Bellarosa

My husband and I planned to use Bologna as a base to visit Modena, Parma, Varenna and Florence from September 29-October 3. The problem is there is a trade show occurring at that time that has taken almost all of the accomodations in sight. Can anyone suggest an alternative place to rent an apartment during this time that would be almost as central as Bologna? We will have a car, and ideally would like to stay in the outskirts of a town near Bologna do that we could make the day trips to the other towns. Thanks.

zeppole

With a car, you're better off not staying in Bologna anyway, or even within its infamous "tangenziale," which has horrific traffic jams all the time.

Apart from the tangenziale, the roads around there are all flat and fast. Were it me, I'd pull out a decent map and start googling up the names of various towns. If you'd on the outskirts of Parma, or Ferrara, or Dozza, or Faenza, you'd still be in a find position to see everything on you wish list. (I'm assuming that's Ravenna.)

I think if you do google searches for "apartment" or "farm stays" or "agriturismo" plus "emilia-romagna" and the names of a few towns, you'll get some interesting prospects.

zeppole

Maybe this would work for you:

http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Emilia/...razza2.uk.html

If it doesn't, it's a good website for exploring other possibilities.

zeppole

http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Emilia/...dello2.uk.html

Might work. I don't know.

jdc26

Bellarosa, you can inquire at:

Bluone -
Via Parigi, 11 - 40121 Bologna - Italy
Ph +39 051 263546 - Fax +39 051 267774
Cell ph +39 348 2629794
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.bluone.com

They had an availability at one of their apartment on Friday. I would have rented with them but decided on Milano instead. Not sure if it's still available, but you can inquire. Other than that, you may want to take Zeppole's advise. Prior to finding Bluone, everything in Bologna for that time frame was booked.

Good luck!

jdc

Bellarosa

Thanks for the quick responses. I will check out both resources to see what is available.

Bellarosa

I contacted the sites and sent requests for availability with them and a few others in Modena and Ferrara. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. I know we left it too late, but we just decided to change our plans to include Emilia Romagna. We are taking a train from Munich to Bologna (or elsewhere), will pick up a rental car, cruise the countryside for 4-5 days, then head up to the lakes for 3 days and then to Milan for a couple of days, before flying out of Milan. Does anyone have any suggestions for alternatives to Emilia Romagna? We would prefer to stay close to northern Italy, have been to Venice 3-4 times, and really don't want to go farther south than Florence. We are really big into history and architecture, and wondered if somewhere in the Veneto would be a good alternative base, such as Verona.

zeppole

I hope you aren't giving up on touring Emilia-Romagna out of the belief you won't find rooms simply because of the Bologna trade fair. It's a fantastic destination. The mosaics of Ravenna are among the finest sites to be seen in all of Italy. The duomo and bapistery of Parma in simply stunning, not to mention the whole ambience of Parma, done in Parma yellow. Emilia-Reggiana complains Parma gets all the talk because of its cheese but that their town is just as lovely. Modena, where Pavarotti was born and was buried, has famed religious treasures as well. Then there is Ferrara, Faenza -- one of the Europe's great ceramics centers -- and if that doesn't work for you, go to Cesanatico to see the port that da Vinci designed or any number of other small towns with castles or contemporary art. You can even cross the Rubicon in E-R.

But of course, the Veneto is marvelous, to with all the Palladian architecture of Vicenzo, and the Roman arena in Verona and its beautiful churches. You go simply go anywhere in Italy in that time frame and have a fantastic time. On your way to Milano, stop by the Certosa di Pavia (especially if you see the Certosa in Parma, too, which Stendahl found interesting enough to write a whole book about, the Charterhouse of Parma).

Me, I'd stick with Emilia-Romagna because the food - the cheese and the pastas and the pumpkins -- are so good!

Bellarosa

Zeppole, I am somewhat determined to stay in the Emilia Romagna region for that time frame, mostly because of everything you mentioned. I will continue to make enquiries, and hope that we find something available. We want an apartment simply because I could not bear the thought of passing through a market or two and not taking some of that wonderful food back to cook. I know that we could get great food in restaurants, but there's something about making it yourself. I have a couple of enquiries out for apartments in small towns on train lines so that we could take a train into Bologna or Florence if we wanted to, and then drive to Parma, Modena, Varenna, and Ferrara and wherever else takes our fancy.

zeppole

Sounds like a great plan -- although if you get on a train to Varenna, be aware you are going to end up in Lago di Como in Lombardia!

When you are doing your searches, try googling for "residences" and "suites" because sometimes Italian accommodations with kitchens get listed that way. Likewise, the term "self-catering" is common.

Good luck!