If you know me, you’ll know that I am nuts about religious relics. And if you know David Farley’s book “An Irreverent Curiosity,” you’ll know immediately why that first line is a wee bit funny. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Farley in Manhattan to discuss his book, which has the tag…
Italy may not be the first place one thinks of for a golfing vacation, but it does have some terrific courses set in stunning locations, many of which are near the tourist routes of Rome, Florence, and Milan. So if you’re a golfer interested in hitting the links in Italy, you’re in luck. Golf in…
Romantic Rome is a very popular place for couples. Nearly every cobbled street in the Eternal City, at least in the city center, inspires a romantic gesture, a kiss, or even a proposal. It is folly to try to list all of the romantic spots in Rome. But here are nine places — some obvious,…
From extensive catacombs to spooky church tombs, Rome is like an instant haunted house and is a great place to visit during Halloween.
Rome’s leafy Protestant Cemetery is the final resting place for Keats, Shelley, and Gramsci.
If you’re the type of traveler who likes to go it alone and doesn’t mind injecting a little technological know-how into your trip, then a GPS-driven self-guided tour may be the ticket. Information about Zephyr Self-Guided Adventures through Italy just crossed our desks over the weekend. The company offers walks, biking, and driving tours through…
Skiing and sledding within a tank of gas from Rome.
Unlike Greece, Italy isn’t a land of islands. Sure, there’s Sicily, Capri, and the Tuscan Archipelago, which includes Elba. But there is also a small set of islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Rome and Naples that, according to Guy Dinmore of The Financial Times, “offer a safer and saner way to travel” for those…
Rome’s famous Renaissance street, Via Giulia, is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year. And, the New York Times‘ Elisabeth Rosenthal provides the history and descriptions of the streets’ sites in her article A Stroll in Rome With a Papal Pedigree. Usually an unharried street, Via Giulia is set to be quite busy this year with…
I am supremely excited about two new nonfiction books this summer: The Monster of Florence and Rome 1960. Both books describe tumultuous times in central Italy. The first is a period of time in Florence when an unknown predator (or predators) “stalked lovers’ lanes in the countryside.” The second goes in-depth about the 1960 Olympic…
Many travelers who visit Rome in the summer often forget that the beaches of the Tyrrhenian Sea are as close as half an hour away. The region of Lazio has many beautiful beaches up and down its 360 km/224 mi coastline, some of which are ideal for a day trip from Rome while others merit…
It’s one thing to go to Italy and bring back photos, cheap souvenirs, and designer clothing that you could have bought at just about any department store or outlet. It’s quite another to bring back items that Italy is known for – quality leather, handmade paper, artisan chocolate, etc. That’s why I really like…
Part 1 of 20 Things We Love About Italy includes travel ideas for the regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Le Marche, Liguria, and Lombardy.
It’s a fact that some of the greatest ever to play the game of baseball were of Italian origin: DiMaggio, Berra, Campanella, Rizzuto. But, Italian baseball? Who knew? Apparently, the hotbed of Italian baseball is in Nettuno, not very far from Rome. According to ESPN, Nettuno and a few other Italian towns (e.g., Grosseto, Parma,…
Affreschi: Exploring Etruria is the only travel book I know that focuses on the land of the Etruscans, also known as Etruria. Before the Romans came along, the Etruscans ruled a wide domain, which stretched from Rome to southern Tuscany and east to Umbria. Author Mary Jane Cryan profiles these areas, including the towns of…
I recently received an e-mail from an Unofficial Guide reader asking about the best places to dine near the Roman Forum. The Forum “complex,” which includes the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Colosseum, and Trajan’s Market (and, to a lesser extent, the Capitoline and the Vittoriano) is ultimately a tourist area. So, as like in other…