Italy Destinations
There’s information here on both cities and more remote destinations - from the top to the toe of the beautiful boot.
The Amalfi Coast
With breathtaking panoramas, aquamarine seas and an endless supply of limoncello, it’s no wonder the Amalfi Coast has long been the vacation destination of choice for the Italian elite. Indeed, the Costiera Amalfitana, as it is called in Italian, has long enraptured visitors with its beauty. Homer imagined it as the home of the alluring Sirens in “The Odyssey,” and writers like E.M. Forster, D.H. Lawrence, John Steinbeck and Virginia Woolf have lived and worked in its hills.
The Amalfi Coast consists of a string of small villages lining the cliffs of the Sorrentine Peninsula, from Positano to Vietri sul Mare. The resort town of Sorrento, further north, is often considered part of the coast and can be a good base from which to explore the area. The legendary islands of the Gulf of Naples – Capri, Ischia and Procida – are also popular destinations.
The coast is most commonly explored by bus, car or the ubiquitous motorino (scooter). The drive is not for the faint of heart. From Positano down, the narrow roads meet the steep cliffline without so much as a road barrier, and Italian motorists have a tendency for speed. If you’re in the driver’s seat, be sure to proceed with caution. Alternately, you can navigate the coast by boat. Ferries and high-speed hydrofoils depart from the main port cities regularly, and prices are reasonable.
Date: September 4th, 2008 |
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“Little Jerusalem” in Tuscany
Italy is intensely Catholic, being the home to the Roman Catholic Church’s headquarters, and statistics show that roughly 90% of the population identifies itself as Roman Catholic. (Of course, the fact that only about one-third of those people regularly attend church is another matter altogether.) The point I’m getting at is that when a small hilltop town in Tuscany bills itself as “Little Jerusalem” you sit up and take notice.
The town of Pitigliano sits on a butte overlooking a trio of rivers near Maremma, on the southern border of Tuscany. There is historical evidence that the area around Pitigliano was inhabited by the Etruscans, and some of the town’s main sights are connected to that period of time. There are also churches and a medieval fortress worth visiting, too, but what I want to focus on is the thing that sets Pitigliano apart from other similar Tuscan hill towns - and that is the town’s Jewish community.
Date: January 17th, 2008 |
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NY Times Trying to Sell Bologna
Either someone at the New York Times has a serious love affair happening with Italy (understandable), or there’s something fishy going on. They’ve had more Italian destinations in their “36 Hours” series than I can remember, and the latest is on a city I’ve come to love and which many tourists skip entirely: Bologna.
Bologna, the capital of the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, is well-known on a couple of fronts, neither of which seems to be enough to make it a tourist hot-spot. One is that it’s home to the oldest university in the world - the Alma Mater Studiorum, started in 1088 - but that’s a footnote in most tour guides. It does mean that during the school year the city is full of students from all over the world, giving it a lively and young atmosphere and a vibrant night scene. But the other thing Bologna is known for is the thing that draws in the few tourists who do make the trip - it’s the food.
Foodies the world over will tell you that the Emilia Romagna is Italy’s stomach, and many of the food items we associate with Italian food actually come from this particular region. Things like tortellini, lasagne, prosciutto, parmigiano-reggiano and the famous Bolognese pasta sauce all come from the Emilia Romagna. And yet Bologna is still - generally - blissfully free of tourist hordes.
Date: October 4th, 2007 |
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Leocorno Wins August Palio in Siena as James Bond Watches
Siena’s second Palio was run two weeks ago, and Contrada Leocorno (the Unicorn Neighborhood) won the day. I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for Leocorno, for a couple of reasons - most importantly, it was the Leocorno district where I stayed during my first visit to Siena. I even bought a small tile with the Leocorno banner colors to remember what I considered my adopted neighborhood, and it now rests on my bookcase.
At any rate, Leocorno’s win on August 16th is their 30th win since the 1600s, and their first victory since July 2001 - and since I visited just after the July Palio in 2001, I stayed in the Leocorno neighborhood as they were relishing their win. Residents of Contrada Leocorno will be able to relish this new win for much longer, as the next Palio doesn’t occur until July 2008.
