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Italy - Off the Beaten Path
Posted on 7/8/22 at 3:28 pm
Posted on 7/8/22 at 3:28 pm
Starting to talk with the wife about a trip to Italy around March 2023. This will be my 4th time to Italy and we are looking for places a little further from the main tourist destinations/cities. I've been to the main cities, Lake Como, Amalfi, Lake Gardia, and Taormina. We really want to get somewhere authentic to dive into the culture, food, wine, etc
Anyone been to smaller, less know areas in Italy? The coast line along the Adriatic and Sicily are the main areas that I've been thinking about, but open to anything.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Anyone been to smaller, less know areas in Italy? The coast line along the Adriatic and Sicily are the main areas that I've been thinking about, but open to anything.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Posted on 7/8/22 at 4:02 pm to Woadie
My parents did Puglia--the heel of Italy--years ago and said it was less touched by tourism. They flew into Rome and rented a car but I'm sure a flight into Naples would be a whole lot easier. It is on my list for certain.
Posted on 7/8/22 at 5:16 pm to Woadie
Umbria. It looks beautiful with great food. A lot of wild boar dishes which are delicious.
Valle D'Aosta. A large valley at the base of the Alps in extreme northwest Italy. French, Italian and a combo language are spoken there. You can take the funicular up to the top of several mountains.
Then you can jump down a little south to Piedmonte for some of the great wines of Italy, Barolo and Barbaresco along with cuisine that features risotto and white truffles. Amazing food in Piedmonte.
Hope this helped.
Valle D'Aosta. A large valley at the base of the Alps in extreme northwest Italy. French, Italian and a combo language are spoken there. You can take the funicular up to the top of several mountains.
Then you can jump down a little south to Piedmonte for some of the great wines of Italy, Barolo and Barbaresco along with cuisine that features risotto and white truffles. Amazing food in Piedmonte.
Hope this helped.
This post was edited on 7/8/22 at 5:17 pm
Posted on 7/8/22 at 5:30 pm to Woadie
Wife bought a trip to Tuscany at the LSU Alimni Dallas crawfish boil this year. Let me dig up the paperwork and see exactly where it is but it should fit your criteria. I think it's pretty easy to fly into MXP or FCO and train.
Posted on 7/8/22 at 6:04 pm to Woadie
Alba/Aldi May have been one of my favorite stops.
This post was edited on 7/8/22 at 6:05 pm
Posted on 7/8/22 at 6:24 pm to Woadie
La Canonica di Cortine
This is my recommendation.
It checks all of your boxes.
It is Italy off the beaten path. It is out in the middle of the vineyards between Florence and Siena.
You want wine? It doesn't get much better than this. It is in the heart of Chianti Classico country and is an easy drive to Montalcino (Brunello) and Montepulciano (Vino Nobile)
You want to immerse yourself in Italian culture? There are dozens of wonderful little medieval hill towns within an hour's drive from there.
I have stayed there twice, most recently in 2018. It may be my favorite vacation destination anywhere.
This is my recommendation.
It checks all of your boxes.
It is Italy off the beaten path. It is out in the middle of the vineyards between Florence and Siena.
You want wine? It doesn't get much better than this. It is in the heart of Chianti Classico country and is an easy drive to Montalcino (Brunello) and Montepulciano (Vino Nobile)
You want to immerse yourself in Italian culture? There are dozens of wonderful little medieval hill towns within an hour's drive from there.
I have stayed there twice, most recently in 2018. It may be my favorite vacation destination anywhere.
This post was edited on 7/8/22 at 6:31 pm
Posted on 7/8/22 at 6:33 pm to VABuckeye
quote:
Umbria. It looks beautiful with great food. A lot of wild boar dishes which are delicious.
I'll second Umbria. Assisi was the highlight of my very first trip to Italy, and I would love to go back so I could spend time in Castiglione del Lago, Terni, Spoleto, Foligno and so many other nearby towns.
This post was edited on 7/8/22 at 6:38 pm
Posted on 7/8/22 at 7:42 pm to MikeyFL
Volterra and Lucca are two small towns in Tuscany. Both quiet and great to visit. Old school italy at its best.
Posted on 7/8/22 at 7:43 pm to Pfft
Lucca is incredible. We were driving past and decided to stop and walk around. We immediately said we wished we had known more about Lucca because we would have spent a couple days there.
Posted on 7/8/22 at 7:51 pm to AbitaFan08
My favorite thing to do in Lucca is rent bikes and ride them around the old city walls which are ramparts with a bike path on top.
Posted on 7/8/22 at 8:35 pm to Woadie
Go to this place.
WIld Foods Italy
Went there a few years ago with my wife. Been to Italy a dozen times, this was our best trip. Wonderful people, had some great food, wine, truffles, shot a boar, shot some pheasant, wall to wall awesome.
WIld Foods Italy
Went there a few years ago with my wife. Been to Italy a dozen times, this was our best trip. Wonderful people, had some great food, wine, truffles, shot a boar, shot some pheasant, wall to wall awesome.
Posted on 7/9/22 at 6:02 am to coolpapaboze
Man, that place looks awesome! Definitely something we would love to checkout.
Lots of good stuff in here. Gonna have to start some research. Thanks everyone for posting.
Lots of good stuff in here. Gonna have to start some research. Thanks everyone for posting.
