Walking sticks are not just for the elderly apparently, but can be used by all hikers wanting ovreall exercise for their circulatory system. The exercise of using hiking poles is called nordic walking and apart from saving your knees, it combines trekking with some good fitness.

Walking tours of Emilia Romagna are being organised which employ just this philosophy. In October, the club PromoAppennino is organising nordic walking tours of the national park Gessi Bolognesi, with a route that goes along the Idice river with views of the geological formations along the way.

Equipment required is a pair of walking boots, and carbon hiking poles that help reduce fatigue. The secret is all in the posture, though to learn the correct technique it’s better for a nordic walking guide to show you the ropes first. In Italy the Nordic Fitness Association has a list of excursions conducted in Nordic Walking Parks.

For information and costs on the October Emilia Romagna tour, go to the PromoAppenino site. The tour starts at 9:30 on October 5, hiking poles can be hired.

Photo | Flickr

Continue reading: Nordic walking tours Italy: the Parco dei Gessi Bolognesi in Emilia Romagna

It seems the New York Times can’t make up its mind about Rome. It is indeed, like much of Italy, a city of contradictions, beauty, grottiness (at times) and is renowned for its chaos. But how well do we really know it? And how much do international journalists and correspondents understand of the Italian mindset?

In an article published April 5, the American newspaper cracks down on the state of the Appian Way in Rome. A road built by the Romans in 312 B.C it is an important historical thoroughfare to the port city of Brindisi.

But it appears that the ruins are now being overrun by swimming pools, modern villas for weddings and balls, and restaurants at the cost of ruining the park area that was once destined to protect the monuments and natural environment. All apparently the fault of Italy’s complex and ignored planning and development laws, and general apathy towards its historical treasures.

Continue reading: Rome streets in American eyes