Indeed, Rome was not built in a day… Work on St Peter’s began in 1506, but the church wasn’t ready to be consecrated until 1626… Like many other buildings in Rome, St Peter’s uses stone recycled from the Colosseum. As is usually the case when a building takes longer to finish that one might have […]
Say hello to the late-night tour at the Colosseum Following a major restoration, the Colosseum in Rome more polished than it’s been in 2,000 years and now visitors can be taken through the ancient arena and underground at night! You can wander around the 50,000-seat gladiatorial arena, which dates back to the year 80. This used to be […]
The expression ‘Grand Tour’ was coined by Richard Lassels, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest and travelling tutor, in his book The Voyage of Italy, Or a Compleat Journey Through Italy. Lassels included many northern Italian towns and central locations, but the remarkable region of Puglia does not get a mention. Perhaps lost to him were […]
Mario Matassa visits Volterra, a medieval hilltop town in Tuscany, where he discovers the alabaster caves and workshops for which the area is famous The chalky white alabaster from Volterra is considered the finest in Europe because of its characteristic compactness, transparency, veining, softness and smoothness. Although the etymology of the word remains disputed, the […]
Italy’s largest lake is famed for its scenery and its gardens. Lorenza Bacino visits some of her favourite horticultural spaces, and finds a cookery course and a wedding venue… Stay in the Grand Hotel Gardone If an air of relaxed fin-de-siècle elegance is what you’re seeking, then this beautiful 19th-century villa and hotel in Gardone Riviera […]
We take a trip back to Leanne Casellas’s trip along the Amalfi Coast. Now, it may not be action packed, but sailing off the Amalfi Coast provides plenty of relaxation and glamorous locations. When you’re thinking of hitting the high seas, billowing sails and a decent, salty wake Italy may not be the first destination […]
See below for the best places to eat, what to see and do, where to stay and how to get there to ensure you have the best time in Taormina, Sicily… What to see and do Isola Bella It would be easy to miss out on a trip to Isola Bella if you are on […]
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 […]