BethanyItaly

My sister and I are planning a trip to Italy for next summer. We are planning on staying in monasteries. We want a spiritual and cultural experience...we want inspiration and relaxation...we want to see a lot but not spread ourselves too thin. We have never planned a trip to Europe before and will be traveling by train, taxi, and on foot. So my question is, what should we make sure not to miss...we will be there for 2 and a half weeks. These are the areas I am interested in...I would like to know what to cut if cuts are necessary...we want to really experience the culture and beauty and not be traveling too much... Rome, Assisi, Tuscany, Florence, Venice, Milan, Amalfi Coast, Italian Riviera, Lake Como...if you know of any specific little spots we should visit- let me know. Obviously, we are going to run into tourist traffic in the big cities...

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!! Also are there any books or travel agencies that are especially helpful?

zeppole

You can't see everything that you've named in 20 days, and all of it is very much on the beaten path. So you have to decide what you really want:

An unusual, uncrowded, off-the-beaten path experience with time to really experience the 3 or 4 places you choose to see?

or

Seeing 3 or 4 of the most famous attractions in Italy?

In the meantime...

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/pub...olcevita.shtml

adrienne

To answer your last question first...there are hundreds of books you could read, beginning with guide books such as Fodors, Frommers, Rough Guide, Lonely Planet. Take a trip to your library and pick up a few books. You can also read some non-fiction books set in Italy. Do a search here for books and Italy to find some recommendations. You can also search on "destinations" on this web site to come up with some major sights to visit.

What should you not miss in the places you want to go? That would take too much typing time here. There are hundreds of beautiful things to see in Italy in the areas you mention.

Have you ever planned a trip anywhere? Planning a trip to Europe is the same as planning any other trip. Decide what you are mostly interested in...museums, scenery, churches, eating, wandering the streets, and focus on that.

IMO you are taking on too much in 2.5 weeks. Does this include travel time from home? If so you really only have 2 weeks on the ground. You're looking to cover quite a bit of area. Rome to Venice is about 4 - 4.5 hours on the train so that's 5 - 5.5 hours including travel to and from train stations and hotels. Milan is another couple of hours from Venice. The Amalfi Coast is about 4 hours south of Rome (depending on where on the AC) so another 1/2 day or more traveling each way.

In Tuscany you would really need a car unless you are only going to Florence, Siena, and other large towns. Not sure if the Riviera is accessible by public transport as I've only done it with a car. The rest can be done with public transportation.

Search on this forum, read a couple of books, watch movies (there's great movie lists on this board) and narrow your focus.

My choice for 2 weeks in summer would be Venice, Lakes, and one other place, perhaps walking Cinque Terre.

TuckH

You can't go wrong if you select one of bobthenavigator's choices in this thread...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35142043

suze

You say you don't want to be traveling too much, but you will if you stick to this plan - 9 cities/regions in only 17-18 days is WAY too much!! That is simply not practical. That would mean you are 1 day in a place, the next day on the train, 1 day in a place, next day on the train, etc. etc. You will spend all your time on trains going place to place, checking in and out of accomodations, packing and unpacking instead of finding the spiritual and cultural experience you are seeking.

Plus not a single one of them is "off the beaten path" in the least. These are VERY mainstream on the tourist path. Do you know if there are even monasteries available to stay in, in each of the places?

I would go to your library and check out several different guidebooks on Italy. Or buy Rick Steves Italy, it would be particularly helpful for what you describe.

I'm sure there are travel agencies that specialize in Italy, but I have always planned the trips on my own, and you can to but you need to do a lot more research and simplify your itinerary significantly.

2Italy

Take a deep breath and stop to smell the wine. You could see more of Italy if you rented a plane and flew over it with binoculars.
As many above have said, you, like many others, are trying to do too much in too little time.
You post said that you want, "inspiration and relaxation...we want to see a lot but no spread ourselves too thin." Well, you're spreading yourself too thin.
You need to make some hard choices. If it were me and I was looking to relax, I'd head for somewhere in Tuscany and/or the Amalfi Coast. The cities are big, crowded, and bustling.
Limit yourself to about 3-4 areas/cities, and go from there. You'll be so glad you did.

