Italy: where to go for questions that TRULY ARE "off the beaten path"?
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Italy: where to go for questions that TRULY ARE "off the beaten path"?
Please direct me on where to go for information regarding questions that TRULY ARE "off the beaten path". Many times my questions go unanswered.
I find a tad bit of info somewhere and ask for more info. from various web pages or I research books and online. This usually leads to me coming up empty handed!
One time when I asked why no one was giving me help. A reply came back that my questions really were "off the beaten path" and no one had heard of them! One example is the 2,000 steps--a hike near Portovenere, or the live opera music & dinner in a palazzo in Venice. I would also love to learn of more interesting and unusual places in Italy from people.
Appreciate any advice,
dlpiano
I find a tad bit of info somewhere and ask for more info. from various web pages or I research books and online. This usually leads to me coming up empty handed!
One time when I asked why no one was giving me help. A reply came back that my questions really were "off the beaten path" and no one had heard of them! One example is the 2,000 steps--a hike near Portovenere, or the live opera music & dinner in a palazzo in Venice. I would also love to learn of more interesting and unusual places in Italy from people.
Appreciate any advice,
dlpiano
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Italy has a system of tourist offices called PRO LOCO. They are staffed by people, very often long time residents, who are committed to increasing tourism to small towns. Very often, if you use the words PRO LOCO in a google search for the name of a town with an attraction you are interested in -- say, "Portovenere Pro Loco" -- you will get the telephone number, fax number, address and sometimes a e-mail or web address for that Pro Loco office.
Pro Loco offices are usually open weekdays from 9-12/4pm-7pm, Italian time. Often there is someone in the office who speaks a language other than Italian.
Likewise, there are sometimes private tour guides in your target areas who -- although they usually take tourists to the usual sights -- also know very well the less-famous ones you are talking about. These people very often have web sites, and sometimes will be kind enough to answer a few questions via e-mail -- but I think if you end up in there area and have they have helped you find just what you are looking for, the least you can do is buy them a bottle of wine or pay a reasonable fee for how much they have assisted you.
Last but not least, learning some rudimentary Italian -- or even just using a web-based automatic translator like Babelfish -- may get you further on the web. Googling for "due mila scale Portovenere" might produce useful info or even a map, where English won't.
As for your overall question: MOST of Italy is off-the-beaten path. Truly. Entire regions like Emilia-Romagna and Lazio (apart from Roma), not to mention most of the Veneto, get almost no tourists whatsoever despite being in between the huge tourist magnets most tourists flock to. They are simply by-passed, without reason. Yet they are rich in treasures -- places like Mantova or Parma or Tarquinia-- that are actually not at all difficult to find information about.
If you are serious about being a traveler in Italia, and not a tourist, you are at some point going to have to put down the guidebook and just head out on your own. But even the big Michelin-Green guide lists several outstanding destinations that 95percent of people who make repeat visits to Italy never have been curious enough to spend a few hours in.
hope that helps.
Pro Loco offices are usually open weekdays from 9-12/4pm-7pm, Italian time. Often there is someone in the office who speaks a language other than Italian.
Likewise, there are sometimes private tour guides in your target areas who -- although they usually take tourists to the usual sights -- also know very well the less-famous ones you are talking about. These people very often have web sites, and sometimes will be kind enough to answer a few questions via e-mail -- but I think if you end up in there area and have they have helped you find just what you are looking for, the least you can do is buy them a bottle of wine or pay a reasonable fee for how much they have assisted you.
Last but not least, learning some rudimentary Italian -- or even just using a web-based automatic translator like Babelfish -- may get you further on the web. Googling for "due mila scale Portovenere" might produce useful info or even a map, where English won't.
As for your overall question: MOST of Italy is off-the-beaten path. Truly. Entire regions like Emilia-Romagna and Lazio (apart from Roma), not to mention most of the Veneto, get almost no tourists whatsoever despite being in between the huge tourist magnets most tourists flock to. They are simply by-passed, without reason. Yet they are rich in treasures -- places like Mantova or Parma or Tarquinia-- that are actually not at all difficult to find information about.
