Florence is crammed full of converted palazzos, villas and old family homes.  Florence pulls in some 10 million tourists a year – and each of those needs somewhere to sleep. You could stay in a hotel or apartment, but if you’re travelling with a larger group a villa will likely be your best bet. Villas range from cheap and cheerful affairs to sumptuous palazzos, though generally speaking, they tend to offer better value for money than the city’s most prestigious hotels. To help you with your search, we’ve selected three of the best places to rent a villa in and around Florence, for a rang ..read more

The south bank of Florence is an irresistible jumble of opulent palaces, hip boutiques, and restaurants. From the bustling Santo Spirito to the authentic San Frediano, Oltrarno (literally ‘beyond the river Arno’) will have you escaping the tourist throng to eat, drink, shop, and bask in the cradle of the Italian Renaissance like a local. Cityscape of Florence viewed from Oltrarno (photo: Jeff Ackley for Unsplash) Florence unfurls her secrets once you leave behind the Duomo crowds and cross the Ponte Vecchio to explore Oltrarno – literally ‘the other side of the Arno’: the rîve gauche of ..read more

Pompeii is just 26 km from Naples. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to explore these ancient ghostly ruins is on a day trip.  2-Hour Walking Tour of Pompeii Ruins (Photo: GetYourGuide.com) It’s been almost 2,000 years since the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but this ancient preserved city continues to capture the imagination of more than 2.6 million visitors every year. It was a balmy morning in 79 AD when the volcano started spewing lava, volcanic ash and molten rocks at a staggering speed of 100 km per hour, burying the Roman holiday resorts of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneu ..read more

Cicchetti are Venetian tapas: bite-sized servings of fresh local ingredients, best accompanied by a glass of white wine or a Spritz. For locals, the traditional ‘bàcari’ wine bars that serve them are the center of social life. Here are ten spots that the Venetians don’t want tourists to know about. Vino Vero (Photo by Karuna Clayton, courtesy of Vino Vero) When a Venetian invites you out for a drink, you may hear the delightfully evocative, centuries-old phrase, ‘Andémo béver un’ombra’ (literally, ‘let’s go drink a shadow’). It’s an image specific to Venice; a throwback to the days when wine ..read more

The sagra food festival is a relatively unknown feature of Italian culture. It usually revolves around one particular dish or ingredient, but its recipe also includes music, folklore and local hospitality. Typical atmosphere of a ‘sagra paesana’ at Breme (Photo: courtesy of Associazione Polisportiva Bremese) Food is one of the main attractions when travelling around Italy. Surprisingly, however, the food festivals cherished by locals are still relatively unknown to tourists. The typical sagra is a yearly event with a distinctive rural character, offering no-frills hospitality as it celebrate ..read more

Known for its many bars, trendy restaurants and contemporary architecture, Isola still owes part of its charm to the old days as a secluded blue-collar neighbourhood. Here is what to seek out when exploring the area. Buildings overlooking Piazza Tito Minniti, at the centre of Isola (Photo: Andrea Gambaro) If Milan’s charm is famously discreet, then Isola is no exception. Sober lanes and orthogonal blocks form a chessboard-like pattern, scattered with less regular piazze and skirted at its northern edge by the old tram line. Behind the facades, a once-palpable working-class spirit lies dorman ..read more

With its sheer cliffs and rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-coloured fishing villages, Italy’s Amalfi Coast makes for a magical yacht charter destination. The turquoise waters off the coast of Positano, a cliffside village on Italy’s Amalfi Coast (Photo: Michael Lucarelli via Flickr / CC BY 2.0) Unsurprisingly given its long-standing status as a yachting mecca, there are a vast number of companies catering for people seeking a yacht charter in and around the Amalfi Coast. And whether it’s for a charter of just a few hours or several weeks, there’s certain to be something ..read more

Ah, Tuscany! It’s beloved by people the world over and has been for generations. Discover what all the fuss is about for yourself on one of these fantastic wine tours from Rome. (Photo: Getyourguide.com) Italy’s Tuscany region is one of the world’s most revered wine producing areas, with Montalcino, Chianti and Montepulciano all capitalising on the region’s gentle, vine-lined slopes. With Rome being located anywhere between two and three hours from these major wine districts of Italy by road, a day trip from the Italian capital city is a great way to experience these wines right at their sou ..read more

Modest Modena is best known for its fast cars and slow food. Most people pass through on the way to sexier cities, but it’s well worth lingering. A compact and highly walkable city centre, combined with a countryside brimming with culinary opportunities, make Modena the perfect 24-hour pitstop.  Piazza Grande, Modena’s political and social centre (Photo: Emilia-Romagna Tourism) In a country as madly photogenic as Italy, it’s not easy to stand out. Perhaps that’s why Modena, a medieval city 90 miles north of Florence, has historically gone under the radar – usurped by the supermodel good ..read more

Sun-kissed Sicily is fast becoming a destination of choice for people seeking houses and villas abroad. Combining an idyllic climate, rich cultural heritage and spectacular scenery, the island promises Italy’s signature leisurely and laidback lifestyle for a fraction of the cost of more established real estate markets, such as Tuscany and Lake Como. The island’s property market came under the global spotlight with the sale of hundreds of €1 properties a couple of years ago, and since then demand for houses and villas in Sicily has boomed.  Towns like Cefalù promise sea, sun and rich hist ..read more