Erica Firpo

When ancient meets contemporary: a review of Sarah Sze show at Rome's Crypta Balbi.

Rome is where the art is, but these days it’s more than just colossal monuments, dusty archeological sites and beautifully decorated Baroque churches.
Contemporary art is finally making a significant mark on the Eternal City’s landscape. The destination is now replete with an itinerary of museums, galleries, concept spaces and creative hubs. We’ve plotted out five top places that bring this ancient city back to the future.

Milan is one of those cities that takes time to love, and when it finally happens, you fall hard — whether for its fabulous fashion, awe-inspiring architecture or renegade restaurant scene.
This Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star grand dame boasts style, grace and a primo location in the trendy Porta Nuova neighborhood. Here are five more reasons why we can’t get enough of this art deco beauty Excelsior Hotel Gallia.

A charming new hotel in the center of Rome embodies everything that contributing editor Erica Firpo loves about her home town — beauty, discretion, charm, and aesthetics. Review of Rome's newest luxury oasis Hotel Vilon.

While Europe’s first Reserve Roastery from Starbucks adds a new corner to Milan’s coffee landscape, it’s best to remember that Italy’s fashion capital perfected the pastry scene, introduced espresso to the world and invented aperitivo hour long before the Seattle-based shop started whipping up frappuccinos.

There’s something about Monte Carlo that calls for a long weekend at least once in your lifetime. The lure of high speed and high stakes as seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief and the James Bond film Goldeneye draws visitors to its craggy coast for a glimpse at lifestyles of the rich and discreetly famous.
But as you’ll see, the tiny principality is the perfect setting for another kind of getaway: the weekend retreat.

A few months ago, I realized that I didn’t have a carry-on. It is about time I invested in a proper carry-on that contains and maintains, while looking stylish.

Filippo Bartolotta has walked miles of countryside in the pursuit of understanding terroir, and he’s spent years tasting flavors to find the building blocks of vintages. In his latest venture, he tackles the topic of how to train your wine palette.

Table to Book: A very decadent comeback with ringside seats in Venice. Review of the Alajamy brothers' Venetian restaurant Quadri, designed by Philippe Starck.

Can a Rome-loving writer fall in love with Florence? Erica Firpo, Fathom's Rome-based contributing editor, opened her heart to the Tuscan capital.

The Sistine Chapel opens its doors to the world with a live-streamed performance by Stabat Mater, allowing the public to photograph and record its interior for the first time.

There isn’t a better time to visit Rome than in the summer, when the city illuminates with museum and site openings and incredible evening events. And the Italian capital is more than ready to accommodate with an incredible crop of small, but mighty high-end hotels that are helping to further evolve the city’s dynamic from eternal to iconic.
Here’s your room key to five of Rome’s most sumptuous stays.

Fashion, food, finance and all-round fabulousness. Here’s how to spend an inspired 36 hours in Milan, Italy’s “It” city.

Carsten Holler's interactive art experience in Florence.

When Hotel Columbus Monte-Carlo opened in 2001, it quickly became the favourite weekend pitstop for the fast and fabulous, thanks to its original owners Formula One racing car driver David Coulthard and hotelier Ken McCulloch. Now in the hands of London and Regional Properties and on the heels of a ballpark $15 million spent on renovating the property, Hotel Monaco Columbus is now banking on lapping the rest of the hotels on the French riviera.