Rick explores the option of "agriturismi," farmhouse inns that open their doors, kitchens, and farms to travelers looking to experience rural Italian life up close.

Italian food expert Fred Plotkin takes Rick deep into the culture of enjoying a good meal in Italy.

Sicilian-based tour guide Tommaso Pante tells us why we should visit the often overlooked island of Malta, where the Arab world meets Europe in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Two of Rick's liveliest Italian friends compare the loyalties, cuisine, accents, and attitudes of Italy's regions and find some common ground in good food — and soccer.

Rick talks with Lisa Anderson, an American who fell in love with Italy — and an Italian. Lisa shares her thoughts on flirting, romance, marriage, and raising a family in northern Italy.

American Lisa Anderson returns with the next installment of her Italian love story: What happened when she became the mother to two Italian boys.

William Wallace, an expert on Michelangelo, joins Rick in a roundtable discussion about some of the personal influences on the great artist, and how he was very much a man of his time.

Rick talks with a Naples-based American about the intense, chaotic city she now calls home. They also discuss nearby sights: resorty Sorrento, the island of Capri, ancient Pompeii, and Mount Vesuvius.

Guides from southern Italy chat with Rick about the attractions of energetic Naples and its nearby coastal and island resorts.

Colleen Heater, author of "Pilgrim’s Italy," finds inspiration from the spiritual sites of Italy and Roberto Bechi, a tour guide in Siena, is helping to restore the pilgrim's trail from England to Rome.