Italians have been throwing good parties since before the Romans perfected the opulent banquet. Every village, town, and city district finds its own reason to celebrate, and with a few millennia of culture, history, and legends to draw on, there are plenty of nation-wide events, too. To help you decide which ones you should really experience, we’ve put together a list of the five most unusual ones from around the country.
You’ve made plans, set tentative dates…you’re almost ready to take off on your three- or six-month European tour…the next step is a roof over your head. But the short-term rentals offered online can be sickeningly expensive. Fully furnished and ready to go they may be, but with prices often multiples of those you’ll find on the ground, there are better ways to look.
When I tell people that I bought a house in Italy, the usual response is, “How fantastic!” When I tell them it’s located in Basilicata, they get a blank look and ask, “Where?”
There’s a lot more to Italy’s underworld than old re-runs of The Godfather. This country is rich in a real underworld: caverns, grottoes and underground cities. Here are three of my favorite places for subterranean history and natural splendor.
Rome is packed with art, but while most visitors queue to visit the Borghese Gallery or the Vatican museums, there are spectacular collections you can have all to yourself. The grand palaces of Rome’s noble families were built—and decorated—during the Renaissance.
When American Diana Strinati Baur and her husband, Michael Baur, started dreaming of living in Italy and owning a bed and breakfast, the postcard-perfect images of la dolce vita and easy-going hospitality filled their heads and fueled their plans. The end result has brought them greater pleasure and more opportunities than they ever imagined.
Forget Florence and pass on Rome…when it comes to food in Italy go straight to the source. The country’s thousand-year-old culinary traditions are best appreciated in the regions, and here, going north to south, are four of the peninsula’s best spots. Founded by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, the riverside town of Bassano del Grappa is a warren of narrow cobbled streets. This is the place to sip the strong, clear, grape-derived brandy called grappa. It’s a sophisticated, fragrant moonshine distilled from the left-over skins, seeds, and pulp of wine grapes.
The rocky promontory that juts out into the Mediterranean south of Naples is dotted with cliff-clutching towns and rimmed by a nerve-wracking road with jaw-dropping views of impossibly-beautiful pastel villages and sapphire seas.
Making the decision to transplant ourselves to Italy was easy. Making the move itself was painless. Making ourselves at home was smooth and immediate. Making a living…well, that’s another beast. I’m not going to lie to you—working in Italy can be difficult. But it’s more than worth it.