Travel Inspiration
A collection of our best travel hacks and tips to enjoy Slow Italy. Better for you and our environment
This range of articles is published weekly from our favourites borghi, berths, beaches and buttes from Valle d'Aosta to Sicily. Explore Italy with ex-pats who call Italy home. You'll learn to know where to find the best places to stay, place to eat and shop in your own language. Don't miss a moment and make sure you sign up for our weekly newsletter.
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Italy is actually a peninsula, peppered with stunning islands, islets and lagoons from the top of its bootstraps down around the heel and back up the other side. You can visit islands in a day, such as Elba, Capri or Ponza, or hop the scattered islets of the Venetian lagoon. Further afield, Lampedusa or Sicily beckons and of course, Sardegna’s emerald coast shines. All told, Italy boasts 7,600 km of coastline (over 4,700 miles) much of it in the form of rocky cliffs. I like to explore those tucked away places far away from the crowded beaches littered with costly lounge chairs and fast food bars. A terrific way to do that is simply by renting a paddle boat and heading to a tidy cove to swim from there, or take a motorboat ride with a skipper to less accessible places.
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- Written by Lisa Tucci from Rome (LA Italy)
Love for Italy of Lisa Tucci, started when she was only 4 months old. At 6, a return trip sealed her fate. She has been working in Italy for 30+ years. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she did a 1 year internship in Milan for FMR, a prestigious art magazine before heading to New York to help Italian companies develop their U.S. market. She later headed up the Italian subsidiary of U.S. companies, ultimately working as Country Manager for Acoustiguide Worldwide – producing the first ever audioguides for Italy's most important museums and archaeological sites [Still on offer at the prestigious Doria Pamphilj & Borghese Galleries in Rome, the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, and the Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. When Lisa is not writing, she crafts Italian itineraries for her exclusive Family Travel Italy group, and offers EduTravel programs for families and school groups to learn more about Italy's rich cultural heritage. Visit my website
Anyone who has seen the excellent movie starring George Clooney, Monuments Men (based on the eponymous book), knows that the Allies spent time and money searching for stolen works of art during and after WWII.
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- Written by Lisa Tucci from Rome (LA Italy) Love for Italy of Lisa Tucci, started when she was only 4 months old. At 6, a return trip sealed her fate. She has been working in Italy for 30+ years. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she did a 1 year internship in Milan for FMR, a prestigious art magazine before heading to New York to help Italian companies develop their U.S. market. She later headed up the Italian subsidiary of U.S. companies, ultimately working as Country Manager for Acoustiguide Worldwide – producing the first ever audioguides for Italy's most important museums and archaeological sites [Still on offer at the prestigious Doria Pamphilj & Borghese Galleries in Rome, the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, and the Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. When Lisa is not writing, she crafts Italian itineraries for her exclusive Family Travel Italy group, and offers EduTravel programs for families and school groups to learn more about Italy's rich cultural heritage. Visit my website
- Lago di Nemi
- Nemi
- RM
- Lazio
- Lago di Nemi is located about 30 km south of Rome, in the Castelli Romani.
Ready to go on vacation? What will the future of holidays and travel look like? Some measures may be temporary, but other improvements will be permanent, such as Health passports or insurance providing adequate coverage. New policies for aviation, shipping and vacation home rentals are only a few examples. The recovery of tourism will require a lot of creativity...and technology is doing its part in preparing the terrain.
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- Written by Nelleke Pruijs from Genoa (LI Italy)
With a career as a tour operator and specialist of Italy behind her, she has been involved from the beginning in the web portal Dolcevia.com, she writes about known and unknown destinations in all regions of Italy and as a lover of Italian cuisine she also manages the recipe book and writes with passion about the origin of regional dishes and ingredients. After 5 years in Rome, she recently moved to Genoa in Liguria where she now delves into the secrets that this region still holds. Nelleke was born and grew up in the Netherlands. Visit my website
I always recommend that visitors save sights for a return trip. After all, if it all becomes a blur, how can your trip of a lifetime be a memorable one? And that’s what it’s all about, right? If kids are left to romp in a park or stay back in the villa for a day, you’d be pleasantly surprised as to what you’ll experience.
