What is your favorite place in Italy ?
May 20th, 2002, 11:12 AM
#2
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Italia has many wonderful places, depending on each one's interests.<BR>I love Assisi. It's a magic city.<BR>There you find a magic atmosphere of intense calm and interior wellfare,<BR>as well as a solemn respect for everithing that regards to San Francesco.<BR>If you are travelling with a romantic<BR>companion, the correct place is Cinqueterre (northwest), 5 small cities located on the cliff of a mountain, on the shore, with a mess of tipical small colored tipical houses. Very exciting. You can also visit the Garda Lake, in the central-north portion of Italy. Marvelous, specially the city of Sirmeone, the most "chic" and updated.
May 20th, 2002, 12:28 PM
#3
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I have been asked that one many times. My fast answer is Lago Orta, but you really must decide based upon what turns you on. Here are some categories and destinations to consider:<BR><BR>SO, YOU WANT TO SEE ITALY !<BR>FIRST, GET A GOOD MAP ! Having planned more then sixty personalized itineraries to southern Europe and Italy, I have learned that the best trip plans start with a good map. It takes about six weeks to see most of Italy, and that does not include Sicily.<BR>So, any typical two week requires a geographic orientation and thoughtful<BR>planning to optimize the total experience. The temptation is to try to see too much, and that is a big mistake. My advice is to limit yourself to FIVE DESTINATIONS OR LESS for any two week itinerary. Perceive Italy as geographic regions and plan accordingly. Here is a menu to help you to plan well. Let your total time<BR>in Italy, and a good map, determine your feasible choices !<BR><BR> THE BEST DESTINATIONS IN ITALY---BY CATEGORY---NORTH TO SOUTH<BR><BR>REGIONS OF NATURAL SPLENDOR:<BR>1. The Lakes of Lombardy/Piedmonte [ Maggiore, Como, Lugano, Orta]<BR>2. The Dolomites/Lake Garda [ Cortina, Ortisei, Merano, Riva del Garda]<BR>3. The Ligurian Coast [ Portofino, Cinque Terre, Portovenere]<BR>4. Tuscany/ Umbria [ quaint and historic hill towns]<BR>5. The Amalfi Coast [ Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Capri] <BR><BR>THE HISTORICAL ART CITIES:<BR>1. Venice & Veneto [ allow 3 days---more if you include Vicenza, Verona et al]<BR>2. Florence [ it all happened here--plan for 2 days just in Florence]<BR>3. Siena [ deserves a full day, perhaps as a day trip from Florence]<BR>4. Rome [ the Eternal City demands 5 days---some would say two weeks]<BR><BR>ROMANTIC RESORT DESTINATIONS:<BR>1. Bellagio [ the best of Lago Como]<BR>2. Cortina [ the Vail of Italy--ski resort in heart of the Dolomites]<BR>3. Portofino/ Santa Margherita [ splendid sea-side venue]<BR> 4. Positano [ the best location to explore the Amalfi coast] <BR> 5. Taormina [ fabulous sea-side location in Sicily]<BR> 6. Ravello [ la dolce vita above the Amalfi coast]<BR> <BR>
Aug 8th, 2002, 03:51 PM
#9
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My favorite place is Sorrento. <BR>There is something about the air there in the late summer. It smells of lemon and basil and the sea. At night I love to walk through the old part of the city which is bustling with local people shopping, talking, meeting friends, laughing, singing. <BR>As a tourist I feel a little left out because I don't speak Italian very well, but I can still steep in the atmosphere. I can just sit at a cafe and feel the energy and the warmth of the people while I am having a coffee or limoncello and gelato. <BR>I stay at an hotel with breath taking views of the Bay of Naples with Mt. Vesuvius standing in the background, like a lord of the bay. <BR>I can feel the history there too, but not a weighty history, a history of the light of the ancients. The sirens of the sea calling to the ancient mariners to stay.
Aug 8th, 2002, 04:28 PM
#11
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Nancy,<BR>That was positively poetic! It brought back so many images and sounds.<BR>Favorite place (although I haven't seen it all my a longshot):Florence- but only very early in the morning when the sun casts that magical "glow" all over the buildings and streets and the sounds of the nuns in the convent next to where I was staying beginning their prayers and songs.
Aug 8th, 2002, 05:25 PM
#12
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Anywhere on the Amalfi Coast! We thought this had to be the most beautiful place on earth. We have been all over southern Germany, to Paris and of course Rome, Venice and Florence. Nothing beats seaside Italy. Our next trip will include Cinque Terre!
Aug 13th, 2002, 06:09 AM
#13
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Macerata, Italy, in Le Marche Region. I studied in this small college town for 3 months 3 years ago, and, despite side trips to Florence, Rome, Venice, and some cities in Le Marche region, I have to call Macerata my favorite because of the fact that it was home to me. I love the idea of small, undiscovered cities, and Macerata is definitely that. It is right inside of the Sibillini mountains, and on a clear day you can see them in the distance, white capped and beautiful. There is NO English speaking going on there, unless it's in the school, and the people are first class.<BR><BR>For outside trips, a great, somewhat remote city is Urbino. Urbino is home to Rafael, and it is one of the most Renaissance of all Italian cities.<BR><BR>Here's an article I wrote about living in Macerata:<BR><BR>An Italian Library<BR>http://www.thelongtriphome.com/articlestj5.html<BR><BR>Enjoy!<BR>Jackie<BR>http://www.thelongtriphome.com
Aug 13th, 2002, 07:03 AM
#15
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Hi Janda,<BR>My favorite place in Italy, and consequently in the whole world, is Florence. <BR>I just can't think of a more charming place. <BR>When I was in Florence, I visited the Baboli Garden. It was about late spring. Any way the weather was crisp which was so refreshing after the hot day before. I climbed to the top, and the view from the top was just spectacular. <BR>when I was walking in the shrubs and the woods, I could here light classical music playing. At first I didn't know where it was coming from. For a moment, I really thought I had died and gone to heaven! The atmosphere was just that enchanting.<BR>Then I realized a group of young musicians were playing a really beautiful piece.<BR>From the top you can see all of Florence. The Duomo and the Campanile. From the other side you can see some hills of Tuscany.<BR>That was truly a magical experience for me. I had visited the Pitti Palace the day before, so I was just in awe of how the Medicis lived. <BR>But in order to get inspired, I recommend reading about the lives of de Medicis, and the renaissance, and Florence in general.
Aug 13th, 2002, 02:12 PM
#20
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I have fallen in love with so many places in Italy....it's hard to pick a favorite. Each place has its own personality, its own light. The first time I travelled to Italy I arrived at my hotel in the Campo Dei Fiori at 6PM with my sister. It was a Saturday night? or maybe a friday night? We climbed 4 flights of stairs to the roof top, followed by a gorgous Italian woman and as we stood on the roof looking over the multi colored roofs, all the bells in Rome started ringing. <BR><BR>The woman looked at us and smiling said "Bella Roma!" That's when Rome became my favorite place in the world. Even though I know it better now, I still feel the same way.
