dcsam

We just returned from an Ireland trip. We loved the B&Bs, small fishing communities, country-side, quaint villages. We rented a car. We're now thinking of vacationing in Italy. I haven't started any research on this yet, but could someone tell me if it's possible to 'experience' Italy in a similar manner? Also, flying into a smaller airport would be nice since I hate driving in the large cities.
Thank you.
Carrie

Eloise

It can be done. Piemonte (for villages and wine country) and Liguria (for beaches and seaside - with obvious exceptions like the Cinque Terre, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, etc.) are much less touristed than, say, Tuscany.

There are international airports at Turin (Torino) and Genoa, but I doubt that there are direct flights from the U.S.; you would probably have to transfer at some European gateway.

The far south of Italy might be another possibility; Basilicata and Calabria receive very few tourists, but there is relatively little tourist infrastructure there. Puglia is becoming better known and Sicily is becoming quite popular, but it is probably still possible to avoid major tourist towns in both regions.

Sicily's airports are at Palermo and Catania and definitely require transfers if coming from the U.S. There is an airport at Lamezia in Calabria, and there seem to be four in Puglia, of which Bari is probably the largest. Again, these airports would not be directly accessible from the U.S.

A non-touristic trip such as you describe would require considerable research in advance, I would think.

dcsam

Thank you for the information. I don't mind some tourist type towns. In Ireland, we stayed in mostly 'touristy' towns, but we did explore from there The touristy places do offer the activities we enjoy, so I'm looking for a nice balance. When I think of Italy, I tend to think of the huge cities. That's not for us. I tend to panic where there's too much traffic and too many people. We like the type of places where you'd feel safe walking at night; not needing a money belt... that type of thing.
Thank you again
Carrie

Eloise

If you don't mind some touristy places, do consider Sicily. It offers evidence of a very long and diversified history - from the Greeks through the Byzantines and the Arabs, followed by the Normans, the Swabians and the Spanish - to the present. Because the influences on the food are so varied, it is quite wonderful and quite different from the food of the other regions. There is excellent Sicilian wine. And the Sicilians are very kind and friendly people.

nessundorma

You might consider Portovenere/Lerici/Tellaro. Fly to Pisa and rent a car. The airport is also town, so no need to drive in a city. From that area of Liguria, you would also be able to take day trips to the most untouristed parts of northern Tuscany if you like, but even just going up into the hills above Liguria would be rewarding.

If you are planning on going at the height of summer and want to avoid crowds, do some digging as Eloise suggests and see what you can come up with in less famous, southern and eastern provinces. And the part of Liguria inbetween Piemonte and the sea is incredibly quaint, although many of the seaside towns themselves have been compromised by overdevelopment.

toni_g_b

I think "experiencing Italy" is easily do-able especially with a car. We've done two road trips to Italy and, although we loved seeing the big cities, the real fun for us was just what you experienced in Ireland. The discovery of a charming village, or walled town, or amazing vista around the next bend. We did a fair amount of research before each trip in different parts of Italy, but none prepared us for our first walled town, Montagnana, or the English Pub in Mantova. They were just on the route we were taking from Venice to Lucca, by way of the village where my grandmother was born and raised. Cassio is on the Via Francigena- S62 (the road the pilgrims took from Canterbury to Rome from the 15th century) and one can only marvel at how many people walked these cobblestones. It's still traveled today by more intrepid travelers than we.

MollyBloom

I have the perfect place for you! Upper Maremma. We went there two years ago, and we rented a house called Casina di Rosa (http://www.casinadirosa.it/) in a village halfway between Siena a Grosseto called Civitella - essentially a totally non touristy area, very low population. It is exacly like the place you described in your post. We were the only foreigners in the village. We had a fantastic experience in this totally undiscovered area.And we were able to choose our "tourism tolerance level" every day! (Funny... we were tourists ourselves of course...) We went to some popular places like Siena and Montalcino and then we spent the rest of the time wondering why many of the amazing villages of the surrounding area were totally undiscovered! We did not spend much, because prices had not been influenced by "the Tuscan Sun", and we simply had a fantastic holiday. I recommend you check this area. It is called Alta Maremma or Upper Maremma, I think and if you want to see the popular sites as well, all you have to do is get in your car and drive for 20 minutes. It is just perfect.

