New Italia! City Guide out now!

The new Italia! City Guide: City Breaks & Weekend Escapes is on sale now Our brand new issue of Italia! City Guide is here! This 116-page Italian travel guide is crammed with inspiration, tips and advice from our expert travel writers for your next trip to il bel paese.  The cities and towns of Italy are ideal destinations […]

10 Christmas highlights of Milan

For a Christmas break with a difference, join Rachael Martin as she heads to Milan and nearby Lake Como to soak up the festive atmosphere…  Milan photos by Comune di Milano unless otherwise stated 1. Christmas starts early in Milan with the Sant’Ambrogio festival On 7 December it is the feast day of Milan’s patron […]

Five best Italian piazzas

Piazza del Campo, Siena

The piazza is at the heart of Italian life and each one boasts its own unique history and atmosphere – here we pay homage to a few of our favourites Photos by iStock 1 Dubbed by Napoleon “Europe’s finest drawing room”, Venice’s Piazza San Marco is simply breathtaking. Even during the height of the season, when […]

Verona travel guide

Romantic graffiti

Sara Scarpa shares some of the best places to eat and stay in Verona – plus a few of her top things to see and do in the city Photos by Iain Reid What to see & do The Arena The arena (left) with its gigantic dimensions dominates Piazza Bra. It is the most famous […]

48 hours in Verona

Verona view

Our Venice correspondent Sara Scarpa travels west to spend a weekend in Verona, the city of love and opera set in the land of wines   Photos by Iain Reid   When you visit Verona, you will soon understand why this city is the perfect setting for the world’s greatest love story. Beautiful piazzas, winding […]

48 hours in Florence

Continentale Lungarno hotel Florence

Staying in the heart of Renaissance Florence, by its oldest bridge, it’s easy to immerse yourself in the city’s magnificent heritage, says Amanda Robinson  Photos by Amanda Robinson and Lungarno Collection   Once the only Florentine bridge across the River Arno, built at the river’s narrowest point, the Ponte Vecchio is made of stern stuff […]

Genoa La Superba: the city that won’t be beaten

panoramic view from Spianata Castelletto

The collapse of the Morandi bridge last year shocked the world, but Genoa is a resilient city, and a splendid one to visit. Sarah Rodrigues samples its delights… Photos courtesy of Genoa Tourism and Sarah Rodrigues Who isn’t guilty of under-appreciating pesto, store cupboard stalwart that it is? It’s a staple I associate with nights when inspiration […]

Castello: the quiet sestiere

Londra Palace, Venice

Adrian Mourby takes a walk around the tranquil backwaters of Venice as he explores the city’s fascinating Castello district… Photos by Kate Tadman-Mourby   It’s the sestiere that Venetians call truly Venetian. The neighbourhood of Castello consists of the same narrow lanes, broad campi and monumental churches as the other five sestieri, but it lacks the […]

Making Tracks, Part 2: to Rome

Train

Twenty years ago Rachael Martin arrived in Italy, exploring the country by rail and dreaming of rooms with a view. Twenty years, one Italian husband and two kids later, she still has the memories of those first voyages of discovery… Photos by Rachael Martin   “What can I get you?” the woman on the other […]

48 Hours in Milan

Galleria Milan Italy

This is a city full of iconic must-sees, but there are also hidden gems and lesser-known spots just waiting to be discovered, says Amanda Robinson Photos by Amanda Robinson unless otherwise stated   Like all large metropolitan cities, Milan sets a busy pace. A centre for international business and at the cutting edge of haute […]