Central Italy Fall Itinerary Help
 

I am currently planning a fall trip to Italy with my husband. I went as a teenager with my parents and we visited Rome, Florence, and Venice. My husband has never been overseas and has done limited traveling. We will be going in either October or November 2016 (depending on our work situations) for 2-3 weeks. We want to focus on food, culture, relaxation and sightseeing... trying to find a nice balance for a romantic trip.

After discussion with others who have traveled to Italy and research in books/online, this is what we currently are thinking:

Fly into Bologna, Train to Florence
5 nights in Florence Hotel (sightseeing, churches, museums)
7 nights in Chianti Vacation Rental (day trips to Siena, wineries, relaxing)
7 nights in Bologna Vacation Rental (restaurants, food tours)
Fly out of Bologna

There is so much to see and do, and I want to make the most of our trip to Italy but I know sometimes that means putting less on your list so you can immerse yourself and enjoy more. Has anyone gone to Central Italy with a similar focus? Am I doing my husband a disservice by not including Rome on the itinerary? I absolutely love Rome but I'm wondering if it would be too hectic since we are hoping for a more relaxed, romantic trip.

Any stories or advice from someone who travelled to this region or went on a vacation with this focus would be great appreciated!

Looks good to me, you might also look at visiting the Amarone vinyards way north of Bologna but very much a special taste and I would recommend the fish restaurants at Chioggia for a taste of Venice.

Northern Italy tends towards the wet and miserable in the period you suggest. I think it is a great idea to avoid Rome. But try for October (unless Sandra thinks November is better) ;-)

Not sure what culture means to you, do you mean painting and stuff, the personality of the region, opera or perhaps football supporting? Anyway, you know what you mean. If you describe it we could suggest some options.

Thank you for the tips! I am hoping for October if we can work it out with our jobs. Culture to me means learning about the history of the region and experiencing some of the things locals enjoy eating/drinking/doing.

That may still be too vague. I would say we are less interested in opera or sports and more interested in food, wine, festivals, listening to local bands, etc.

For October, check out the chestnut festivals in Marradi, which you can reach from either Bologna or Florence.

Other interesting autumn festivals are various fish festivals along the Adriatic coast reachable from Bologna, plus pumpkin festivals near Ferrara.

In November, there is new olive oil in Chianti, plus new wine, and truffle festivals in the town of San Miniato.

You should be able to find quite a few live music events in Bologna.

Maybe a day trip to Verona from Bologna to see the Roman arena would make up for skipping Rome. ;) On my first trip to Italy (which was my honeymoon), I choose Bologna instead of Florence but included Rome and Venice because I wanted a diffeent mix, and wanted to "save" Florence for a time when I could spend a week or more there. So I think it is a good idea not to try to see too many big sightseeing destinations in one trip -- but discuss it with your husband.

It is easy to feel in Chianti that there is nothing going on except one wine estate after another but if you spend some time reading guidebooks between now and when you go there are many quite interesting small venues of history related to Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli and World War 2 in the Chianti area in addition to many beautiful art works and historic gardens tucked away here and there, as well as long traditions of craft, and without making a fetish of frantic sightseeing you can have thought-provoking learning experiences there.

Bologna is chock full of educational opportunities and history. The tremendous day trip to enjoy from Bologna is Ravenna, but Ferrara, Parma and Brisighella makes charming daytrips as well, and neighboring Modena in the morning for its market (and a lunch at Hosteria Giuisi -- reserve ahead).

Wow, that is great information! Thank you very much for the tips on festivals and day trips. I love reading about history, especially when I am visiting the locations of those events, so reading about the Chianti area and mapping out some sights would be right up my alley.

My husband's only preference for our trip is that we go to Italy so he has not been especially helpful in narrowing down our stops :) Do you have any specific guidebooks you prefer?

I wonder if we should extend our time in Bologna given all that there is to do there...

If your husband feels the need to see Rome, you could take a day trip from Florence. It's 90 minutes by train.

Mrs. tee,
These may give you some ideas:

http://www.prolocomontalcino.com/en/...-of-the-thrush

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

My husband's only preference for our trip is that we go to Italy so he has not been especially helpful in narrowing down our stops :) Do you have any specific guidebooks you prefer?>>

the Michelin green guide is a classic; if you are really interested in art, sculpture and architecture the Blue guide may be better. There are of course others - you might find some that are specific to the area you want to visit and/or try your local library to see what they've got and which approach you like most.

I think a focus on Bologna and Florence and environs is a great idea; we didn't go to Rome, either, on our first trip to Italy (maybe not even our second visit). Bologna is one of my favorite cities in Italy - big enough to have interesting sites, smaller museums, great people-watching in the piazzas, but small enough to walk to pretty much everything easily. And fabulous cuisine!

In terms of guidebooks, I too would recommend the Michelin green guide, and the Blue Guide if you want to be really detailed. Also, for more specific areas check out two English publishers, Cadogan and Bradt. I don't remember which I have for Bologna, but I feel they do a good job with historical and similar info.

For your time in the Tuscan countryside, also look into areas south of Chianti, the Montalcino area. I feel (only my opinion) that area has more variety of places to visit and see, plus the Brunellos.

Guidebooks have not really caught up with the wealth of things to enjoy in the Emilia-Romagna, so you might want to first spend some time online looking at websites for Emilia-Romagna tourism. You can find these pretty easily with google searches, both for Emilia-Romagna as a whole and for the major towns of the Emilia-Romagna. Bologna has a very good website called Welcome Bologna. In addition it has an excellent tourist office in the center of town (opposite the basilica in the piazza Maggiore).

It might be a blessing in disguise that your husband is not taking detailed interest in planning the trip. The typical experience of people trying to plan a trip to Italy is that once they start looking at guidebooks, it all looks fabulous and they want to see as much as possible, and they end up tearing their hair out trying figure out how to squeeze it all in or what to eliminate.

In Bologna, it is really worth while to go to the markets and plan to eat some of your meals in your apartment. The fresh pasta in Bologna is fantastic, and it is often eaten just with butter and sage, or you can buy from the shops the classic sauces freshly made. Mushrooms are wonderful in autumn in Bologna and cooked in butter then tossed with pasta are fabulous. Many Bolognese pastas are eaten, not with sauce, but in soupy broth with grated cheese, and this too is an extremely simple meal that is usually better eaten at home than in the restaurants. In autumn, pumpkin stuffed pastas are memorable.

When you buy fresh pasta in the shops, always ask how long you should boil it. Usually it is just a few bare minutes.

In late October and early November you should be able to find truffle festivals featuring the prized white truffle. I live in Le Marche, about two hours south of Bologna and about two hours east of Chianti. Two of the nicest festivals here are in Acqualagna (the biggest festival in the area) and in Sant'Angelo in Vado (smaller and more intimate). Both are in lovely areas which have some of the best dining in Italy (in my perhaps slightly biased opinion).

I'm sure there are also truffle festivals in Umbria, maybe a little closer to Chianti, and in Emilia Romagna (the region where Bologna is located). I've never been to any of them, though.

At that time of the year, fresh porcini mushrooms are beginning to become available as well.

I think the closest you will be to a white truffle festival is the town of San Miniato near Florence, which you can reach by train from Florence or car from the Chianti (60 minutes). It is also possible to drive to Sant'Angelo in Vado from the Chianti, but it would be a longish drive, close to 2.5 hours.

That said, you might find white truffles in Bologna's markets or in some of Bologna's restaurants by mid-October/November.

Thank you all so much for your advice! You have given us a lot to discuss and consider in our plans. I will definitely be doing some more reading and love the idea of doing some cooking on our own in Bologna.