The 25 Essential Gardens to See in Your Lifetime

The 25 Essential Gardens to See in Your Lifetime

A garden is an ideal place to spend a sunny afternoon, but would you fly across the world for the pleasure of doing so? Which gardens are worthy of such a journey? To answer that question — and define what makes a garden truly spectacular — we assembled a panel …

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The Torlonia Marbles Offer Everything We Ask of Art

The Torlonia Marbles Offer Everything We Ask of Art

The two women are a coil of contradictions: Roman but also Greek, flesh but also stone. They both are confident, blessed with the poise of the noble and famous, yet also slightly shy. As if, after centuries of gazes, they can only appear before us slightly abashed. As if they …

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Hold the Chianti: Tariff Threat Leaves Italian Bottles Grounded

Hold the Chianti: Tariff Threat Leaves Italian Bottles Grounded

All it took was an all-caps social media threat by President Trump to impose a 200 percent tariff on European wine for the shipments of many Brunellos, Chiantis and Proseccos to come to a shuddering halt. In Tuscany, Italy’s most famous wine-exporting region, thousands of bottles meant for American tables …

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Private Island Comes on the Market in Italy

Private Island Comes on the Market in Italy

Private Mediterranean islands are rather rare, but Punta Pennata, a sliver of land in the Gulf of Naples with the crumbling walls of an old Roman villa tucked amid its overgrown flora, has been on the market for several months. Located about 20 miles from downtown Naples, the narrow island …

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In Europe and Japan, Luxury Sleeper Trains

In Europe and Japan, Luxury Sleeper Trains

If you’ve longed to indulge in elegant rail travel, but thought the days of lavish cars and live music were over, you’re in luck. New trains as well as new routes, amenities and special events are rolling out, enticing travelers to sit back, Champagne in hand, and glide through some …

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Catholics Around the Globe Heed Francis’ Call to ‘Pray for Me’

Catholics Around the Globe Heed Francis’ Call to ‘Pray for Me’

When Pope Francis first appeared to the world on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he humbly requested that the faithful “pray for me.” Those simple words became the punctuation marks of his pontificate, as he ended practically all his speeches, greetings, weekly benedictions and casual conversations with the appeal. …

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