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- Written by Lisa Tucci from Rome (LA Italy) Love for Italy of Lisa Tucci, started when she was only 4 months old. At 6, a return trip sealed her fate. She has been working in Italy for 30+ years. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she did a 1 year internship in Milan for FMR, a prestigious art magazine before heading to New York to help Italian companies develop their U.S. market. She later headed up the Italian subsidiary of U.S. companies, ultimately working as Country Manager for Acoustiguide Worldwide – producing the first ever audioguides for Italy's most important museums and archaeological sites [Still on offer at the prestigious Doria Pamphilj & Borghese Galleries in Rome, the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, and the Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. When Lisa is not writing, she crafts Italian itineraries for her exclusive Family Travel Italy group, and offers EduTravel programs for families and school groups to learn more about Italy's rich cultural heritage. Visit my website
My mother comes from Carloforte, a small town on the island of San Pietro. And so, as is customary in Italy, every summer we go on vacation to this small island with the whole family, in recent years also with entourage. Every year my mother arranges the boat from Genoa to Sardinia well in advance, because we have never skipped a year, although it was almost the case last year because of the pandemic. In fact, I know the island like the back of my hand. San Pietro is a small, lovely island in the southern part of Sardinia. It is separated from the rest and for that very reason it is a quiet and wild place with incredible nature and unspoiled landscapes. <
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- Written by Arianna Terrile from Genoa (GE Italy)
Arianna is studying English and German at the University of Genoa, she is 22 and helps us on the editorial board of Dolcevia as an intern. Sometimes she writes about her experiences in Liguria, such as her ice-cold dip in the sea at the beginning of January.
Traveling through Italy with a camper or motorhome is an ideal way to discover this beautiful country from a very personal perspective. The perfect DIY vacation in Italy starts with a motorhome.
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- Written by Nelleke Pruijs from Genoa (LI Italy) With a career as a tour operator and specialist of Italy behind her, she has been involved from the beginning in the web portal Dolcevia.com, she writes about known and unknown destinations in all regions of Italy and as a lover of Italian cuisine she also manages the recipe book and writes with passion about the origin of regional dishes and ingredients. After 5 years in Rome, she recently moved to Genoa in Liguria where she now delves into the secrets that this region still holds. Nelleke was born and grew up in the Netherlands. Visit my website
According to the Italian Prime Ministerial Decree of January 14, travel for any reason TO the following states ("list C") is freely permitted under Italian law, subject to the limitations provided in Italy by the regional governments.
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- Written by Elisabeth Bertrand from Genoa (Liguria Italy)
Elisabeth (Jane) Bertrand started this website about Italy in 2008, she has worked in tourism for at least 15 years, specifically as a product manager of a travel company. Since then she changes industry and continued as a website developer. Currently she combines travel with web technology in the best way possible. She has lived in Italy several times and it remains her favourite vacation destination so she would certainly be available for a travel review if she is not too busy with Dolcevia.com's technology. Visit my website
Turns out, while Americans wait and see if a groundhog will see its shadow, the Italians have their own mother nature equivalent: I giorni della merla - The blackbird's days which fall on the last three days of January and indicating the coldest days of winter. And although weathermen report that there are (often) days much more frigid, turns out that in the Old Country, Old Wives' Tales are tough to defeat. We'll just call them, Alternative Facts worthy of their staying power.
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- Written by Lisa Tucci from Rome (LA Italy) Love for Italy of Lisa Tucci, started when she was only 4 months old. At 6, a return trip sealed her fate. She has been working in Italy for 30+ years. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she did a 1 year internship in Milan for FMR, a prestigious art magazine before heading to New York to help Italian companies develop their U.S. market. She later headed up the Italian subsidiary of U.S. companies, ultimately working as Country Manager for Acoustiguide Worldwide – producing the first ever audioguides for Italy's most important museums and archaeological sites [Still on offer at the prestigious Doria Pamphilj & Borghese Galleries in Rome, the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, and the Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. When Lisa is not writing, she crafts Italian itineraries for her exclusive Family Travel Italy group, and offers EduTravel programs for families and school groups to learn more about Italy's rich cultural heritage. Visit my website
When people think of Umbria, they usually think of Assisi or tiny Todi as a destination, but there is actually much much more to see and do than meets the eye. To first get your bearings, it's good to know about Umbria's famed (and some lesser known) hill towns. All accessible by train, but some less so...
