EyeItalia

Few things – or aromas – are as closely associated to Italy as coffee – caffé. Yet in Italy there isn’t just “il caffé”: there is a multitude of ways to enjoy your coffee; every Italian generally has a preference for one kind or the other. When in a bar ordering a caffé, what you will get is a “caffé espresso”. However you might ask for (and hear people around you asking for) a “caffé lungo”, which is an espresso diluted with a little more water, or for a “caffé ristretto”, which is exactly the opposite (an espresso with even less water than in the regular one – basically a dose of pure caffeine).

A delicious Italian coffee dessert, made with espresso, ice cream, orange liquer and whipped cream.

For one of the finest imaginable Italian dishes, nothing beats Eggplant Parmigiana. It’s richness and flavor is second to none. Though rather lengthy to prepare – it has several steps, and layering is required – this recipe (given to us by a Sicilian friend who knows her way around la cucina) will produce ecstatic oohs and aahs at your dinner table.

If (like us!) you love liver, you’ll enjoy this unusual and easy recipe for stuffed roast chicken, Italian style.

The Anfiteatro Castrense is the Roman amphitheatre that most people, including most Romans, know nothing about. This miniature version of the Colosseum hides an interior garden blessed with some of the freshest fruit and vegatables in the capital and the unlikely urban farmers are actually white-habit-with-black-aproned, Benedictine-Cistercian monks whose monastery and church, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, are now part of the amphitheatre complex.