Welcome to Italy ............. 218 Top Experiences ........ 6Need to Know ................. 16First Time ........................ 18What’s New ..................... 20If You Like... ..................... 21Month by Month ............. 24Itineraries ........................ 28Eat & Drink Like a Local .. 34Outdoor Experiences..... 41Regions at a Glance ....... 50
YOUR PLANNING TOOL KIT
Photos, itineraries, lists and suggestions
to help you put together your perfect trip
UNDERSTAND ITALY
Italy Today ....................... 848History ............................. 850Italian Art & Architecture .................... 867The Italian Way of Life .... 886Italy on Page & Screen... 894The Italian Table ............. 898
Trials & TribulationsIt might be the home of t la dolce vita, but Italy has one hell of atesta (headache). Unemployment rose from 6.2% in 2007 to 8.4%awhile Italy’s public debt remains above 115% of GDP. Unnervies of the social unrest that marked the 1970s came to th
10, with nationwide rallies protesting about educatiohist mail bombs at Rome’s Swiss and Chilean em
e political front, Prime Minister Silvio ed a growing number of Italian
onic problem
ITALYROME US
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pture
with the pre-tual art and was
he death of avant-of this movement in-
mo Paladino (b 1948), esco Clemente (b 1952).e currently working in
Angelo Filomeno, Rä di vi, Pietro Roccasalva and
e always celebrated the ablished the classical
cities they colonised; -
tered it to the re-st architects of
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Epic roads andspread from Rome, alomighty basilicas, colonna
markets, sprawling thermbaths and frescoed villas.
4th–6th CenturyByzantine
y
Newly Christian and based in Constantinople, the Empire
turns its attention to the construction of churches with
exotic, Eastern mosaics and domes.
8th–12th CenturyRomanesque
Attention turns from heigto the horizontal lia building. Chu
designed wi
Bella VitaIn few places do art and life intermingle so
-
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bella vita
Bon Appetito
fritto misto
-
-
welcome to Italy
“All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!”TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET
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847GET MORE FROM YOUR TRIP
Learn about the big picture, so you
can make sense of what you see
Outdoor ExperiencesBest ExperiencesHiking The Dolomites, Piedmont’s Gran Paradiso, Trentino’s Stelvio and Calabria’s Pollino parks, Umbria’s Piano Grande and the
Coast, Sicily and Sardinia are all super.Cyclinggood networks, as do the wine regions of Franciacorta, Barolo, Barbaresco and Chianti. Urban options include Rome’s Via Appia, Ferrara, Lucca, Bologna and Lecce.Skiing Cross-border into Slovenia at Sella Nevea; skiing and snowboarding in Courmayeur; downhill and cross-country in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Valle d’Aosta and Sella Ronda.Diving Marine parks abound. The best are
-tory, Elba, the Sorrento Peninsula, the Aeolian Islands, Ustica and Sardinia.
Best Times to GoApril to JuneJuly & September Water sports and warm-water diving without the August crowds.December, February & March The best ski months for atmosphere (Christmas), snow and value.