Here’s a video of Leocorno’s winning ride earlier this month:
Date: August 30th, 2007 |
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A Mother-Son Biking Trip in Italy
In the July/August issue of National Geographic Traveler, I read and enjoyed the cover story - of a mother and her grown son taking a two-week cycling trip through Umbria and Tuscany - although I remained conscious that I was only getting one person’s point of view. The article was written by the mother, Joyce Maynard, and much of the piece was devoted to her sometimes difficult relationship with her son, Wil. Now, I’m not a parent, but reading about those kinds of combative parent-child interactions make me feel badly for all involved. …
Date: August 18th, 2007 |
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Siena
Although most people spend their Italian vacation in the “holy trinity” of Italian cities - Venice, Florence, and Rome - those who branch out and go just a short distance off the well-trodden tourist path also tend to flock to a few of the same places. One of the most popular cities to visit in Tuscany, one step off the main tourist trail but still very much a popular tourist destination, is Siena.
Siena is one of those picture-perfect medieval walled cities which has a more modern (and less interesting) city surrounding it. It’s just over 40 miles outside Florence, and can be a good day-trip from Florence if you don’t want to bother packing and unpacking for a one-night stay - but if you can spare the time, Siena is best visited as an overnight trip so you can really enjoy the medieval center after the day-trippers have gone. In this respect, I put Siena in the same category as Venice - it’s often horribly over-crowded during the day (especially in the high season), but can be enchanting in the early morning and late evening (even when it’s still kind of crowded).
Date: July 9th, 2008 |
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First Night in Milan
Seeing Milan’s Duomo lit up on a clear and crisp autumn night is just about the best introduction to the city that I can imagine. The husband and I wandered around the square, looking up at the beautiful cathedral - blissfully almost entirely free of scaffolding - and just enjoying the scene. It was one of those great “sharp intake of breath” moments when we exited the Metro station, because the one we came up introduced us to the square in front of the Duomo with our backs to the famous church - so it wasn’t until we were almost at the top of the stairs that we turned and saw the lovely facade.
Date: November 12th, 2007 |
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Weird & Wonderful Rome
Rome might be so full of historic monuments and museums and art galleries that you won’t come close to squeezing them all into your tight vacation schedule. But even if it means forgoing a sight that’s arguably higher up on the tourist attraction food chain, I’m going to suggest that you take in at least one thing that would be best described as “weird.” Why? Because everyone who visits Rome sees the Colosseum, the Forum and the Vatican. To stand out in a sea of tourists, you’ve got to do something a little different.
Here are some suggestions …
Date: October 1st, 2007 |
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The Cinque Terre is Closed
Okay, it’s not really closed, but I’m beginning to think it should be. At least sometimes. I know I’m going to ruffle some feathers here, but I think the Cinque Terre - while beautiful - should be off-limits to about 75% of the people who tramp through it each year. Just hear me out on this one.
The five villages of the Cinque Terre have been overrun (and, some would say, overdone) for several years, and it’s only getting worse. Most of the visitors to this once peaceful area are fighting heavy foot traffic through the quaint but overcrowded village centers, and are doing lasting damage to the cliffside paths that link them. Whereas it was once no problem at all to stumble off the train in any one of the towns and find plenty of rooms for rent at a moment’s notice, the crowds are making that more challenging - not to mention that with such demand the prices for the rooms which are available are going up. Anyone can appreciate the stunning views the Cinque Terre offers, but when you can’t see them for the crowds they kind of lose something.
I’ve written before about overhearing a conversation in a Vernazza bar between a Rick Steves tour guide and the bar owner, about how Rick sometimes expresses regret that his rhapsodizing about the Cinque Terre has helped contribute to its overcrowding. I wouldn’t blame him entirely, as he’s certainly not the only one who comes back from the Cinque Terre gushing about the place - but the Rick Steves effect is definitely noticeable. One former Vernazza resident who asked not to be named says that:
Date: August 28th, 2007 |
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Obligations of a Travel Writer
The last time I was in the Cinque Terre, that divine collection of five tiny fishing villages clinging to the Ligurian cliffs, I overheard an American tour leader speaking with the owner of the Internet cafe I was in. She was with the Rick Steves group I had bumped into earlier in the day, and was reporting to the bar owner how sometimes Rick actually feels badly that he publicized the Cinque Terre so much. These little villages, which may at one time have been accurately described as “sleepy,” are now busy and …
Date: July 16th, 2007 |
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