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A Taste and Travel Resource to See and Savor Italy
On your next trip to Italy go further and look for something completely different to
See and Savor Italy
A few sights and experiences from road trips in Northern, Italy, Tuscany, Umbria and Rome with our Italian family and friends. Some are off the tourist flow and require a comfort level of driving in Italy and basic Italian language skills.
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Emilia Romagna
Small bed & breakfast close to Modena and Parma with a stay that includes a visit to a balsamic acetaia.
A castle -fortress near Piacenza built by Charlemagne in the 8th century. The current keepers have transformed the the castle and the surrounding wood into a site of gastronomic festivals and Parco delle Fiabe (Park of the Fairies) entering into a fairy-tale like experience.
A piccolo Versailles in the the Euganean Hills south of Padua. One of the largest and best kept Baroque gardens in the world with a centuries-old boxwood labyrinth, the Hermit’s Grotto, Rabbit Island and the Monument to Time. In 1631 the Barbarigo family took refuge in this location to escape the Black Plague outbreak that raged in Venice and the rest of Europe.
The ducal residence of Francesco I d'Este in Sassuolo 16 km southwest of Modena. Also known as "the Delight" for its ornate architecture, pescheria, painted walls, ceilings, fountains and parkland.
The royal residence of the Gonzaga. A masterpiece of Italian artist Mantegna, the palace is an illusionist dream including the dome-like ceiling oculus in the Camera deli Sposi, peering down into the room.
The home of Ferrari and Scuderia Ferrari Formula One racing team. Driving a Ferrari through the streets of Maranello.
Visit the ancient breed of the Red Cows of Reggiana, cattle native to Northern Italy, bred exclusively for a single purpose, the production of milk used in the making of Vacche Rosse Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The finest, oldest and rarest of parmigiano cheeses.
Tuscany
Located 9km from Montalcino the solitary beauty and spiritual clarity of Sant'Antimo is the site of legends where around the year 800 the Emperor Charlemagne on his return to Rome made camp. His army was suffering from the plague and an angel advised him to collect a particular kind of grass and infuse it with Brunello wine (not bad medicine). The army was cured and Charlemagne built an abbey on the site dedicated to the martyred Saint Antimo.
The iconic chapel on the hill in Italy's stunning Val d'orcia is one of the most photographed in Italy. On the road between San Quirico d’Orcia and Pienza, it is one of the most beautiful and evocative places Tuscany, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Terme Antica Querciolaia is a complex of hot spring pools near the town of Rapolano Terme. Popes, pilgrims, princes and everyday Italians have traveled to these natural hot springs seeking the benefits of the waters to regenerate the body and mind since ancient times.The pools are rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. I've spent memorable afternoons languishing in the thermal waters under the Tuscan sun knowing that at this moment this was best place on earth.
Travel to Panzano for a sideboard sampling of Chianti salami with wild fennel pollen, lardo (aka Chianti butter) and a Tuscan porchetta that is so good it will bring tears to your eyes from artisanal butcher Dario Cecchini.
Sample some of Italy's most sought after cheese, pecorino in Pienza. A cheese-centric city that is one of Tuscany's Renaissance treasures.
Studio /atelier of artist Samuele Calosi Via della Sapienza, 17, Siena.
Cashmere goats at Azienda Agricola La Penisola in Radda in Chianti.
On Via della Scala 16 near Santa Maria Novella train station. One of the oldest farmacia in Florence. A breath from the Renaissance. Soaps and potpourri made from flowers and herbs grown in the Florentine hills. Ancient and evocative preparations from an apothecary filled with terra-cotta jars and gilded urns already well-known in Dante’s time.
Italy's first museum dedicated to the truffle with unique exhibits that allow you to get up close and personal with the prized fungus. There's even an "odorama" exhibit that allows visitors to experience the heady aromas of dozens of different kinds of truffles. Located in a 13th century castle in San Giovanni d'Asso.
Umbria
Orvieto is dramatically located on a butte of volcanic tufa. Lying between the borders of Lazio and Tuscany region Orvieto has been populated since Etruscan times. The Duomo of Orvieto is one of the most beautiful in Italy and should not be missed.
Perugia a major center of medieval art and Baci chocolate (kisses).
From modern to medieval, an Umbrian hill town with ancient walls and a view of the magnificent Umbrian countryside with the olive groves and notable vineyards producing Sagrantino wine.
There are many reasons to visit Gubbio. It's dramatic location on the steep rocky slopes of Umbria, preserved medieval architecture, ceramics and 7 ancient bronze tablets known as the Eugubine Tablets - the "Rosetta Stone" of ancient central Italy, that provide invaluable insight into the pre-Roman civilization and religious customs of the Umbrian people.
One of the most significant spiritual centers in the world in a land where saints walked the hillsides and forests and lived lives that changed the world.
This Umbrian lake near the Tuscan border is the largest lake in central Italy where Hannibal made history and St. Frances made a Lenten fast. Well -known in the area for water sports and a popular destination for windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing and water skiing.
Milan, Northern Italy, the Lake Region to the Veneto
Milan's great Gothic cathedral with spires that rise out of the concrete earth of the main piazza like it had materialized from thin air. One of the greatest churches in the world (second only to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome), There are 5 naves divided by 40 pillars with 3,400 statues (1800 alone on the terraced roof). It is a fairyland of pinnacles, spires and flying buttresses with a 4 meter gilded statue of the Madonna perched on top.
This 140 year old gourmet shop and food hall in Milan is a culinary institution. A food boutique with a massive subterranean wine cellar with more than 3,500 premium labels and a counter with Milanese and Italian specialties, from fresh handmade pasta to their world-famous, trademark-stamped Peck meat pâté. A stop at Peck's is a must.
Located in the artistic district of Milan, with unique shops and restaurants, the Brera is one of the most impressive museums in Milan with world renown art including “The Kiss” by Francesco Hayez.
Italy’s Lake Como is not only home to luxurious villas, romantic gardens and holiday resorts. Quaint historic villages dot the shoreline and its waters are inhabited by a multitude of fish, at least 25 species.Local ittiturismo (fishing related to a restaurant) brings the fresh catch of the day to the table.
A popular resort town on the southern edge of Lake Garda, and easy drive from Milan. An Italian Riviera for families with Rocca Scaligera, a Shrek inspired castle. The streets of Sirmione are lined with gelaterie with an endless of flavors.
Design Your Trip
I often get asked ‘What is your favorite thing to do in Italy?” and I tend to want to say everything because for the most part it’s true.
The seasons change and there are always new shops and restaurants to explore. But here are a few places I return to again and again. I call them the Alpha experience of travels in Italy.