Italy
I’m Heading To Italy, Where Should I Go?
Some friends of mine are planning a trip to Italy at the end of the summer, and they recently asked me, “Where should we go?”, which, if you think about it, is quite a loaded question given the scale of the country. It’s kind of like asking, “What should I do with my life?” or […]
Are There Such Places As “Women Destinations”?
I just finished reading an interview with Susan Van Allen about her new book, 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go To, the second installment in the “100 Places Every Woman Should Go To” series. Van Allen describes Italy as a woman’s haven, where they can “feel at home” because they are, essentially, worshiped […]
Forget Italy, Visit The Dubious Principality Of Seborga
This week marked the untimely passing of Giorgio Carbone, the dubiously-legitimate, yet popularly elected leader/king/sandwich-moocher of the small nation of Seborga, a 2.8 square mile parcel of land located near the French border on the Italian Riviera. Never heard of the country, you say? You’re probably not alone, though it’s reported that at least 20 […]
Visiting Santa’s Grave
If you wander around the southern Italian city of Bari, you will most likely notice intimate, cobblestoned lanes, cafe-choked piazzas, and one of Italy’s best opera houses. Somewhere between it all, is the Basilica di San Nicola, and the actual tomb containing St. Nick’s bones. Built in 1087, the castle-esqe basilica was created specifically to […]
Video: Explore Perugia — Much Different Than Your College Town
Perugia, the capital city of the region of Umbria, is home to what you’d expect from Italy: beautiful buildings, world-class art, a rich culinary tradition; but you’ll also find a boatload of students here — 50,000 to be exact. Time to live out that study abroad program you skipped in college?
Top 8 Tourist-Free Islands In Italy
For some reason one of the things I remember most about Capri (other than the beautiful sunsets, quaint streets, and maniacal Vespa drivers), is the fact that when I was there, the rumor around town was that Keanu Reeves had just stayed on the island. Not that I have anything against the guy (except, perhaps, […]
Tower of Pisa Is No Longer The Leaniest
The famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy may have finally met its match. For years, the citizens of Bedam, Holland claimed their Tower of Walfridus, in Bedam, Holland, had more tilt. It was shorter, less iconic, and (technically) wasn’t as tilted. All true, until now. Recently, this Telegraph article explains, after discovering the increasing […]
Under The Umbrian Sky
It seems like we’ve read this one before: a solitary escape to the Italian countryside, salaciously detailed descriptions of food, the name dropping of small villages, but for some reason it’s still captivating, even if one Ms. Mayes is not involved, and even if there’s no Tuscan sun hovering overhead. As this NYT article about […]
Your Guide To The Amalfi Coast
The deli owner around the corner from me just got back from his home on the Amalfi Coast where he escapes NYC’s cold, winter months, and my lunches have been all the better for it. For the rest of you who have to wait for those precious summer holiday months to go yourself, the Independent […]
How Not To Be A Cow In Rome
Isn’t a little disconcerting that so many animal metaphors are invoked when describing summer travel in Rome? Well, there’s a reason for it: too many people at too few sites equals cow-like tendencies. For a little help as to when to stray away from the herd, and when it’s best to go ahead and corral […]