Blessed with hills, mountains, lakes and km o oastline, tal o e s mu h mo e
than oman uins and enaissan e a t d enalin addi ts an et thei in an
num e o wa s the es mountain ikin , lim in and skiin in the l s ha d o e
hikin in the olomites ho se idin in the ennines ou an lim a ti e ol anoes
in i il and shoot white wate a ids in ala ia ess dauntin , om a d and usan s ollin lands a e o e s s eni lin
n the oast, s o t oes e ond osin on a ked ea hes he e i itous eaks o the mal oast ha ou a netwo k o an ient she he d aths, while a dinias oalt wate s and i il s eolian slands oast
some o tal s est di in indsu e s o k to a dinia, i il and the no the n lakes to
it themsel es a ainst e e lo al winds
Hiking & Walkingtal is a walke s a adise housands o
kilomet es o sentieri ma ked t ails issoss the eninsula, an in om tou h
mountain t eks to entle lakeside am les n season the end o une to e tem e ,
the a ed eaks o the olomites o ide su e walkin and s e ta ula s ene
The Alpsne o the eat mountain an es o u
o e, the l s st et h om lo enia in the
41
Italian Riviera11 For the sinful inhabitants of the in ue erre s e illa es onterosso erna a
orni lia anarola an io a iore enan e in ol e a len th an ar uous hi e u the erti inous li si e to the lo al illa e san tuar to a eal for for i eness ale the sa e san tu-
ar trails to a throu h terra e ine ar s an hillsi es o ere in macchia shrubber an it s har to thin of a ore beni n unish ent as the hea enl ie s unfurl Riomaggiore
Coastal Landscapes
12 he n lish lan ua e oesn t ontain su ient a e ti es to es ribe the arie blue reen an in the ee est sha o s ur le hues of ar inia s seas i ture- erfe t the a be
but ar inia is still a il ra la e ith ru e oastal s ener fro the tu ble o n boul ers of anta eresa i allura an the in - hiselle li fa e of the olfo i rosei to the elebrit - ra e osta eral a an the in s e t beaut of the osta er e s une-
ba e bea hes Spiaggia Scivu
FF
Fabulous FoodItaly’s bucolic hills, fertile valleys and terraced hill-sides are a giant natural pantry, tended by farmers with pride. Bra’s Slow Food Movement protects and pro-motes traditional producers and products – look out for its symbol, a well-fed snail.Bologna Nicknamed la grassa (literally ‘the fat’), Bologna straddles Italian food lines between the butter-led north and the tomato-based cuisine of the south (p420).
Go to Piedmont (p206), Tuscany (p508) and Umbria (p579).
Medieval Hill TownsThere’s no simpler pleasure than wandering around the alleys of Italy’s medieval villages. Hand-laid cobbles snake up hillsides to sculpted fountains, shuttered win-dows shade families sitting down to lunch and washing hangs like holiday bunting.
Perched mountainside, Asolo’s nickname is ‘the town of 100 vistas’ (p377).
Umbria Medieval hill towns galore: start with Spello (p569), Spoleto (p576) and Macerata (p595).
M t l i Thi di l hill
Wine TastingFrom Etna’s elegant whites to Barolo’s complex reds, Italian wines are as varied as the country’s terrain. Sample them in cellars, over long, lazy lunches or dedi-cate yourself to a full-blown tour.
Discover why chianti isn’t just a cheap table wine left over from the 1970s on this delightful tour (p524).
In early October the wine town of Bardolino is taken over by wine and food stalls (p273).
Sample exceptional, rarely exported blends at Italy’s
if you like…
2 1
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AccommodationAccommodation in Italy can range from the sublime to the ridiculous with prices to match. Hotels and pensionimake up the bulk of the
erings co ering a rainow of options from cheap
eps near the train station xury hotels considered
g the best on the planh hostels and camp
re a boon for the ded while
s) welcome after a
ancier
in Augcity hotelshalf price. It isconsidering booin high season (alththe urban centres yousually nd somethingtrust to luck).
Price also depends greaon where you’re looking. A bottom-end budget choice in Venice or Milan will set you back the price of a decent midrange option in say rural Campania. Throughout this book we ha e presented maximum low- and high-season rates for each accom-modation option listed; for example d - means that a double costs at most in low season and at most in high season.
