Our friend Lorenzo advises, “Next time you must visit Rome and Sicily,” when we say we’re coming to Italy. But there’s Lake Como and the Almafi Coast and Naples and Montepulciano. What about Radda in Chianti or San Gimignano? And really, four days in Florence wasn’t enough…. Okay, Rome this time, but we really must plan to come again.
Four trips … have I really only been in Milan four times? A large city (I live in small Pittsburgh), Milan embraces you, inviting you to fall in love with it. No matter what part of town we’ve stayed in, walking to the Piazza del Duomo is easy. The cathedral will enrapt you—take the rooftop tour. Nearby is the Galleria Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Its glass roof lets the subtle sun bounce off the mosaic floors. The fashionable shops inhabiting spaces built in the 1870s draw you in. Maybe you’ll laugh like I did when you see a McDonalds—especially when you realize it serves espresso.
When people first think of Italy, it’s Tuscany that pops to mind. Florence, Pisa, Cortona, Siena—the well-known places to visit. But pause a moment and consider Liguria. This region wraps around the Ligurian Sea, bumping against the French Riviera to the west and La Spezia to the east. In between are the treasures of the Cinque Terre, Rapallo, and Portofino. The sunsets are breathtaking, the food delectable, and the people tie it all together.
The sun clears the rain away and a new version of Tuscany appears—greens of multiple shades. Olive green, growing field green, new buds on trees and evergreens flourishing. Everywhere green with the blaze of Tuscan orange glowing against it.
Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, Cecina Mare, Cortona, Castiglione del Lago, Gaiole in Chianti … oh the places you fall in love with again and once more.
When You Go
To have adventures in Italy, pack lightly—don’t get weighed down by anything but your camera and travel journal. Enjoy the museums on the hottest or rainy days. Sit quietly in the churches and cathedrals—maybe you’ll hear the monks chanting their eerie and beautiful songs.
And before you leave Italy … start planning your return.
