Nicknamed the “Pearl of the World”, Portofino is Absolutely Gorgeous: Once a humble fishing village, Portofino’s picturesque harbour is the most exclusive bay and upmarket resort in Italy. In this town, built around the small harbour, there are plenty of upmarket designer boutiques, luxury yachts and magnificent villas, all indicative of the long association that […]
Shopping in Capri
Capri Has a Reputation for being Expensive, but There are Things to Buy Here: For the majority of visitors on day trips to Capri, shopping is not one of the reasons for coming to Capri. The island was once the playground for the rich and famous and with past wealthy guests like Sofia Loren, Jacqueline […]
San Gimignano’s Towers of Wealth and Power
The San Gimignano Towers are Famous All Over the World: San Gimignano is famous for the medieval towers that dominate its skyline. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, there were once an amazing 72 lofty houses towering above this small Tuscan hill-town. These days only 13 of the San Gimignano towers remain. They are […]
Castel Gandolfo – The Summer Residence of the Pope
Castel Gandolfo – The Summer Residence of the Popes Since the 17th Century: From Frascati, a town with a reputation for its white wine, we travelled to Castel Gandolfo, a town best known as the summer residence of the Pope. Castel Gandolfo is a small town with a population of less than 9,000 but when […]
Bologna’s Mouth-Watering Food Market
A Walking Tour Down the Bologna Food Market: The Emilia-Romagna region is famous as a food centre and when we visited Bologna we were very much looking forward to sampling some of its gastronomic delights. During our whistle-stop visit to Bologna we took a stroll down Via Pescherie Vecchie which is the food market area […]
Genovese Pesto Recipe – Liguria
Genoa is the birthplace of Pesto: The Ligurian region is the birthplace of the Pesto sauce. More precisely, it was in Genoa, on the north Ligurian coast, that Pesto originated. Basil, a main ingredient of pesto sauce, grows well in the Ligurian temperate climate. Travelling around Liguria, you’ll see that this sauce is used extensively […]
Food in Rome
Food in Rome and around: a brief gastronomical tour! Rome and Lazio Rome; Tuscania; Viterbo; Tarquinia; Cerveteri; Ostia Antica; Frascati; Monte Cassino Perhaps the most savoury of all Italian regional cuisines, and perhaps due to its central location, the food in Rome and the surrounding district of Lazio offers an incredible variety of dishes and […]
Food in Northeast Italy
Food in North-east Italy: a brief gastronomical tour! Trentino-Alto Adige; the Veneto and Friuli Padua; Bassano del Grappa; Vicenza; Verona; Lake Garda; Trento; Bolzano; Cortina d’Ampezzo; Misurina; Trieste; Venice Food in Northeast Italy often comprises dishes rich with creamy and meaty sauces, and risotto and polenta are often eaten instead of pasta. Trentino-Alto Adige stretches […]
Food in Southern Italy
Food in Southern Italy: a brief gastronomical tour! Naples and Campania; Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia; Basilicata and Calabria; Sicily and Sardinia Pompeii; Sorrento; Capri; Positano (Amalfi Coast); Bari; Matera; Castellana; Alberobello; Lecce; Taranto; Calabrian Mountains; Taormina; Syracuse; Ortygia Island; Piazza Armerina; Enna; Selinunte; Agrigento; Mondello; Palermo; Naples The south of Italy, especially the far south, […]