We liked the place so much, that now that we are trying to find another place - because we know that there are many beautiful places in Italy we should see rather than going back to the same area - we are really struggling, because nothing seems to compare to what we happened to find last time (both in terms of money and of being able to choose between must-sees and "real" places).

We are now thinking about Umbria because we heard there are some non touristy areas there too alongside with some places which should not be missed.

AP6380

What time of year are you going? If you would be going in the summer I would recommend flying into Lamezi Terme Airport in Calabria and get a rental car. I would go to Tropea, which is beautiful and as touristy as Calabria can get (bit compared to other places in Italy it wouldn't seem touristy at all). There are plenty od day trips from here, such as to Pizzo, where there is a nice castle. It's also known for Tartufo icecream. I would then drive up to the Basilicata region and stay in Matera for a few nights. I am now researching a Matera/Puglia trip and have some interesting links.

Here's a "cave" hotel in Matera: http://www.hotelsantangelosassi.it/

I would then drive to the region of Puglia and possibly stay in a "Trulli" hotel: http://www.hoteldeitrulli.it/

Then maybe on to a agriturismo-type place:
http://www.trecolline.it/frantoio%20...farm_house.htm

MollyBloom

We visited Southern Italy last year: Puglia is advertised everywhere, so we thought, why not?
I mst confess that we did not like it all that much. And in the few decent places the prices are HIGH... If this is your first time in Italy I would start with some "easier place". If you want to go south Sicily is so much more beautiful than Puglia and Calabria.

Sampaguita

I agree with Eloise, NW Italy fits the bill, between Piemonte, Liguria and Val d'Aosta you will find part of Italy that is not at all overun with tourists(except Liguria in summer is very crowded with Italian holiday makers). Piedmont is full of quaint hilltop village and castles, small historic towns, wine and food to die for and ringed by mountains, drive one hour over the maritime alps and you are in Liguria, which you can find off season has many small fishing villages and historic walled port towns as well as seaside resorts and little communities up in the olive groves; and to the North there is Val d'Aosta, nestled in the Alps, feeling as you are in Switzerland. You can fly direct from US to Malpensa, which is outside Milan, no need to go into the city, and very close to the magical lakes Como and Maggiore, and bothe Turin and Genoa are wonderful cities to visit without too much difficulty in driving too.

Southern Italy woud also fit the bill, but I am not qualified to talk about them, however you would need to fly into Rome.

I suggest use the search function on this forum for what others have written about Piedmont, Liguria, Puglia and Calabria.

MaureenB

We were very happy staying in Santa Margherita Ligure for three nights, making day-trips to the Cinque Terre and to Portofino. SML is a nice, smallish 'city' with good markets, restaurants, friendly people, and a nice little harbor. It was not overrun with tourists in early May, and we had the sense that it is not on the general radar screen of most travelers. Our B&B was the Nuova Riviera-- we had a great, very large room. We'd paid for a double, but the room was a triple, with a huge wall of windows, etc. Very nice, homey place.

dcsam

WOW! Thank you all so much. I have a lot of research to do. We would be traveling the first couple weeks next July. I hear it can get quite hot. Is that correct, and would that change any of your ideas?
Thanks again!
Carrie

AP6380

There are absolutely stunning places in Calabria, and Tropea is one of them. I saw plenty of ugly development in Sicily. Like anywhere else, you have your beautiful areas and not so great areas. If beaches are at all important, Calabria & Puglia are supposed to have some of the best in Italy. Although I will agree that Sicily, overall, is great too!

Eloise

If you're traveling in July, it would be better to stick with one of the more northern possibilities, such as Piemonte & Liguria.

MollyBloom

I am sure there are beautiful places in Calabria. I am just saying that (just like any other place) it is not for everybody. We felt it was very run down and quite dirty. We enjoyed Sicily much more.

I would still recommend the Maremma - it has a fantastic coast, by the way - and you can get ther flying into Pisa. Or if you prefer something greener, than yes, northern Italy is what you are looking for. Pieddmonte is very beautiful.

Massimino

I will suggest South of Puglia. It's definatively one of the best beach area in Italy and some of the place are still untouched not just from tourist but also from italians. Otranto it's a nice town to stay, you can have a great boat tour of the sea cave, rent a scooter and ride the coast that goes from Otranto to Leuca, visit Santa Cesaria Terme and its beautiful natural sulfite pool, visit the great baroque city "Lecce", go to beautiful sandy beach like Alimini and have a wine tour in the country. There is everything you need but in a very relaxing place.

ciao ciao