Sub Categories in Italy

Category of: Italy

Tuscany’s medieval towns: San Gimignano

May 7, 2016

Tuscany is known for its medieval hill towns, perched strategically on top of the hills, dominating the valley with open views that enhance their safety. These towns were often surrounded with protective stone walls, some of which survived intact to this day. San Gimignano, one of the best preserved and popular towns, is situated south west of Florence and a short drive from the coast where we were staying. For the Tuscany portion of our... View Article

Naples for foodies with Food tour of Naples

April 1, 2016

Continued from here. There is more to Naples that we were able to experience in our short stay (don’t miss the Veiled Christ sculpture, remarkable) but I did manage to go on a foodie tour (of course) and had a bit of an insider look at the Naple’s food scene that I am happy to share it with you.   I booked a tour with Food Tours of Naples. It being off season we ended... View Article

Naples: Vedi Napoli e poi muori – See Naples and die

March 31, 2016

Feature image above used by permission from David Killick, NZ Before we left for our epic trip to Italy we had a lot of conflicting advice about Naples. Some said you must go there if only for the pizza, others said, don’t go, it’s Mafia country, dangerous, crowded, polluted and there are pickpockets everywhere. I almost considered going there with a guide. In the end, I decided that I feel at home in the world... View Article

Rome: Testaccio #2 – foodie tour with Eating Italy

March 23, 2016

Continued from this post. My second visit to Testaccio was on a food tour with Eating Italy. On a rainy day in January we took an Uber black car to the meeting place in Piazza Testaccio and met our guide Bethany who was keeping dry under a blue umbrella outside Zi Elena Bar Gelateria. Bethany is an America living and working in Rome, fluent in Italian and usually does the tours in Trestevere where she lives.... View Article

Rome: Testaccio #1 – Sunday lunch at Perilli Trattoria

March 22, 2016

If you love food and cemeteries you are sure to like Testaccio and that’s because Testaccio has the most delicious, authentic Roman food and a very beautiful and interesting non-catholic cemetery where famous people are buried. Testaccio, considered the “working-class” neighbourhood of Rome, is situated across the river and south of the famous Trestevere but doesn’t share in the tourism that Trastevere attracts and this is a good thing. Wedged between the river to the... View Article

Florence markets #2: Mercato Sant’ Ambrogio and neighbourhood

March 20, 2016

Mercato San Ambrogio is another market in Florence that was designed by Giuseppe Mengoni in 1873, the same architect as Mercato Central and the famous Galleria in Milan. The market is located on the opposite side of town from Mercato Central in a residential Piazza Ghiberti. It is not far from Piazza Santa Croce where Michelangelo and other luminaries are buried inside the magnificent cathedral. Because of the less central location the market serves more locals... View Article

Florence Markets #1: Mercato Central

March 13, 2016

It’s hard to capture the charm of Florence in simple verse and its beauty inspired poets and writers to immortalize it in their prose. Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett eloped to Florence to get married and lived there many happy years afterwards. Unlike Rome, that took a little getting used to, Florence was a love at first sight. Walking through the ancient streets among magnificent palaces and works of art and in the footsteps of... View Article

The markets of Rome: Campo de Fiori, market “rules” and foodie places near the market

March 8, 2016

Traditional open air food markets are a function of a life style that is sadly disappearing. They are meant for daily shopping for ingredients for dinner that night, along with a a crusty loaf of bread and local wine. This life style is on its way out even in places like Rome, where restaurants and conveniently located neighbourhood supermarkets are redefining the eating and shopping habits of todays’ households. That’s not to say however that markets... View Article

Street food Roman style – what it is and where to get it

February 24, 2016

If Romans have to break the holly ritual of sitting down for lunch in early afternoon they do it in a very specific way. There is no grabbing a chocolate bar or a 16 oz caramel macchiato (both non-existent in Italy) as a substitute for food. They may not have time for a sit down lunch, but they still eat real food.   Pizza bianca The most common and authentic fast food in Rome is... View Article

Florence: the art of the aperitivo

February 11, 2016

Feature B&W  image above used with special permission from the Ruth Orkin Photo Archive, American Girl in Italy, 1951, Copyright 1952, 1980 Ruth Orkin. Italian food culture is very seductive. It lures you with its rituals and once you are hooked, it’s hard to turn back. And why would you want to turn back anyway? One of the rituals that we engaged in while travelling in Italy was the aperitivo and Florence in particular raised this ceremony... View Article

photo credit

Rome – the Spanish Steps for Foodies

February 3, 2016

The Spanish Steps in the heart of Rome is probably the best known and most visited part of a town so full of historical monuments. Originally the steps were constructed to connect the Spanish embassy to the church Trinita dei Monti on top. Today, the Spanish Embassy is located at the magnificent Palazzo Borghese off Via del Corso, extending all the way to the river, quite a sight. Later  the Spanish Steps and Piazza di... View Article

Rome – the Pantheon for foodies

January 28, 2016

Usually I am wary of eating around historical monuments but this is not necessarily true for Rome. We have found some incredible food near places like the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and even Piazza Navona. Today was a take it easy day as we are wrapping up our 6 weeks stay in Rome. I can’t say that I “know” Rome like a local but I do feel that I got a good sense of the... View Article