Maria Lisella

NEW YORK – The Book of Ruth, traditionally read during Shavuot, is a story of two women alone in a man’s world, in a time of famine, flight, foreignness, emigration, displacement and even despair.

It is a pastoral narrative that still piques the imaginations of artists, writers, scholars and in particular, New York illuminator and illustrator Barbara Wolff.

After two years’ work, Wolff has produced a stunning rendition of the Book of Ruth layered with platinum, gold and silver. It will be on ...

From its perch as one of the most popular countries in the world, overnight Italy has become the poster child the whole world is watching as the coronavirus stealthily arrived through its northern gateway in Milan earlier this week.
According to Worldometer, Italy now has 888 cases of coronavirus, the third most worldwide behind China and South Korea. Italy’s tourism federation, Assoturismo, said up to 90% of hotel and travel agency bookings had been canceled in Rome and up to 80% in Sicily f...

NEW YORK – A flirtatious installation dedicated to love, diversity and democracy in the center of New York City’s Times Square has Israeli hearth written all over it.
Located on Father Duffy Square on 7th Avenue between 46th and 47th streets, Heart Squared is this year’s winner of New York City’s annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition.
Heart Squared is the brainchild of a dynamic team of futurists, architects and designers that stars Israeli-born named Rachely Rotem, director ...

It is no great secret that Japan is among the most stunning, yet not widely visited, countries in Asia, and maybe the world. One insider said, “Japan is a land of ancient castles, Shinto Shrines, Buddhist monasteries and statues, where traditional cultures and etiquette overlap with futuristic, modern wonders.”
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) inaugurated a global, multilingual campaign in 2018, “Enjoy My Japan,” designed to inspire guests to take a more intimate look at this el...

At first, I told myself this would be a good exercise: revisiting Italy without my husband, the recently deceased poet Gil Fagiani. Like widows all over the world, I was floundering, finding my way without him, and visiting Italy without him presented a particular challenge. In the end, I returned home with a touch of pride for having made the trip and finding an aspect of my Calabrian self that can only strengthen who I am.
I could not imagine a more difficult task than to revisit the places...

CALABRIA, Italy – No, you will not get a matzah ball recipe from Rabbi Barbara Aiello, but she will share her grandmother’s recipe for Italian wedding soup right next to an extra-large serving of a history lesson about the earliest Diaspora of Jews to southern Italy (in 267 BCE), specifically to the region of Calabria in the “toe of the boot.”
And, yes, she keeps a kosher house and doesn’t eat pork or shellfish even outside her home. This is not so challenging in Italy, where the cuisine is s...

Surveys inquiring why Americans travel to Europe almost all point to one factor: culture. The majority of Americans still trace their DNA to the continent, and while their first stops in Europe might be English-speaking countries, 42 percent of passport-holding Americans revisit Europe frequently.
Recent studies indicate that tourists pursuing culture and heritage tend to stay longer than the average visitor by 20 percent, and they tend to spend almost 40 percent more than general tourists. C...

In 1973, while bedridden, Levi used a special wooden notebook, built with strings attached to the sides to help guide his hand when drawing or writing. He labeled it "Quaderno a cancelli" (fenced notebook), the name given to his final collection of prose and poetry that accompanies these blind drawings, produced with pencil, pastels and ballpoint pen.
Carlo Levi’ s book, Christ Stopped at Eboli is considered one of the major literary works of the 20th century, and once translated into English...

Ten artists confront identity, history and heritage in a multi-media exhibit, and try to deliver ways of understanding the world when truth is censored, borders are closed, mobility is obstructed, and civil liberties are being upturned daily.
The Rubin Museum of New York has a reputation for focusing on rare and spiritual yearnings through rituals and art from Nepal and Tibet; the fascinating worlds of the Himalayas both new and ancient. It is a jewel of a museum that New Yorkers and traveler...

You might not link “passion” with the cool island of Ireland, or maybe you think Ireland’s sixth record-breaking year for tourism is based on the “Luck of the Irish,” but Tourism Ireland executives have left nothing to chance. They know exactly how to press, promote and market the passion points that have led to the country’s blockbuster tourism arrivals.
The current “Fill Your Heart with Ireland” campaign was designed to reach emotional passion points by presenting a series of moments that a...

Since she took office five years ago, Brewer has passed legislation to add caregivers to the city’s anti-discrimination law, remove criminal history questions from initial employment applications (the Fair Chance Act) and enforced the requirement for street numbers to appear on buildings in Manhattan (to better aid emergency workers).
Yesterday the Vito Marcantonio Forum presented the 5th Annual Vito Marcantonio Awards to the 27th Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer at a luncheon. At the...

NEW YORK – Be prepared to fall in love with Leonard Cohen (19342016) at the monumental exhibit Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything at the Jewish Museum, entirely devoted to the legacy of the singer/ songwriter and global icon from Montreal.
The exhibit occupies two floors and part of the third – more space than ever dedicated to one exhibit – of the French Gothic Revival-style Warburg Mansion on Fifth Avenue that houses the Jewish Museum, on view from April 12 through September 8.
Not a fan?...

A black and white photo of wisteria draping the courtyard walls welcomes visitors to the Frick’s current exhibit, Tiepolo in Milan: The Lost Frescoes of Palazzo Archinto, on view April 16 through July 14, 2019.

That wisteria survived the Allied bombing that took place August 13-16th, 1943, that tragically destroyed the Palazzo Archinto in Milan along with the magnificent Giambattista Tiepolo’s series of ceiling frescoes painted in 1730–31, his first significant project outside of Venice. Duri...

Claudia Gould, director of the Jewish Museum: “This is an exhibit that is cross-generational, about a life not a beginning and not an end ...”

Be prepared to fall in love with Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) at the monumental exhibit Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything at the Jewish Museum entirely devoted to the legacy of the singer/songwriter, and global icon from Montreal, Canada.

The exhibit occupies two floors and part of the third — more space than ever dedicated to one exhibit — of the Fren...

Coveted Michelin stars have been awarded to two Croatian restaurants, effectively boosting the country’s reputation as a top gourmet destination.
The Croatian restaurants that each received a Michelin star are the Noel (in Zagreb) and Draga di Lovrana (in Lovran). In addition, Pelegrini (in Šibenik), 360º (in Dubrovnik), and Monte (in Rovinj) have successfully retained their Michelin status in 2019.
“This selection shows the potential of the Croatian gastronomic scene, enriched by numerous in...