What does it mean to be a European? Is the variety of languages in Europe an obstacle to actual unification? Umberto Eco explores these questions and offers some interesting insight.

Alberto has a wine shop at the Lido di Venezia and he tells us about his world renowned business, which exclusively sells local and Italian wines.

The first part of a trip to Castel Gandolfo, the Roman city famous for having been the traditional summer residence for generations of popes, but also for its beautiful lake.

At last, we arrive at the lake. We ask to rent a sunbed in order to relax and we lie in the sun to rest, but only after having put on some suntan lotion.

During the hottest hours of the day, the sun beats down, and seeing that we don't have an umbrella, we have to have something refreshing to drink or maybe jump in the water.

After spending the morning sun bathing, a slight feeling of hunger sets in. There are a lot of choices: pizza, first and second courses. But, to stay on the light side, fruit salad with a bit of ice cream seems like the best choice.

Ilaria is from Lido di Venezia, a small island near Venice. She tells us about the specialties they offer at the bar where she works, a bar that makes its own desserts. How about having a "Spritz" at the bar?

Marco Lombardo, the chef of a well-known restaurant in the Langhe (a hilly area in Piedmont), demonstrates how to prepare a typical dish of the area: Eggs en cocotte with white Alba truffles.

QNM interviews Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencing pro, specialized in foils. She's the first female fencer in the world to receive three consecutive Olympic gold medals. She's also won five other world titles and five European titles (in individual matches). You should watch our video proverbi italiani afterwards.

Giuliano Montaldo tells about how he got his start, from being a ham actor in Genoa to becoming an assistant to film director Carlo Lizzani, to making his first movie.

Giuliano tells about meeting Vera for the first time, and then he and Vera take turns telling about how their relationship developed.

Vera talks about her parents and how they met and fell in love. Her mother was a stage actress and her father a military commander.

Vera's daughter was a teenager when Giuliano began courting her mother. Giuliano tells some stories about World War II and how crazy things were.

Giuliano talks about his beginnings as a director. Vera threatened to leave him when he thought he might accept certain jobs.

Giuliano and Vera talk about some of the colorful episodes in their time together on set. Vera tells about how Giuliano accepted her daughter, Elisabetta, from a previous relationship.