Posted on 7/9/22 at 6:07 am to geauxpurple
quote:
La Canonica di Cortine
Just glancing at it, looks like this is a base camp to checkout different cities? This is not a place where you partake in activities with the host on-site, correct? Like the place coolpapaboze posted. Also, assuming yall rented a car?
Posted on 7/9/22 at 6:08 am to Woadie
We just got back from Italy last night. We went to two smaller areas and, in my opinion, were the best two stops we made. First one was Stresa and the other one was Verona. Both were not very crowded and were great.
Posted on 7/9/22 at 10:51 am to Woadie
Correct on all counts.
There are no activities on the premises other than sitting on the patio overlooking the beautiful scenery. You can’t walk out of your door and be on a quaint town square. There are plenty of those nearby but you have to drive to them.
There are no activities on the premises other than sitting on the patio overlooking the beautiful scenery. You can’t walk out of your door and be on a quaint town square. There are plenty of those nearby but you have to drive to them.
Posted on 7/9/22 at 2:17 pm to Woadie
From the “Unlocking Italy” newsletter put out by CNN Travel:
So you want rippling hills studded with medieval towns, a coastline with some of Italy’s best beaches, superb food, and some of the dreamiest landscapes on the entire boot? You need Marche.
That’s right, Marche (aka Le Marche -- pronounced mar-kay). Sitting quietly on the other side of the Apennine mountains from Tuscany, but happy to let its neighbors take the crowds, this is our all-around favorite region.
Marche is Italy 101: nearly 4,000 square miles of unfurling hills, dramatic mountains, sandy beaches and culture galore. And yet it sees just one-tenth of the international visitors of Tuscany.
Marche even knits together northern and southern Italy which, elsewhere, seem like two different worlds. Visit plummy university city Urbino, and you could be anywhere in the north of Italy. Ascoli Piceno, though, with its shimmering travertine piazzas and Baroque fountains (complete with elderly men watching the world go by), feels very much like the sizzling south.
Those two cities, topping and tailing the region, are up there with Italy’s most spectacular towns. Spilling down a hillside, Urbino is one of the best-preserved Renaissance cities, where terracotta-paved streets built for horses still prohibit cars, and the twin-turreted Ducal Palace is cantilevered over the billowing hills. Raphael was born here -- at his birthplace, you’ll see a “Madonna and Child,” believed to have been frescoed by the teenage painter. His father was court painter to Federico da Montefeltro, the hyper-cultured Renaissance ruler, whose palace is now one of Italy’s most evocative art galleries.
Little Ascoli Piceno, meanwhile, is jaw-droppingly beautiful -- entirely clad in brilliant travertine, its buildings running from Romanesque to Art Nouveau.
There’s much more to see. Macerata province is full of tiny, jewel-like hilltop towns. Pesaro and Fano are elegant seaside resorts. And the Riviera del Conero is a natural park, with wild beaches backed by chalk-white cliffs. Nondescript churches are stuffed with great artworks by the likes of Carlo Crivelli and Giovanni Santi (Raphael’s dad -- see what’s thought to be his self-portrait with his son as a saint and angel in Cagli’s San Domenico church). This region has everything. Just don’t tell anyone else.
So you want rippling hills studded with medieval towns, a coastline with some of Italy’s best beaches, superb food, and some of the dreamiest landscapes on the entire boot? You need Marche.
That’s right, Marche (aka Le Marche -- pronounced mar-kay). Sitting quietly on the other side of the Apennine mountains from Tuscany, but happy to let its neighbors take the crowds, this is our all-around favorite region.
Marche is Italy 101: nearly 4,000 square miles of unfurling hills, dramatic mountains, sandy beaches and culture galore. And yet it sees just one-tenth of the international visitors of Tuscany.
Marche even knits together northern and southern Italy which, elsewhere, seem like two different worlds. Visit plummy university city Urbino, and you could be anywhere in the north of Italy. Ascoli Piceno, though, with its shimmering travertine piazzas and Baroque fountains (complete with elderly men watching the world go by), feels very much like the sizzling south.
Those two cities, topping and tailing the region, are up there with Italy’s most spectacular towns. Spilling down a hillside, Urbino is one of the best-preserved Renaissance cities, where terracotta-paved streets built for horses still prohibit cars, and the twin-turreted Ducal Palace is cantilevered over the billowing hills. Raphael was born here -- at his birthplace, you’ll see a “Madonna and Child,” believed to have been frescoed by the teenage painter. His father was court painter to Federico da Montefeltro, the hyper-cultured Renaissance ruler, whose palace is now one of Italy’s most evocative art galleries.
Little Ascoli Piceno, meanwhile, is jaw-droppingly beautiful -- entirely clad in brilliant travertine, its buildings running from Romanesque to Art Nouveau.
There’s much more to see. Macerata province is full of tiny, jewel-like hilltop towns. Pesaro and Fano are elegant seaside resorts. And the Riviera del Conero is a natural park, with wild beaches backed by chalk-white cliffs. Nondescript churches are stuffed with great artworks by the likes of Carlo Crivelli and Giovanni Santi (Raphael’s dad -- see what’s thought to be his self-portrait with his son as a saint and angel in Cagli’s San Domenico church). This region has everything. Just don’t tell anyone else.
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