Spending a weekend in Elba’s capital Portoferraio is the best introduction to the island, says Jane Gifford Mythology has it that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love, was visiting one of her many lovers on the Italian mainland when she accidentally broke her string of pearls, and in doing so formed the Tuscan […]
Val Nicastro visits the “Garden City” north of Milan that is, among other things, home to a palace that one Italian poet described as “Little Versailles” With an enchanting old town, unmatched natural beauty and plenty to explore, Varese and its surroundings are one of Lombardy’s best-kept secrets. Only one hour’s drive from Milan and […]
Amy McPherson takes a tour of the apiary of Borgo Pignano and finds a heaven not only for the guests enjoying the luxury surrounds of this Tuscan retreat, but also a sustainable paradise for the estate’s bees as well. Francesca Orlandini carefully picks up a struggling bee from the ground, then deposits it in the […]
Amy McPherson takes a tour around the baroque city of Lecce in Puglia and discovers that there is a lot more to the ‘Florence of the South’ than meets the eye. It seems that I am eating all the time in Lecce, which I find makes it appropriate to use this simile: Lecce is like […]
Suffolk-based Elaine Falken bought a two-bedroom trullo cottage in Puglia’s Itria Valley area in 2012. She spends two months there every summer as well as a month over Christmas, and she makes the house available to friends and family as well as offering holiday rentals at all other times of the year. What drew her […]
Officially listed in the UNESCO Geopark network, Majella in Abruzzo is a dream for nature lovers, as Val Nicastro discovers. Images by Val Nicastro About an hour’s drive inland from Pescara and the beaches of the Adriatic coast, the Majella National Park is one of those hidden gems of Italy that impress with their simplicity […]
The Marche region has a glittering coastline, verdant hills, majestic mountains, and a trove of artistic treasures – Chris Allsop explains why your first cultural stop should be Urbino. Images by Val Nicastro The typical line trotted out about Le Marche – the fertile region between the Adriatic and the Apennines, between forested Abruzzo and […]
Rachael Martin visits Alto Adige and picks out ten highlights to embrace in the months between the ski seasons. Alto Adige is the northern part of Trentino-Alto Adige and is famous for its Dolomite mountains. The 18th-century French mineralogist Déodat de Dolomieu first described and gave his name to both pale-coloured rock and mineral, and […]
Michelle Jackson, The Novel Traveller, visited Italy’s most iconic region and discovered the highlights of Tuscany. Travel with confidence: Your holiday is a very special time, and Travel Department craft the itineraries to make sure that you get the most enjoyment. The world is continuously changing, and they have been adapting to make sure that they […]
Mary Novakovich visited Calabria and discovered the full extent of the locals’ passion for peperoncino in a region of Italy where the love of this fiery fruit reigns supreme. Images by Adam Batterbee unless otherwise stated Of the colours of the Tricolore, red is the one that best sums up Calabria. Not through any political […]