Itineraries
Trip ideas
Exploring Trasimeno
Lake Trasimeno is the perfect destination for a relaxing Italian vacation, far from the hustle and bustle of city life. This region of Umbria is famous for its peaceful and incredibly fertile countryside; carpeted with centuries old olive groves, historic vineyards, dense woods and, on the shores of its largest lake, thick reed beds which provide the ideal habitat for dozens...
Tuscan art cities
Tuscany is a constellation of art cities, ancient cities which rise up proudly above the region's vine and olive carpeted countryside. Tuscany is an exceptionally fertile and prosperous land, inhabited since the times of the Etruscans, as has been substantiated by findings in Comeana and Artimino, near the city of Prato. Since medieval times, Prato has been famous for its...
Winter in Val Pusteria
Christmas in Alto Adige always seems to have a particularly magical feel, and no more so than in the town of Brunico. From late November to mid January, the pretty medieval town transforms into a fabulous Christmas Market, its streets brimming with stalls selling every possible kind of Christmas decoration and gift. Other famous Christmas Markets which are often included in...
Tuscan trendsetter
Nobody spending a few days in Florence should miss the opportunity to see all the city's most famous artistic masterpieces, but once they have done the classic tourist tour of the Tuscan capital, they might like to dedicate a couple of hours to visiting one of the smaller museums, perhaps even timing their holiday to coincide with one of the city's renowned cultural events....
Fun & Games in Venice
A game of French roulette played in an aristocratic renaissance palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal: an experience which only Venice can offer. For centuries, the lagoon city has been both a center of artistic excellence and water bound pleasure dome; animated by concerts, theatrical performances, festivals, carnivals and gala events. The Venetians fun-loving spirit is,...
Divine revelations
Just because they have left Rome, and the splendor of the Italian capital, behind them, visitors should not think that the beauty of Lazio has ended. They need only follow the Via Tiburtina to discover countless traces of the Imperial City, as they travel along the road which leads to the ancient city of Tibur, modern day Tivoli. Famous since Ancient Roman times because of...
Sicily's hidden treasures
Welcome to a different kind of Sicily: a Sicily far from the sandy beaches and the shimmering blue seas; an often unseen Sicily, which lies right in the center of the island; an authentic and unspoilt Sicily, the cities of which conserve artistic treasures of untold value and indescribable beauty. We start our expedition of inland Sicily in Caltagirone: a city famous for the...
Calabria "coast to coast"
There's a place in Italy where, in just a few kilometers, visitors can expect to find any number of marvelous beaches lapped by a sea of the most intense shades of blue, and mountains which at times reach heights of some 2000 meters. This is the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, the coast which gazes out towards Sicily, between Scilla (on the water's edge) and Gamberie (in the...
Rome outside the city walls
Rome offers much more than the average tourist will be able to take in during a classic three or four day visit to the city. Whilst we are not suggesting for a moment that visitors to the Italian capital should skip the tour of the Vatican or the Coliseum, for those who have already seen all the Eternal City's most famous monuments, or are staying in Rome for a longer...
Sicilian Baroque
"Irregular, contorted, grotesque and bizarre": this is how Baroque has been described. The style which dominated Europe between the 1600's and 1750's was, without doubt, an exuberant and theatrical one, characterized by bold massing, the play of volume and void, and a profusion of decorative elements that had no parallel in previous architecture. Between the...
Gourmet heaven
If Italy has gained itself a reputation as gourmet heaven, this is largely due to the marvellous food and wine produced in regions such as Umbria. Squeezed between the Marche, Lazio, and Tuscany; Umbria is one of Italy's few land- locked regions, where, traditionally, the local cuisine was prepared using the products of the land and the only fish eaten was that caught in the...
The noble beauty of Castelli Romani
The hills immediately southeast of Rome are famous for their clean air, mild climate, lakes, woods and breathtaking views of Italy's capital city. From Rome, it is sufficient to travel a mere twenty kilometers to reach the first of sixteen towns, collectively referred to as the Castelli Romani, a name inspired by the ancient royal residences which dominate these splendid...
Mad about the Marche
Sumptuous halls, elegant renaissance furnishings; ancient walls adorned with ancient frescoes; a draw bridge; banqueting hall; even a torture chamber: Gradara Castle, on the wood covered hillside of Marche, just kilometers from Rimini and the Adriatic sea, has just about everything the perfect medieval castle should have. This is where the ill fated love affair of Paolo...
Beyond the gates of Florence
A treasure hunt in the lands around Florence might easily start with a trip to the splendid villas which the Medici family built in numerous strategic sites in the countryside immediately beyond the city walls. Although the nearest to the Tuscan capital is Villa di Careggi, Villa La Petraia and Villa di Castello are both only a few kilometers away. Nearly all the Medici...
Puglia's Ionic coast
Taranto, which was named Taras by the ancient Greeks, is really two cities rolled into one. Geographically, this City of Two Seas, is divided by the Mar Piccolo and the Mar Grande. Traces of the city's past historic importance can be found in the Duomo of S. Cataldo, the Aragonese Castle, the remains of a Doric temple, and the many fascinating exhibits on display in the...
