La Bella Vita: Inspiring Italian women and Italy's best events this spring

Local Italy

07-03-2025

La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to newsletter preferences in 'My Account' or following the instructions in the newsletter box below.
Saturday, March 8th is International Women's Day (or Festa della Donna in Italian), with celebrations and parades due to take place across the peninsula.
If you're in Italy, keep an eye out for the bright yellow mimosa flowers which are traditionally gifted to women on this day as a sign of appreciation.
To mark the occasion, we've put together a list of 10 of the most inspiring women in Italian history, and took a look at the legacies they left behind.
With the sun making increasingly longer appearances and blossoms starting to grow on trees, it's impossible to deny that spring is right around the corner in Italy.
That doesn't just mean outdoor aperitivi, the mezza stagione wardrobe change and the annual pulizie di primavera spring clean; it also means a packed spring events calendar.
From wine fairs and food festivals to art exhibitions and sporting events, here are some of the highlights to look forward to in Italy in the coming months.
One of the pleasures of learning a foreign language is stumbling across words that have perfectly innocuous meanings in their own language but sound rude in yours - and Italy's villages don't disappoint.
Arsoli, Bra and Buggerru are some of the Italian towns that might raise an anglophone's eyebrows.
Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you'd like to see us write more about on The Local? Please email us at [e-mail].