Sitting on the edge of Italy’s largest lake, the town of Toscolano Maderno combines a charming atmosphere with a Mediterranean-like climate. However, inhabitants do more than just soak in the sun on the shores of Lake Garda. In fact, the city has been one of Italy’s top paper-producing towns for the past seven centuries! Before the Etruscans and Romans built villages here, the area had been populated since prehistoric times, thanks to the extremely fertile soil and temperate climate. The towns of Toscolano and Maderno were originally separated, but eventually grew to become one big urban center. The presence of …

Basil is so ubiquitous in Italian cuisine one might think it has been used in recipes forever. Instead, the culinary virtues of this tantalizing plant were discovered only 200 years ago. Although basil has been around since ancient times, it was mostly used as an ornamental or curative herb. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed it was toxic and avoided it, while in medieval times it was grown by nuns in convents to be used in medicinal concoctions. During the crusades, soldiers and sailors returning from the Middle East would fill up their ships with the delicate plant to repel …