Published on Monday, June 2, 2014 by Kathy McCabe June is the start of the busy summer season in Italy. If your Italy travel plans take you to la bel paese in June, consider some of these cool events: June 2 Festa della Repubblica - All over the country. This is a national holiday in Italy. June 12 Festa della Sensa - Venice Enjoy traditional Venetian rowing races and the Doge's procession through St...

Published on Sunday, May 25, 2014 by Steve For the independent traveler, we have a perfect mix of guided tours and time on your own with our ItalyVacations.com package Rome & The Charming South. See the best of Italy's history and beautiful coastline! Start in the Eternal City visiting Ancient Rome and the Colosseum, then head south to sunny Sorrento and the stunning island of Capri. Plus, enjoy food to...

Published on Friday, May 23, 2014 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I have a video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. I guarantee you that you will visit at least one church on your trip to Italy but likely you will visit many, many more. After all, there are more than 900 churches in Rome alone – and...

Published on Friday, May 2, 2014 by Kathy McCabe I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I have a video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. Did you know that Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country? UNESCO stands for the “United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.” This or...

Published on Thursday, April 10, 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 each week. Here are our top picks for this week: Sorrento So Cool:  Its cobbled streets are lined with historic buildings, beautiful boutiques, refined restaurants and fabulous hotels.   (Daily Star) Italian Islands: Many of Ital...

Published on Monday, March 24, 2014 by Kathy McCabe Romans take their food shopping seriously. Gathering staples and ingredients for the coming days is more of a time-honored ritual than a series of errands. Two thirty-something Rome women wanted to capture this experience for visitors to the city and the Rome Gourmet Walking Tour was born. On a sunny Saturday morning, our guide,  Gaetano, an affable and erudite re...

Published on Sunday, March 2, 2014 by Kathy McCabe It took eight years to construct and now the world's largest maze or labyrinth is set to open in Italy. The 17-acre Labirinto della Masone is set on the estate of art publisher Franco Maria Ricci in the town of Fontanellato near Parma in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Italy Magazine reports, "It consists of a mix of 120,000 species of bamboo that edge almost 2 mil...

Published on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 by Kathy McCabe If you're visiting the Uffizi Gallery in Florence between now and April 29th, you have an exciting opportunity to see one of Florence's hidden art collections. Visit Tuscany reports that the Contini Bonacossi Collection, usually closed to the public, will be available for guided tours (though only in Italian) to anyone who purchases a ticket to the Uffizi. The col...

Published on Sunday, February 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 each week. Here are our top picks for this week: Academy of Silence: A new organization in Tuscany seeks to gather a list of the quietest hotels, towns and other places in Italy.  One of them, Eremito Hotelito del Alma in Umbria is pict...

Published on Saturday, February 22, 2014 by Kathy McCabe Florence is the home of two of the world's most famous and most visited museums — the Uffizi and the Accademia Gallery — so it isn't surprising that some of the "other" Florence museums don't get as much publicity but can be just as fascinating and worth seeing. So if you're visiting Florence and have some extra time after seeing the main sites, consider a visit t...