for the first time, […]
La Farinata Genovese – authentic Italian recipe La Farinata (or Cecina, Socca, Fainá) is a typical street food from Liguria, but you can find it all over Italy. It originated in Genoa and later became a typical food of the Ligurian coast, spreading also further afield to Nice, Sardenia and Isola d’Elba. This traditional Ligurian […]
Meatballs in tomato sauce, the authentic Italian recipe Meatballs or ‘polpette’ as the Italians call them, is a famous dish all over the world. The Swedish, Germans and Arabs all have their own versions and proudly include them in their gastronomic traditions. It is so easy to prepare, very versatile and also cost effective. In […]
Grand Hotel Tremezzo, a 5 star paradise on Lake Como I now know that there are some destinations in the World where really the only way to experience them properly is as a big spender and from the lap of luxury. And Lake Como is one of them. We have visited Lake Como on various […]
Discovering new winter sports in the Italian Alps, Aosta Valley The recent announcement that the Italian ski resorts are now going to remain closed for the rest of the 2020/21 season due to Covid is obviously a big blow. For us as a family that lives in the Italian Alps and who love skiing obviously, […]
What is it like sending your kids to local school in France and Italy – part 2 Our move from Northern France to Italy in 2014 was mainly driven by Anita’s job as export manager for AD Fashion, a family owned clothing producing company based in Torino. She had been working for them remotely for […]
Sending your kids to local school in France and Italy – part 1 We moved to the Aosta Valley in Italy with our two boys, Olly who was then aged 11 and Marty aged 18 months in September 2014 from a small village in the Pas de Calais, France called Inxent. Inxent is located 10 […]
Thanks to Richard Noble, owner and manager of Villa Ribota guesthouse in the Langhe for this topical guest blog…. Undeniably a good question, especially when you consider all the political manoeuvring that’s going on… but I want to focus on the dreaded Coronavirus for now. At the beginning of the pandemic, almost a year ago […]
The job of a school group ski instructor… In the winter of 2018/19 I did the BASI level 1&2 ski instructor course with Interski in Pila, Aosta Valley. Having somehow or another managed to pass the course I have so far done 4 week’s paid work with Interski as an instructor, looking after school groups […]
Although it’s not yet official, everyone we speak to locally seems resigned to the fact that the Italian ski resorts might now remain closed for the rest of the season. As is the case all over Europe at the moment, the rules in the Aosta Valley and in the rest of Italy are changing almost […]
It was the best euro 2,000 I ever spent and the wisest decision I ever made when I bought our burgundy red, 10 KW Ravelli wood pellet stufa back in 2014, when we moved into our apartment in Gressan. Sitting there reassuringly in the corner of the living room, next to the tele. He […]