The Local

Forget the property search in Tuscany, head to neighbouring Le Marche for a little bit of everything. Location Le Marche is one of Italy's lesser-known regions, often overlooked by visitors in favour of neighbouing Tuscany. But with plenty of rolling hills, over 170km of Adriatic coastline and Apeine mountains, this central Italian region brings together all the charms of the 'boot-shaped' country in one place. Price €350,000 or approximately $413,953/£310,939 depending on exchange rates.Condition Completely restored/habitable In pictures This attractive stone house is in an elevated position on the hills of Macerata province, offering beautiful open views of the ...

File photo of a Primark storefront. Photo: Remko de Waal / ANP / AFPItaly is famed for trend-setting designers from Gucci to Prada and the effortless chic of the locals, but the latest addition to Florence's high street proves there's still a market for cheap and cheerful fashion. Budget clothes sto...

A damaged church in Amatrice. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFPItaly's museums will donate all money raised from ticket sales on Sunday to help restore cultural treasures damaged or destroyed by Wednesday’s 6.0 magnitude quake in central Italy. The Initiative, dubbed ‘museums4italy’ was aounced on Thursday, by Culture Minister, Dario Franceschini. Franceschini underscored that the current priority was saving lives, but said all state-run museums would donate their takings as ‘a show of solidarity for the people in affected areas.’ As the dust from the earthquake settles and hopes of more survivors being pulled from the rubble fade, attention is tuing to the Herculean task of rebuilding the plac...

The kitchens at the Fullonica di Stephanus. Photo: Archaeological Superintendency of PompeiiThe ancient Roman kitchens of a Pompeii launderette have once again been kitted out with pots and pans as part of a new project that is trying to give visitors a sense of what day-to-day life in the city was like. Before they were buried by a volcanic eruption in AD 79, the kitchens once provided food for the hungry attendants of the three-storey launderette, the Fullonica di Stephanus. The Fullonica was the place where wealthy Roman patricians sent their togas to be washed in huge baths using clay and urine. The garments were then rinsed, dried and placed on special presses to ensure they retued to t...

The Bourbon palace at Caserta is one of the sites looking for cash. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsItaly is looking to Chinese investors to secure the future of many of its crumbling archaeological sites. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini flew to China on Tuesday in order to promote a new system that will offer Chinese investors generous tax breaks if they invest in Italy's under-funded cultural sites. The scheme will hand investors tax reductions of up to 65 percent if they pour cash into Italian heritage and will only be available to Chinese companies with registered offices in Italy. “Attracting foreign investment has been, and will continue to be, one of the driving forces of this min...