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- Written by Lisa Tucci from Rome (LA Italy) Love for Italy of Lisa Tucci, started when she was only 4 months old. At 6, a return trip sealed her fate. She has been working in Italy for 30+ years. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she did a 1 year internship in Milan for FMR, a prestigious art magazine before heading to New York to help Italian companies develop their U.S. market. She later headed up the Italian subsidiary of U.S. companies, ultimately working as Country Manager for Acoustiguide Worldwide – producing the first ever audioguides for Italy's most important museums and archaeological sites [Still on offer at the prestigious Doria Pamphilj & Borghese Galleries in Rome, the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, and the Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. When Lisa is not writing, she crafts Italian itineraries for her exclusive Family Travel Italy group, and offers EduTravel programs for families and school groups to learn more about Italy's rich cultural heritage. Visit my website
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Family Travel Italy
Ask us about organizing artisan workshops or art camps in Italy!
A true spectacle of nature in the beautiful Valbelluna along the San Boldo Pass, "the road of 100 days"
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- Written by Nelleke Pruijs from Genoa (LI Italy) With a career as a tour operator and specialist of Italy behind her, she has been involved from the beginning in the web portal Dolcevia.com, she writes about known and unknown destinations in all regions of Italy and as a lover of Italian cuisine she also manages the recipe book and writes with passion about the origin of regional dishes and ingredients. After 5 years in Rome, she recently moved to Genoa in Liguria where she now delves into the secrets that this region still holds. Nelleke was born and grew up in the Netherlands. Visit my website
- ASSOCIAZIONE PRO LOCO TRICHIANA
- Address: Piazza Toni Merlin 15
- 32028
- Trichiana
- BL
- Veneto
- Italy
The beautiful wine estate Tenuta Madonnina in Sicily has been transformed by Carla and Tom Boelen into a small-scale vacation resort with luxury vacation homes. On the northern slope of Mount Etna and overlooking the beautiful village of Castiglione di Sicilia there are 8 luxury lifestyle houses ranging from 2 to 8 persons.
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- Written by Nelleke Pruijs from Genoa (LI Italy) With a career as a tour operator and specialist of Italy behind her, she has been involved from the beginning in the web portal Dolcevia.com, she writes about known and unknown destinations in all regions of Italy and as a lover of Italian cuisine she also manages the recipe book and writes with passion about the origin of regional dishes and ingredients. After 5 years in Rome, she recently moved to Genoa in Liguria where she now delves into the secrets that this region still holds. Nelleke was born and grew up in the Netherlands. Visit my website
- Tenuta Madonnina
- Address: Contrada Cavalleria 16
- 95012
- Castiglione di Sicilia
- CA
- Sicily
- Italy
- Holiday rentals Olive, Pera, Prugna, Arancia (2-4 pers.), 60 m2, private patio, wifi, living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom with shower. Arancia is on the ground floor.
- Holiday rentals Figo, Albicocca (4-6 pers.), 90 m2, private patio, wifi, 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom with shower.
- Holiday home Mascalese (6-8 pers.), 90 m2, wifi, 3 bedrooms, bathroom with shower, living room, kitchen, private patio.
- Holiday home Casa Colonica (4-6 pers.), 65 m2, private patio, wifi, living room with kitchenette, 2 bedrooms, bathroom with shower.
- The rental price includes: unlimited use of WiFi, gas, electricity, water, heating, final cleaning, bed linen (change every 3 to 4 days), bed linen (change every 7 days), kitchen linen and use of the swimming pool. Supplementary costs: The rent is for 2, resp. 4 or 6 persons. For each additional guest (from 4 years) € 120, - per week. Children (from 0 to 3 years) € 60, - per week. Cot available on request.
When I asked our Italian trainee, Arriana, to tell me about Christmas dinner at her house, how her mother prepares it and what dishes she puts on the table, she wrote me this little essay, which I thought was too nice not to share with everyone. Enjoy, and a merry Christmas to all!
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- Written by Arianna Terrile from Genoa (GE Italy) Arianna is studying English and German at the University of Genoa, she is 22 and helps us on the editorial board of Dolcevia as an intern. Sometimes she writes about her experiences in Liguria, such as her ice-cold dip in the sea at the beginning of January.