Published on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Starting in May, United Airlines will begin nonstop summer service from Chicago to Rome. Flights commence May 16 at a frequency of five flights per week until June 3, then daily until August 17 and six times a week until Sept. 23. “United operates more nonstop trans-Atlantic service from Chicago O'Hare than any other airline, and these new flights to Rome are a...

Published on Thursday, January 8, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Landing in Rome and traveling directly to Florence and Venice, just got a whole lot easier with trains running a new route from Rome’s Fiumicino airport to Venice. Two trains a day – at 11:08 a.m. and 3:08 p.m. from Rome, and 5:40 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. from Venice – travel along the route, which ends in Venice and stops in Florence, Bologna, Padua and central Romeâ...

Published on Monday, January 5, 2015 by Kathy McCabe If you’re already in Italy reading this, lucky you: Lace up your comfiest shoes and head out to the nearest commercial district, where the January sales are in full swing (they began last Friday in Campania and Basilicata, and on Saturday in most other regions). If you’re not in Italy—yet—consider taking the next direct flight to Rome or Milan so you can benef...

Published on Friday, January 2, 2015 by Kathy McCabe Perhaps you’ve visited Rome more than once—even a dozen times. You’ve run up the Spanish Steps, marveled at the Vatican’s treasures, and climbed Palatine Hill. But, as journalist Amanda Ruggeri  explains in this article , you’ve just scratched the surface. Underground Rome is your next adventure: “Anywhere you go in Rome, you are walking on a buried, anci...

Published on Saturday, December 27, 2014 by Kathy McCabe The goal of the Italy Travel Blog is to give you lots of great ideas on what to do in Italy but every so often, it is helpful to give you some ideas on what not to do in Italy: 1.  Ask for parmesan cheese on your seafood. Or a cappuccino after lunch. Of course, if you insist on a sprinkle of formaggio, or make a plea for butter with your bread, a good Italian wait...

Published on Tuesday, December 23, 2014 by Kathy McCabe The Italy Mix is a weekly post about the most interesting Italy and Italy travel news and human interest stories around the Web. Here are our top picks for this week: Traditional Christmas Dishes: Each Italian region has a favorite Christmas food, from seafood to soups to pasta. Tour the regions and learn about Christmas foods. (The Huffington Post) Buy Olive Oi...

Published on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 by Kathy McCabe Well, actually, the five best from among both the mercatini delle pulci (flea markets) and the mercatini dell’usato (second-hand markets), because both can be fun and because the latter type has gotten more and more popular in recent years. Biggest: Carmagnola in Turin may not have the largest number of stalls, but it’s laid out over the greatest amount of la...

Published on Saturday, November 29, 2014 by Kathy McCabe On the first Sunday of each month, 30,000 shoppers descend on the city of Arezzo in Tuscany, eager to see what the 500-plus vendors of antiques and bricabrac will offer at their stalls. Some of these vendors have been around for so long (the fair dates back to 1968) that they have permanent shops—about 100 or so of these line the Piazza San Francesco and its environ...

Published on Wednesday, November 26, 2014 by Kathy McCabe No matter how much you hear about the Leaning Tower, Tuscany’s lovely city of Pisa offers much more to do and see than that structurally challenged monument (but since you will want to see it, here’s a link to tell you more about its history than you might otherwise discover). Here are a few things we recommend: 1. Enjoy the water.  Pisa nestles at the mouth ...

Published on Saturday, November 22, 2014 by Kathy McCabe Imagine waking up to the sound of a bell that’s been gently tolling for hundreds of years—or savoring a meal made with herbs from a garden tended by a religious order. The hundreds of convents and monasteries that dot Italy top to toe aren’t just reminders of the country’s long history of faith. Today, visitors can choose different ways to experience these ins...