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Italy Roundtable: Basic Toiletries to Buy in Italy
Sometimes over the past five years, I’ve been able to plan weeks in advance what I was going to write about for the Italy Roundtable. For other topics, I only realize a few days beforehand that...
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Free Things to Do in Venice
Anyone who’s been following along for awhile knows that Venice is one of my favorite places in the world. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, of course, and one of the big reasons people complain...
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Night Tours in Italy: Beat the Heat
Colosseum at Night || creative commons photo by Flicka Summer in Italy can be really, really hot – and summer-like weather often extends beyond the calendar confines of the season, making May and...
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How to Figure Out if Trains Are Your Best Option for Getting Around in Italy
I’m traveling this week, so I was looking for an older article I could refresh for you – and I realized that not only was this published more than two years ago, I’ve been getting questions lately...
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The 7 UNESCO Sites in Tuscany
Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world – a total of 53, as of 2017. Of all the regions in Italy, Tuscany has the most UNESCO sites, with the seventh site added...
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Italy Roundtable: What You Need to Know About Saint’s Feast Days in Italy
The Italy Roundtable has a tradition of taking the month of August off – just like the Italians do – so the July topic has, over the years, often had something to do with that. This month, the theme...
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“I’d love to help, but…”
It’s easy to confuse the role of a travel guide writer like me with a tour guide or trip planner, since – at least in my case – I’m offering more than just museum ticket prices or open hours. I’m...
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Southern Italy’s Top Attractions
The vast majority of people going to Italy never get further south than Rome, which is a shame. There are a number of places in southern Italy that would be flooded with tourists if it had been further...
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Tracing Medici History in Florence
Whether or not you know their names, members of the powerful Medici family left their mark all over Florence. They built palaces, funded the work of now-famous artists and architects, and amassed...
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The Godfather: Filming Locations in Sicily
The first Godfather film is a Francis Ford Coppola classic, beloved by millions, and although the majority of the story takes place in New York there is an important Sicilian component. There are some...
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How to Explore the Italian Lakes Region from Milan
Milan may not be on everyone’s must-see list when first planning an Italy trip, but it’s an ideal base for exploring the popular Italian lakes region in the northern part of the country. Whether you’re...
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Rome’s Aurelian Walls: History & Taxi Fares
Porta San Giovanni || creative commons photo by LPLT Many cities had defensive walls built around them, and in some places you can still see parts of (or entire) walls. Few, though, are as old or as...
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Siena’s Palio Contrade: 17 Historic Neighborhoods & a Medieval Horse Race
Valdimontone Contrada || creative commons photo by Dimitry B. Many Italy visitors (and plenty of people who haven’t yet been to Italy) have heard about the Palio of Siena, that centuries-old bareback...
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Italy Roundtable: Where to See Modern & Contemporary Art in Italy
Without even knowing yet what my Roundtable cohorts are going to write about, I suspect with a theme like MODERN I’m not the only one who’s going to be talking about art. Yet with so much ancient and...
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Christmas Alley in Naples: Holiday Cheer All Year
Traditional presepio figures for sale || creative commons photo by raffaella While Christmas trees often decorate Italian piazzas in December, those accoutrements are an imported (and somewhat recent)...
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Getting from Florence to Pisa & from Pisa to Florence
You could easily spend a week or more in Florence and not see everything, but most travelers don’t want to do that – especially when so many great day trip options abound. By far the most popular day...
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Italy’s Food Museums: Delicious History
Italy and the Italians have a long-standing love affair with food. It’s a nation of foodies, a place that reveres family recipes and cooking traditions so much that there are several food museums in...
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Italy Roundtable: Secrets of Underground Naples
Way back in 2012, only a few months after we first started the Italy Roundtable, we chose the theme of “elements” – earth, fire, air, and water – and I used “fire” for my piece. This month, the theme...
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Florence Artisans: The Santa Croce Leather School
I spent the first years of my life on a horse farm. Combine that with how powerfully our brains associate smell with memory and you’ll see me almost drool when I smell leather. The outdoor leather...
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Haunted Venice: 4 Ghost Stories
Venice can be described as “haunting” just as easily as “magical.” After dark, the romance factor has a tendency to become potentially eerie – in both good and bad ways. It should surprise no one,...
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