Italy

The Parata inlet, 3km from the crowded Frontone beach, is where Odysseus (on his way back home from burning Troy) was bewitched by the sorceress Circe, who made him her slave. The best way to reach it is by kayak from Cala Feola bay (rentals starts at €25pp with guide for a three-hour tour). Popular Chiaia di Luna cliff, with its reddish-yellow layers, looks like a slice of Mars and is towards the south of the island, opposite the harbour. You can swim in Roman aqueducts, cisterns and fisheries at Pontius Pilate’s caves adjacent to the port, named after the Roman governor of Judea who loved to bathe here. More are dotted about the isle and were used by the Romans in the past to breed moray eels. … [Read more...] about Roman roaming: a tour of Italy’s Pontine Islands

Castello di Potentino, near Montalcino, Tuscany This stunning medieval castle built on Etruscan foundations is now owned by English siblings. As well as hosting guests in regal rooms looking out over the surrounding hills, the castle is a functioning vineyard. Stay there in luxury, sampling the home-made wines and rich local food under the setting sun. Or do as I did and spend some time volunteering: helping with wine-making while still having time to enjoy the hill-top pool. If you’re lucky you might even catch an evening quartet on the terrace.• Doubles from €150 B&B, potentino.comlucycheseldine … [Read more...] about Readers’ travel tips: hotels, B&Bs and villas in Italy

Otranto jazz festival The historical walled town of Otranto is worth visiting in its own right, to walk through cobbled streets, chill out on the beach or stroll around the harbour with a local panzerrotti (a sort of cheese-and-ham mini pizza) but it really becomes animated and lively during the week-long summer jazz festival, a not-for-profit affair held in the grounds of the castle overlooking the town (from 24 July in 2015). Open air and candle lit, the atmosphere and setting are amazing. TheCapeCrusaider … [Read more...] about Puglia, Italy: readers’ travel tips

In Britain, nevertheless, Picchi was feted as a hero ("SAVOY'S PICCHI DIES FOR US", hurrahed the Daily Express). The War Office even planned to make a film about him. He was one of an estimated 18,000 Italians resident in Britain at the time. Not a few of them were Jews on the run from the Fascist antisemitic laws of 1938 and wished only for Fascist Italy's demise. Mussolini's cosh gangs conspired to deport more than 6,800 Italian Jews to Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps. Mussolini made no attempt to justify the outrage; Hitler, at least, was lethally committed to his ideology. … [Read more...] about Target: Italy review – Britain’s secret war against Mussolini

WHO echoed China's initial claims the virus could not be transmitted between humans and accepted the regime's statistics seemingly without question. … [Read more...] about US has TWICE as many coronavirus cases as Italy with Michigan, Louisiana and Georgia the next ‘hotspots’