The story of La Befana, Italy’s Christmas witch: the magical character that celebrates the epiphany in Italy and ‘carries away’ the festivities.  One of my favorite winter traditions is the celebration of Epiphany in Italy (6th of January). On this day, Italy celebrates the arrival of the Three Kings to the crib of baby Jesus, an important event in the Christian religion. However, ask any child in Italy and rather than the Three Kings, they’re likely to mention a very different reason why they are so keen about this day. A reason that involved sweets and a magical creature who brings them: La Befana (In English, she is often referred to as…

Easy recipe to make tiramisu without coffee and alcohol, an easy to make and kid-friendly tiramisu recipe.  Tiramisu is one of the most popular desserts in Italy, usually loved because of the creamy embrace of its cream mixed with the kick of flavor from espresso and just a dash of cognac. However, coffee and cognac are not for everyone. So, the most classic tiramisu may be out of the question for those who don’t like coffee, cannot drink it or must stay away from alcohol in any form. Thankfully, there is a tiramisu recipe that allows you to have not only an alcohol free tiramisu, but one that has no…

Learn how to say I love you in Italian and how to express affection in Italian to a loved one, with real-life examples and phrases. If you planning on declaring your love in Italian, you are in the right place! For such a special, romantic and unique situation, you want to make sure you have all your words right and, for this, the help of a mother tongue speaker like me is invaluable! I can tell you not just how to say I love you in Italian, but also situations in which you are better off using a different expression. I am Italian and trained as a teacher of Italian…