Trevi Fountain is under construction, surrounded by glass hoarding about three metres high. Still, the area is filled with tourists, confused by what they see. So they take photos, or if they're alone, selfie shots through the glass, of themselves and the construction workers. Others stand backs to the glass, making wishes, before throwing coins over their shoulders toward the fountain. But the glass is too high and most of the coins ricochet back off the t...

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Catherine Benincasa was born in Siena in 1347. She encountered her first vision of Christ when she was 5 or 6 years old and took a vow of chastity at 7. As the story goes she became heavily involved in religion, developed a working relationship with the pope and gathered herself quite a flock of Christians. She died in Rome at the age of 33 and was canonized by Pope Pius II in 1461, making her one of Italy's two patron saints. Now here is where it really get...

 I once had a friend who'd moved with his parents from Rome to Canada in the mid-50s. I thought he was being rude when he told me that as a 10 year-old, he thought he'd died and gone to a cold, cold hell, as his and his parents' train chugged west across the Great-White North. I can see now that he wasn't trying to be rude at all. After Elenka and I had visited the obligatory sights of Rome we settled back with a cold beer and a sigh of relief. ...

Venice is a city of cutstone streets and alleys. A major canal dissects the city and numerous smaller ones run off it. Little and big foot bridges, hundreds, perhaps a thousand, span the canals. There are no automobiles in Venice. I could perch myself just about any place in this wondrous city and spend the whole day just looking at the architecture. Statues, frescoes and magnificent churches - then a gondola floats by. Everywhere you look there is something new ...