When traveling to Italy, most visitors flock to major tourist destinations such as Rome, Venice, Florence, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast – but when you’ve been around the peninsula and back again as many times as we have, sometimes it pays to change it up. We decided to set our sights on some of the most hidden towns in Bella Italia. By hidden, I don’t mean Taormina or Lucca – I mean off the grid. Believe it or not, the 20 least populated Italian towns are ALL located in Piemonte, the northwest corner of Italy (with just a few exceptions in bordering Lombardia and Liguria). Piemonte sits at the ..read more

  As an expat living in Italy for 20 years with four children and our immediate family spread out over three continents, I’ll humbly admit that i’ve earned my girl scout badge for flying with children. You see, the When in Rome offspring are what you might call “lively.” They don’t always listen, they fidget, shout, argue and love to wrestle (sometimes for fun, often for real).   Owning a family business with Vatican tours and Rome sightseeing running all summer, it hasn’t always been possible to take a vacation all together. When faced with the options of spending July and August be ..read more

A travel industry veteran and one of Rome’s top tour guides step out of lockdown v.2 hibernation to explore the state of affairs in Italy. I recently had the pleasure of catching up with native Roman, Art Historian and tour guide extraordinaire Chiara Antonelli for a “masks-off” chat (Zoom of course!). While working as a guide for When in Rome Tours for more than 10 years, Chiara has led thousands of visitors through the majestic city of Rome. Here’s what she had to say about the pandemic situation in Italy and how it has left the tour industry reeling. First of all, which is it: Chiara ..read more

A travel industry veteran and one of Rome’s top tour guides step out of lockdown v.2 hibernation to explore the state of affairs in Italy. I recently had the pleasure of catching up with native Roman, Art Historian and tour guide extraordinaire Chiara Antonelli for a “masks-off” chat (Zoom of course!). While working as a guide for When in Rome Tours for more than 10 years, Chiara has led thousands of visitors through the majestic city of Rome. Here’s what she had to say about the pandemic situation in Italy and how it has left the tour industry reeling. First of all, which is it: Chiara ..read more