If you are serious about being a traveler in Italia, and not a tourist, you are at some point going to have to put down the guidebook and just head out on your own. But even the big Michelin-Green guide lists several outstanding destinations that 95percent of people who make repeat visits to Italy never have been curious enough to spend a few hours in.
hope that helps.
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Missing word alert:
I meant to type:
"But even the big Michelin-Green guide lists several HUNDRED outstanding destinations that 95percent of people who make repeat visits to Italy never have been curious enough to spend a few hours in."
I meant to type:
"But even the big Michelin-Green guide lists several HUNDRED outstanding destinations that 95percent of people who make repeat visits to Italy never have been curious enough to spend a few hours in."
#4
Zeppole's advice about the green Michelin is right on. Years ago we did a wonderful drive from Rome to Urbino that followed the guide.(3*) The Marches itself is a wonderful place to visit. Perhaps it's different now but there were very few tourists when we did our trip. And, he's right, Mantova, Parma , Cremona etc. are all full of history and good food. If you're an opera fan interested in Verdi look into Busseto, etc.
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WOW answers and that info on pro loco is awesome.
I have been to Italy! This is my 3rd time and I always stay in private homes and try to blend in with the locals.
I am of Italian decent and am lovin' every minute of getting in touch with my roots. I have finally come to understand many of the habits of my gparents!
GRAZIE!
I have been to Italy! This is my 3rd time and I always stay in private homes and try to blend in with the locals.
I am of Italian decent and am lovin' every minute of getting in touch with my roots. I have finally come to understand many of the habits of my gparents!
GRAZIE!
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Where in Italy are your grandparents from dlpiano?
And when you return to Italy will you have a rental car? If so you might want to research the newest and smallest region of Italy which is Molise, that is quite off the tourist track. Not the only "out of the way" area, just one thought for you.
Where have you visited in Italy when you have been there before? Knowing that might help us make suggestions for future trips. Best regards.
And when you return to Italy will you have a rental car? If so you might want to research the newest and smallest region of Italy which is Molise, that is quite off the tourist track. Not the only "out of the way" area, just one thought for you.
Where have you visited in Italy when you have been there before? Knowing that might help us make suggestions for future trips. Best regards.
#7
If you enjoy hiking, you might investigate a series of guide books published by Sunflower Books. At this time, there are separate guides for the Dolomites, Lake region, Sardinia, Sicily, Sorrento/Amalfi Coast, Tuscany and Umbria. Because the guides are oriented to the walking traveler, they cover areas that are truly "off the beaten path."
http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/index2.htm
Friends of ours have enjoyed a performance of classic opera arias in a private palazzo, but it was during Carnivale and the event was a fund-raiser for Save Venice. Very nice and very expensive.
http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/index2.htm
Friends of ours have enjoyed a performance of classic opera arias in a private palazzo, but it was during Carnivale and the event was a fund-raiser for Save Venice. Very nice and very expensive.
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My great gma Biagini is from Bagni di Lucca. I do want to visit the spa and grotto there, but haven't as of yet. I always stay in a lovely privately owned home in the walled city of Lucca. I have been to Siena, Cinque Terre, Florence, Volterra, and numerous other Toscana small towns. The owner(Aurelio) of the home we rent gives us "tours" for the day. My maiden name is D'Onofrio. Our family does not know as much about them but I believe them to be more from the Umbria region. Part of this trip we will be staying in Orvieto.
My married name is Calvino-a famous Italian author. Finally, we are flying into Venice first then taking a train ride to Lucca. I believe our tour day with Aurelio year will be to the white truffle festival in San Marino!
I can't wait to be in ITALY!
My married name is Calvino-a famous Italian author. Finally, we are flying into Venice first then taking a train ride to Lucca. I believe our tour day with Aurelio year will be to the white truffle festival in San Marino!
I can't wait to be in ITALY!
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