Country Info
- Rome
- Capital
- Euro (EUR)
- Currency
- 57,679,825
- Population
- IT
- Country Code
Italy Slideshow
Travel Blogs from Italy
On the pilgrim's trail (and tales of a bungee)
This is a top pick! ... in a Crusade or two and definitely embarked on regular pilgrimages to shrines dedicated to their patron saint, St Michael, located in Italy, France and southern England. So to share the old-worlde spirit of the 14th century right now in the 21st century, ...
Venice
This is a top pick! Venice is a city of cutstone streets and alleys. A major canal dissects the city and numerous smaller ones run off it. Little and big foot bridges, hundreds, perhaps a thousand, span the canals. There are no automobiles in Venice. I could perch myself ...
"Imagine"
This is a top pick! Imagine a town with an over-the-top Gothic cathedral started in 1100 and something, streets and alleys with surprises around every corner and the whole thing ringed by a mediaeval wall. We had that today in Siena, with sunshine and coffee added for ...
Rome
This is a top pick! Wow. Rome. The word evokes emotions long before you even think about stepping into its chaotic, historical wonders. So funny that we were here a couple weeks ago for dinner. That was a late night foray into the city center, on a ...
St. Francis and the Dying City
This is a top pick! (C) We went to Assisi for a day and camped for the first time at a great campground on the side of the mountain. There's lots of good camping in Assisi - I think for the pilgrims. After checking in and getting the "you want to camp??? ...
Roma Aeterna
This is a top pick! Even I as a historian (I guess I can call myself that now!) would be hard-pressed to think of another city with a more storied past, or one that has had more influence on the world, from a political, religious and cultural standpoint than Rome. We ...
"Awake is the New Sleep"
This is a top pick! ... wood plus costume and, with packing, would have added considerable weight to an overweight bag that is yet to travel a few stops in Italy that will require much lifting. One shop did offer postage at 1,000 euro - AU$60! So instead, I settled for ...
Rome in a Day
This is a top pick! Rome: December 2000: I had a bone to pick with the Romans after ill-treating Boudicca and ravaging our country leaving nothing but civilisation, mosaics and straight roads. Unfortunately for the Romans and Rome they thenselves were later to fall foul ...
Drive by Palermo
This is a top pick! ... a little different. Next entry -> off to Tunis(ia) I didn't know... That Sicily is a semi-autonomous state of Italy, nor that the flag I included in the recent Syracuse entry is their triskelion (from the Greek "three-legged") flag. The ...
Finding a language school in Florence
This is a top pick! ... until May. However today I had a look at another place sharing with two Italian sisters from Calabria (the toe of the boot of Italy(. I could move in on Monday, but they are showing some other people around and will let me know tomorrow if I can have ...
Michaelangelo and the leaning tower of Pizza
This is a top pick! We caught the train to Florence and hopped off in Pisa to visit the leaning tower. Smaller than you imagine but certainly leaning, it was one of those icons we felt we should see. We snapped the obligatory photos, ate the obligatory pasta and jumped ...
Off to Croatia...
This is a top pick! ... just said (in Italian) 'I'm English', and he thankfully went away, after saying English, English.... Odd-ball. The trains in Italy seem so much better than the ones in England from my experience, and so much cheaper: it was over 3 hours to get from ...
Goodbye again for awhile Sue
This is a top pick! ... her hours to make. We hope that some of the family will visit us in Australia one day. We drove on all day until Cuneo, Italy where we slept in a skate ramp park. We were a bit concerned at the number of youngsters around us, but they were very noisy ...
Pirates of the Mediterranean
This is a top pick! I'm in Sicily now having just spent the last few days on a sailboat going around the Mediterranean a bit. I think I may have expected too much beforehand - beautiful beaches, cool islands, hot weather, that sort of thing. The sailboat was probably about ...
Syracuse: an expedition indeed
This is a top pick! Syracuse, toward the southern tip of Sicily, was a major power in the ancient world, which is why the name probably sounds familiar even if you haven't the foggiest where it is. I didn't either but from what I'd heard on the grapevine I thought I should ...
AN ENDLESS SEARCH FOR GELATO
This is a top pick! ... , and we enjoyed watching other people being attacked by killer pigeons in the Piazza. An interesting parallel between Hong Kong and Italy: fake Louis Vuitton and Gucci purses are everywhere - often sold directly in front of the real stores (and probably ...
"Wish You Were Here"
This is a top pick! ... tacky tourist glass. Less of the red, green or blue with gold paint and new novelties to grab the tourist dollar this time around. Packing up tonight for tomorrow's marathon four-train trek across the width of Italy to Riomaggiore on the Cinque ...
Carnival in Castrovillari
This is a top pick! Castrovillari (CS): Carnival - Pollino Carnival and International Folklore Festival. Enogastronomic exhibitions, concerts, serenades in the evocative corners of the ancient village and the three traditional processions of floats and masked groups are ...
Back to Normality....but Not for Long.
This is a top pick! So after 4 days of Italy the time came to pack up and fly back to London to start the same weekly routine. It's always so depressing when the good times end and you have to go back to work, especially when you hate your job. I ...
San Gimignano
This is a top pick! Went to San Gimignano today. It's a cute little town, perched high on a hill overlooking the Tuscan countryside, and is famous for it's medieval towers (they wer built by powerful families, and were a sign of wealth). Only 13 towers remain, but at one ...
David Has Big Hands
This is a top pick! One hour by train from Florence the town of Pisa well known world wide for it's Leaning Tower. Obviously we wanted to see one of the wonders of the world, although to be fair we didn't actually know it was one until we read it on a sign next to the ...
Days Like These
This is a top pick! ... free call number for Iberia, an affiliate with QANTAS, and pointed out the payphones across the road. Just one slightly major problem, in Italy all the public phones use cards, no coins and it seems that no one sells the cards required to use them. So ...
Mama mia, Italia!
This is a top pick! ... signs of water damage and disrepair and then by foot, exploring the many little alleys and squares. Our first two days in Italy were also spent enjoying Italian cuisine... pizza, pasta, pizza, pasta... all washed down with delicious (and cheap) vino. ...
Venice: Fireballs and Hangovers
This is a top pick! We took the toll road north from Florence towards Venice. When we got to Bologna we somehow managed to take the wrong turn and started heading towards Milan. The first exit we came to was 15 km later, a quick illegal u-turn later and 15 km back and we ...
Firenze
This is a top pick! Firenze (Florence): I've been to Florence 5 times and it's a beautiful city. Small alleys leading to big piazzas and high buildings. The high buildings cause me personally a bit of distress due to my complete lack of any sense of ...
Roma
This is a top pick! Oh what a city! If I could have I would have changed our itinerary. I would have shortened our stay in Florence from 5 nights to 3 and extend Rome from 3 nights to 5. This city is incredible (and incredibly hot - beware!). There's so ...
Pompei
This is a top pick! After leaving Rome we drove south to our next destination: Capo Vaticano and the beautiful azure blue waters of the Calabria region. But not so fast, how could we possibly not stop at Pompeii? Right, we couldn't, so we stopped and let ...
Sicily
This is a top pick! Short trip to Sicily - Cheap flights Stanstead-Palermo on Ryan Air. One day and night in Palermo, then hopped on the train just along the coast to Cefalu where we did very little except sit on the beach by day and stuff ourselves with Pizza, fresh ...