Published on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 by Kathy McCabe Remember when you were a kid and you could go home for lunch if you brought a note for your teacher? In the U.S., I think that possibility ended in the 1980s and surely few American kids and adults have the luxury of going to their house for lunch. But in Italy, a staggering 75% of workers still go home for lunch, despite the country's dire economic situation, reports...

Published on Friday, August 30, 2013 by Steve The Italy Mix is a 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: Looking for the Borgias:  Novelist Sarah Dunant  is an expert on the Borgia clan who were true power brokers in 16th-century Italy. (The Daily Mail) 36 Hours in Lecce: This city in the region ...

Published on Friday, August 23, 2013 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. In this video, I'd love to share my tips for renting a villa in Italy. This is a popular travel dream that many folks have and with a little advance planning you can make it a reality. A...

Published on Sunday, August 18, 2013 by Kathy McCabe As the grape harvest begins  in southern Italy, the Association of Italian Enologists predicts that 2013 may well be an excellent year for the production of both red and white local wines if the current climatic conditions continue. ""It's going well, this climatic situation cannot but be favorable. We need to use a conditional tense, obviously, but if it carries on ...

Published on Monday, August 12, 2013 by Kathy McCabe The Italy Mix is a 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: Siena: Italy's Medieval Gem:  Rick Steves explores the Tuscan city of Siena and recommends sites, hotels and restaurants. (The Seattle Times) Italy With A Baby: New parents take their baby to P...

Published on Friday, August 9, 2013 by Kathy McCabe I've been talking to people who are deciding at the last minute to visit Italy this summer. For a number of reasons (like the school schedule), their schedules only allow them to visit Italy in August. Many of them have heard horror stories about how the whole country goes on vacation, there's no one left to cater to the visitors and it is too hot. Don't worry, August...

Published on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 by Kathy McCabe A visit to Hadrian's Villa in the town of Tivoli, 18 miles from Rome, makes for a great day trip from the Eternal City.  Roman Emperor Hadrian's retreat was built during the second and third decades of the 2nd century AD. The "villa" is actually a complex of more than 30 buildings and a variety of gardens.  Now five more buildings, surrounded by large statues, have ...

Published on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 by Kathy McCabe A number of dead fish have been found floating in the lagoons of Venice in recent days. While officials have been quick to scoop them up, so as not to ruin the tourist experience, residents and environmentalists alike are wondering what is causing the deaths of these fish? According to Gazzetta del Sud, "(Experts) want to clarify whether a lack of oxygen, possibly ...

Published on Sunday, July 14, 2013 by Kathy McCabe The ornate marble floor of Siena's Duomo is one of its great treasures. Yet it is rarely uncovered in all its glory for visitors to see. Following the success of last summer's display (350,000 visitors saw it), the flooring of Siena's cathedral will be on view again this summer, for two months, starting August 18th. A must-see if you're visiting Tuscany. According ...

Published on Friday, July 12, 2013 by Steve With the arrival of July, half of 2013 is over, but that's okay, there's STILL another half of 2013 to travel to Italy! Plus it is just the right time to start planning your travels for 2014. Perillo Tours can help! As my father Mario used to say, “Off-Season is bargain time, shopping time and the weather’s fine!” This special travel season runs November 2013...