Lakes, miracles, and fairytale weddings
Where once there were volcanoes now there are now often lakes. In Italy, it is in the Lazio region that this phenomenon is most evident - in the lakes of Bolsena and Bracciano. Lake Bolsena, in the Viterbo provence, is the largest crater lake in Italy (with a perimeter of 43kms). Lake Bracciano, the second largest (its perimeter measures 32kms), is in the province of Rome....
Salt Road of Old Piedmont
Pavia, the ancient capital of the Val Padana, is situated in the north of Oltrepò Pavese, a territory shaped just like a bunch of the grapes which are produced here. An important university city, Pavia was one of the main stopping points on the Via Francigena, the medieval pilgrim route which led from Canterbury all the way to Rome. The historic center is home to...
Langhe: land of wine and truffles
Asti, city of the palio, a medieval jewel immersed in a territory known for its truffles, mushrooms, gentile hazelnuts, and the great wines of Langhe. Of all the towns in Piedmont, Asti offers visitors one of the most enticing combinations of art, culture, pagentry and traditional festivals. From the central Campo del Palio, the roads snake through the city to Piazza...
Liguria: sea, flowers and palm trees
Liguria's elegant Riviera del Ponente is an historic Italian holiday destination where, in centuries past, the European nobility and, in particular, the British, came to enjoy the area's mild climate and magnificent sun-kissed beaches. The wealthy elite who assiduously frequented this coast during the 19th and 20th centuries, were largely responsible for the construction of...
Trentino Revisited
Rovereto was one of Mozart's favorite places. It was here that, aged just thirteen, he astounded the audiences who attended concerts which he held in the Palazzo Todeschi and the Church of San Marco. Centuries later, Rovereto, whilst still retaining its traditions and historic buildings, is modern in outlook. Within a few square metres of each other you find elegant 18th...
Tevere & Trastevere
Trastevere, Campo dei Fiori and Testaccio. Districts buzzing with life from the early hours of the morning until long after midnight and ideally visited at least twice: once in the day and once at night, so as to best witness the transformation of streets and squares which, during the daylight hours, are home to a constant coming and going of city traffic and, as night...
The Dukes of Este and the Po Delta
We start our journey in Ferrara, with a visit to what might easily be considered the city's most famous landmark. The beautifully conserved Estense Castle, one of few moated castles in Europe, was built as court and residence of the Este family and now provides the stunning location for high profile conferences and international cultural events. In 1995, the historic center...
The towns of Carnia
Carnia occupies the whole of Northern Friuli, and the region's border with Austria. This land of mountains, lakes, valleys, woods and pretty little alpine towns and villages was brutally disfigured by a powerful earthquake in 1976 and yet, little more than 30 years later, is now once more, one of the most beautiful areas in the whole of Italy. The first part of our journey...
From Pollino to the sea
From a natural paradise of lush woods and soaring mountains, to one of the most spectacular stretches of the Calabrian coast: from the Pollino National Park to the shimmering Ionian sea. Our journey commences in Morano Calabro. This picturesque hill town, situated on the edge of the Pollino National Park, is characterized by a maze of closely knit lanes and passageways,...
Dante's Florence
Just as Virgil guided the author of the Divine Comedy in his imagined journey through the realms of the afterlife, thus the spirit of the great Dante Alighieri accompanies visitors on this tour of his city of birth, Florence. The presence of Dante, father of the Italian language, is an important one, and can be felt in much of the Tuscan capital which, in Dante's lifetime,...
The Puglia of Frederick II
In Foggia, capital of the Tavoliere and city where the Holy Roman Emperor loved to pass the colder months of the year, all that remains of Federick II of Swabia's Royal Residence and which managed to survive both the devastating earthquake of 1731 and the second world war bombing raids, is an arch of acanthus flowers supported by two eagle shaped capitals, now visible on the...
Sicilian islands
This itinerary takes us to a series of magical Sicilian islands, all rising up out of the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean sea, between Sicily and the African coast. We begin our Sicilian island cruise sailing in the direction of Favignana, one of the islands of the Egadi archipelago. Steadily observing our arrival, the 19th century Palazzo Florio was built as...
The islands of the Lagoon
The Lido of Venice is a narrow, 11km long strip of land, its 18th century Murazzi fortress making it, nevertheless, easy to spot from the sea. Lido became a popular holiday destination in the late 19th century, hence the abundance of elegant liberty style edifices. The writer Thomas Mann was particularly enamored by the island and set his best selling Death in Venice here....
Roman Baroque
Rome's Quirinal Hill is where the greatest concentration of the city's Baroque edifices are located. The Quirinal Palace, now the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, was built in the late 16th century as summer residence for the papacy, designed so as to offer sumptuous refuge from the torrid heat of the Italian capital. In this period, popes were...
Medieval hill top towns of Val d'Orcia
Seemingly unending lines of grapevines, gently rolling hills, and beautifully conserved medieval hill towns. This is the landscape which greets visitors to Tuscany's Val d'Orcia, a valley traversed by both the river Orcia and the Via Cassia, the ancient Roman road which linked the capital with Northern Italy and was later to become the Via Francigena. Our journey commences...
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Hotel Savoy Beach
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Sicilian winter
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