ome hotels in particular the lower-end places barely alter their prices throughout the year. In low season there’sno harm in bargaining for a discount especially if you itend to stay for se eral da
Hotels usually requireser ations be conwith a credit-card No-shows will bnight’s acco
B&B
Directory A–Z
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905
THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY
Paula HardyAlison Bing, Abigail Blasi, Cristian Bonetto, Kerry Christiani, Gregor Clark,
Joe Fullman, Duncan Garwood, Robert Landon, Vesna Maric, Virginia Maxwell, Olivia Pozzan, Brendan Sainsbury, Donna Wheeler, Nicola Williams
Olivia Pozzan Abruzzo & Molise; Puglia, Basilicata & Calabria Although born and raised in Australia, Olivia’s Italian heritage continually draws her back to the ‘home country’. Having contributed to Lonely Planet’s Puglia & Basilicata guide, she was keen to revisit the region to face a delicious onslaught of pasta, pizza and red wine. As an adventurous outdoors enthusiast, she has hiked mountain ranges, led caving expeditions and worked for an Arabian prince. When not
exploring the world’s most exotic places she lives the Aussie beach lifestyle, and is a practising veterinarian.
Brendan Sainsbury Turin, Piedmont & the Italian Riviera; Emilia-Romagna & San Marino An expat Brit now living in Vancouver, Brendan fi rst visited Italy in the 1980s; he ran out of soldi in Venice and had to navigate his way back to London on a budget of £5. In 1992, he returned slightly richer, with a bike, and sprinted to Sestriere just in time to see his Italian cycling hero, Claudio Chiappucci, nab a legendary Tour de France stage victory. As well contributing to two editions of this guidebook, Bren-dan is the sole author of Lonely Planet’s Hiking in Italy.
Donna Wheeler Trento & the Dolomites, Friuli Venezia Giulia The northeastern border regions were Donna Wheeler’s dream assignment: all that complex history, mountains, the sea, plus Austro-Hungarian cake and spectacular white wine. Donna has travelled to Italy for two decades and has been based in the country’s north for the last year. She was author of the fi rst Milan Encounter guide, as well as several other Lonely Planet titles. An erstwhile editor and producer, she now writes on food, art and
architecture for several travel publications and at donnaelizabethwheeler.com.
Nicola Williams Florence & Tuscany Nicola is a British writer. She lives on the shores of Lake Ge-neva, an easy getaway to Italy where she’s spent years eating her way around the country and revelling in its extraordinary art and landscape. This time around she travelled with camera in hand to catch it on fi lm, too. Nicola has worked on numer-ous Lonely Planet titles, including Florence & Tuscany, Milan, Turin & Genoa and Piedmont. She blogs at tripalong.wordpress.com and tweets @Tripalong.
Read more about Donna at:lonelyplanet.com/members/donna-wheeler
Read more about Virginia at:lonelyplanet.com/members/virginiamaxwell
Kerry Christiani Sardinia Kerry’s relationship with Sardinia began one hazy summer when she embarked on a grand tour of Italy in a 1960s bubble caravan. She’s still taken with the island’s gorgeous beaches, high-altitude hiking, prehistoric sites and culinary oddities today. Born in the UK and based in Germany, Kerry’s itchy feet have taken her to six continents, inspiring articles for Lonely Planet and BBC Olive magazines, and some 20 guidebooks, including Lonely Planet Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. You can see her latest work at www.kerrychristiani.com.
Gregor Clark Sicily, Survival Guide Gregor caught the Italy bug at age 14 during a year in Flor-ence in which his professor dad trundled the family off to see every fresco, mo-saic and museum within a 1000km radius. He’s lived in Venice and Le Marche, led northern Italian bike tours, and huff ed and puff ed across the Dolomites while researching Lonley Planet’s Cycling Italy. Highlights of his latest Sicily trip in-clude celebrating his birthday at Segesta and racing up Etna at sunset to see an unexpected eruption.
Joe Fullman Umbria & Le Marche A Londoner by birth, Joe’s fi rst experience of Italy was be-ing dragged along on a family holiday to Tuscany. These days, Joe tends to be the one doing the dragging, trying to convince almost everyone he meets to visit northern Umbria, site of the new family home. A travel writer for the best part of a decade and a half now, Joe has written and contributed to numerous guide-books, including Lonely Planet’s Turkey.
