It's an early spring morning in Milan. The cosmopolitan hub of Italy's north is awakening with a shot of espresso. Many are bleary-eyed after a whirlwind week celebrating the Salone del Mobile, the world's largest furniture-and-design fair. Outside Palazzo Serbelloni, I'm standing in a queue that's snaking around the neoclassical palace. If its weathered stucco walls could talk, they'd tell tales of the palazzo's notable inhabitants, including Napoleon Bonaparte and King Vittorio Emanuele II. Yet this crowd of international and local style setters and design aficionados (mostly in smart sneakers, not the suede loafers of yore) isn't searching for history; it wants to see something new. And Milan, which suddenly feels like the most forward-thinking city in Italy—a place of big ideas, investment, and innovation, busily spouting new subway lines, cutting-edge hotels, and infrastructure ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics—is more than ready to oblige.
But the home of Prada, Campari, and da Vinci hasn't always drawn swells of visitors. Until recently, Milan was one of the most bypassed cities in Italy. What's changed? No single thing. Rather, there has been a convergence of sorts—Brexit exiles arriving, new tax incentives for businesses, the city's revamping of a handful of rundown districts. Coming out of the pandemic, Milan, in contrast to other cities around the globe, feels more habitable and inviting than ever, with a thriving cultural scene and a growing number of green spaces. It makes sense that international travelers' eyes have been reopened to it and that a new generation of creatives is calling it home.
Designers Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari with their daughter Altea and a piece from their Pet Therapy project.
Like the design duo Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari, of Atelier Biagetti, whom I meet when I finally make it inside the Piazza Serbelloni for the launch of Louis Vuitton's Objets Nomades, the travel-inspired furniture-and-object exhibition the French luxury brand has mounted annually at Salone since 2013. As part of the collection, the pair is showing Flower Tower, a striking glass totem made of lit rings, all handblown in the Venice area. Their previous designs have included an optometrist-style No Sex mirror and a giant cat sofa, part of a series called Pet Therapy. “Design shouldn't be this unattainable, difficult thing,” says the elegant Baldassari, who was an opera singer and a fine artist before she and Biagetti met and founded their multidisciplinary studio. (She sometimes sings in live installation performances.) “It should be inclusive.”
Indeed, part of the appeal of Salone, Laura says, is that, “Milan opens its doors, and you get this great mix of designers,
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Drawing visitors since the 1700s, North Norfolk has long been a place of escapism. You arrive ready to fill your lungs with sea air and let your gaze drift to the horizon. The natural beauty here is not the kind that smacks you in the face and overwhelms with superlatives. The expansive beaches, endless skies, fenland and watery network of the Broads are a more subtle tonic for the soul — you don’t have to work too hard to forget life beyond this somewhat overlooked patch of East Anglia.
Ho Chi Minh City is a vibrant and exciting city with a lot to offer visitors. It is the largest city in Vietnam and has a rich history, diverse culture, and delicious food. Some of the top things to do in Ho Chi Minh City include visiting the War Remnants Museum, exploring the city’s French colonial architecture, taking a walk through Ben Thanh Market, and sampling the city’s delicious street food. Ho Chi Minh City is also a relatively affordable city, making it a great value for travelers. Whether you’re interested in history, culture, food, or shopping, you’re sure to find something to love. These Ho Chi Minh City hotels put you close to everything.
Called Monzo, this upscale burger joint combines British Columbia’s best ingredients with Italian products, all with a salute to the fashion, food and car cultures of Italy in the 1980s.
The Botswana Tourism Investment Summit aims to spotlight the country as an economic tiger in the making for its untapped tourism and investment opportunities.
The sheer size (it’s the sixth-largest state) and scope of Arizona make it tempting to try to explore this wonderland on a seven-day road trip around the American Southwest. But from the vastness of the Grand Canyon in its northern reaches to its gunslinging history in Tombstone near the border with Mexico, Arizona has hundreds of miles to cover.
If conditions are favourable, you don’t need much for a simple astronomy exploration. However, it can be a lot more comfortable and rewarding with a little planning and some key items of stargazing equipment. There’s a few essential pieces that will dramatically change your experience in a dark sky area.
Piedmont is literally “at the foot of the mountains”. This expansively elegant region in the north-west of Italy occupies a unique position between the majestic Alps to its north and coastal Liguria to the south. From the heady buzz, regal portici and piazze of the main metropolis Turin, to the verdant rolling vineyards of the Langhe (a Unesco world heritage site),Piedmont’s geography has shaped its landscapes, culinary specialties and its culture and customs.
South Africa offers some of the world’s most diverse landscapes, from sparkling oceans and stark deserts to snow-capped peaks and wildlife-dense savanna.
Within the soft, nutty yellow corn tortilla is a slick of piquant, smoky salsa, pan-wilted rainbow chard and a crowning of cheese, finely grated in pale, positively delicate curls. The main bulk of the filling looks and bites like stewed lentils, but the fatty texture and umami complexity is more reminiscent of minced meat, all slow-stewed and jammy. Yet, it’s neither — it’s made from dried seaweed pulp.