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BethanyItaly

THANKS! I appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks especially to Tuck Harvey- I checked out your suggestion and that was exactly what I needed. Grazie!

Ackislander

You can't have a spiritual experience if you are in a hurry.

The Amalfi Coast, the Italian Riviera, and Lake Como have been tourist destinations and pretty much only tourist destinations for 200 years. Not much spiritual or inspirational there, though plenty of beautiful scenery.

Rome, Florence, Siena, Assisi, Ravenna, and Venice all contain sites that are of interest to Christians of any denomination, though seeing the disembodied head of St Catherine of Siena is a bit of a challenge to the modern believer!

Slow down.

flanneruk

I'm with Ackislander, only more so.

I've been travelling to Italy for half a century for practically every reason you can think of, from pilgrimage through dirty weekend to new business pitch. Not one nanosecond could be described as "spiritual".

Some aspects of Italy - many of them connected with the church - are awe-inspiring, whether it's looking at fellow-attenders at a Papal audience or coming to grips with the extraordinary craftsmanship with which successive centuries glorified God. Nowhere on earth stimulates the brain and sense of aesthetics as much.

But practically every major (and many minor) religious site, IMHO, is so crowded and (inevitably) so geared to its history and artistic wonder that any sense of what we call spirituality just gets lost: the galumphing and crudely-executed Norman church next door to my house feels a great deal more "spiritual" than Assisi or even the bus-surrounded monasteries of Sant'Antimo or Monte Oliveto Maggiore.

One man's opinion, no doubt. But I've met no-one with a fundamentally different viewpoint. Prepare to be impressed far, far more often than inspired.

zeppole

"Not much spiritual or inspirational there, though plenty of beautiful scenery."

Ummm, some find inspiration in beautiful scenery.

"I've been travelling to Italy for half a century for practically every reason you can think of, from pilgrimage through dirty weekend to new business pitch. Not one nanosecond could be described as 'spiritual'."

So what? Truly. Are you under the impression you're universal man? Or out another way: maybe you should just tell us where you have your spiritual experiences. Or do you not have them, period.

Spiritual experiences can't be planned, one of the many reasons I abhor organized religio of every kind. These sisters should be discouraged from spending money to look for them anywhere. But for a truly religious person, inspiration is found everywhere.

suze

Squabbling posters aren't going to help Bethany plan her trip, guys.

I will make one small suggestion and that is to most definitely include Venice. It is the most magical and amazing place to experience. Research "convents" as a place to stay when you are there.

Grinisa

Look for the book "Catholic Shrines of Western Europe." I believe Amazon carries it. The Italy section has a lot of ideas for off the beaten track places to visit with listings of monasteries and convents you can stay at. One suggestion might be to mix big cities with the smaller, less known places. Start in Venice and work your way down the Adriatic Coast, stopping in Lanciano to see the Eucharistic miracle shrine there, Loreto, to see the house of the Virgin Mary and then San Giovanni Rotondo/Monte San Angelo to see Padre Pio's church/tomb and the shrine where the Archangel Michael appreared. For beautiful scenery, spend a day or twon on the Gargano Coast, between Vieste and Mattinata. This is very close to San Giovanni Rotondo and, to me, rivals the beauty of the Amalfi Coast and Capri but is relatively undiscovered. Finish your trip in Rome.

Mimar

Grinisa gives good advice about flying open jaws, into one city, out of another. That way you don't waste any of your short vacation time backtracking. And into Venice, out of Rome is the most efficient.

On the other hand, given your short time, it might be hard to use public transportation to visit some of his/her less traveled suggestions.

Also, if you must go in the summer, try for June rather than July or August. Not as crowded, not as hot. Spring or fall are better.

kleeblatt

Stay in convents. Get info on local churches and pick just a few areas.

We had a spiritual experience in Verona. It was unexpected but affected everyone in our group. We walked into a church recommended by a local and was promptly given a tour by the local church caretaker. There was so much art and symbolism that we would have missed without the kindly, devoted man. As we left the church for lunch, the older gentleman/caretaker blew out all the candles to prevent any possibility of fires destroying the wooden artwork.

Those are things that cannot be planned but are very moving spiritually.