Duncan Garwood Rome & Lazio After more than a decade living in Rome, Duncan is still fasci-nated by the city’s incomparable beauty and hidden depths. He has worked on the last four Rome city guides and contributed to a raft of Lonely Planet’s Italy titles, as well as newspapers and magazines. Each job throws up special mem-ories and this time it was going behind the scenes at the Vatican Museums and visiting a chapel that’s usually closed to the public.
Robert Landon Venice & the Veneto Since fi rst crossing from congested Piazzale Roma into car-free Venice, Robert has been hooked on the watery city. He’s returned many times and in every season, from snowy February to sweltering August; its charms never diminish. However, it was albino asparagus and Valpolicella reds that had him writing home on his most recent trip. Currently based in Rio de Ja-neiro, he has also written for the London Daily Telegraph, the Los Angeles Times and Dwell magazine.
Vesna Maric Sardinia Vesna’s love of Mediterranean islands was enhanced by the spring fl ow-ers and tranquil virgin beaches of Sardinia. She researched the island’s western half with her partner and one-year-old daughter, and can vouch for the incredible child-friendliness of the Sardinians.
Virginia Maxwell Florence & Tuscany Based in Australia, Virginia spends part of every year in Italy indulging her passions for history, art, architecture, food and wine. She is the co-ordinating author of Lonely Planet’s Florence & Tuscany and Sicily guidebooks, and covers other parts of the country for the Western Europe guide. Though reticent to nominate a favourite Italian destination (arguing that they’re all won-derful), she’ll usually nominate Tuscany if pressed.
Read more about Duncan at:lonelyplanet.com/members/duncangarwood
Read more about Robert at:lonelyplanet.com/members/robertlandon
OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their fi rst travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.
Today, Lonely Planet has offi ces in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.
Paula Hardy Coordinating Author, Plan Your Trip, Milan & the Lakes Paula has worked on Lonely Planet’s Italy guide for over 10 years, both as commissioning editor (2006–2010) and as a contributor. In that time she has heroically enjoyed thou-sands of dishes of pasta, scaled exploding volcanoes and trekked up and down the Apennines and the Alps, from Italy’s Puglian heel to Lombardy’s lofty lakes. When she’s not scooting around the bel paese, she writes on north and east Af-
rica (where she grew up), contributes to Lonely Planet Magazine and writes for a variety of travel publications and websites. You can fi nd her tweeting @paula6hardy.
Alison Bing Venice & the Veneto When not scribbling notes in church pews and methodically eating her way across Venice, Alison contributes to Lonely Planet’s Venice & the Veneto, USA, San Francisco and Morocco guides from home bases in San Fran-cisco and central Italy. Alison holds degrees in art history and international rela-tions from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, a joint program of Tufts and Harvard Universities – perfectly respectable credentials she regularly undermines with opinionated culture commentary for newspapers, magazines, TV and radio.
Abigail Blasi Rome & Lazio Abigail moved to Rome in 2003 and lived there for three years; she got married alongside Lago di Bracciano and her fi rst son was born there. Nowadays she divides her time between Rome, Puglia and London. She worked on three editions of Lonely Planet’s Italy and Rome guides, wrote the Best of Rome, and cowrote the fi rst edition of Puglia & Basilicata. She also regularly writes about Italy for various publications, including Lonely Planet Magazine, Wanderlust and i-escape.com.
Cristian Bonetto Naples & Campania, Eat & Drink Like a Local, Understand Italy As an ex-writer of farce and TV soap, it’s not surprising that Cristian clicks with Campania. The Italo-Australian writer has been hooked on the region for years, his musings on it ap-pearing in print from Sydney to London. Cristian has contributed to a dozen Lonely Planet titles, including Naples & the Amalfi Coast, Rome Encounter and Copenha-gen Encounter. When he’s not putting on weight in Italy, chances are you’ll fi nd him guzzling coff ee in New York, Scandinavia or his hometown, Melbourne.
OUR WRITERS
Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.
