Has the bewitching, world-famous destination lost its shine in recent years? Sarah Lane visits the northern Italian resort, Portofiono, to discover it has more to offer than ever… Portofino – the very name conjures up images from the 1950s of glamorous film stars rubbing shoulders with the world’s richest, most influential aristocrats and politicians. More […]
In the second part of our six-part series, Jon Palmer continues on the trail of the Grand Tourists by chasing after a few sedan chairs around 18th-century Turin, Genoa and Milan. Few considered Turin an important destination on their Grand Tour. It just happened to be the first city you came to. Back then, anyone […]
Lorenza Bacino visits the Esini Hills, a diverse and undiscovered part of Le Marche which is home to the world renowned Frasassi Caves… Visiting the Frasassi Caves in the heart of the Gola della Rossa National Park has long been on my ‘to do’ list. Wild, rugged, untamed and unpredictable, the 10,000 hectares of park […]
There isn’t much of Italy you could describe as ‘undiscovered’, but Rebecca Ford finds something close – and just an hour from Rome. The Sabine Hills… We had been walking for a couple of hours when we came to the little meadow. It was early summer and the poppies were in bloom. Some farmers were […]
Local legends maintain that Sangiovese, one of Italy’s best loved red wines, can trace its origins to Santarcangelo di Romagna, and many experts agree. The position of Santarcangelo’s medieval centre is 10km inland from Rimini on the Colle Giove hill – named after the ancient god Jove. This led, it seems, to the wine being […]
Follow Marina Spironetti as she unveils the treasures of the cobbled city of Mantua, one of the most atmospheric places to visit in northern Italy… A year ago yet another earthquake shook most of northern Italy, causing considerable damage. When I went back to Mantua a couple of months ago, I did not know what to […]
This lesser-know region in idyllic central Puglia is fast becoming a foodie paradise, as Rachel Beckwith discovers as she visits the producers… Just a light lunch, they said. The heaving table in front of me suggests otherwise – it gives an audible creak every time our hostess balances yet another plate of food at the […]
The Path of St Francis is a walking trail inspired by the life of St Francis of Assisi that takes you from the north of Tuscany, down through Umbria and into Lazio. Lysa Walder starts at the top, then continues all the way on to Rome… Walking along the Via Francigena from Valle d’Aosta to […]
While the crowds flock to Venice, Adrian Mourby finds a much more relaxing way of life on the Lido, where tourists of the past would stay and spend much of their time, away from the stifling air of the city… You can hear the silence of the Adriatic from up here. It doesn’t so much […]
Mark Nicholls visits the Dolomites and discovers an oft-forgotten aspect of World War One history… The peaks are sharp and jagged, forming a ruggedly stunning backdrop across the Dolomites. This is a landscape considered so impressive that it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With 18 peaks rising to above 3,000 metres and […]