Here are the Italy travel news, culture and food stories that got our attention this week…
Is Rome’s new Eataly all it is cracked up to be?
Katie Parla writes in The New York Times,”The lack of consistency is perhaps mitigated by the sheer convenience of it all. Thousands of nicely packaged products are artfully displayed in a large, air-conditioned space, an American paradigm that is alive and well here. Does Rome need an Eataly? Perhaps not, but judging by the crowds I saw, it sure does want one.”
Traffic tickets in Italy’s pedestrian zones still big problem
We’ve been reporting on this problem for years: you rent a car in Italy, drive through a pedestrian zone and get a hefty ticket some weeks or months later when you get home. The Los Angeles Times has some advice on handling the tickets if you get them and some advice on avoiding them all together.
The pressure’s on Sicily to reform
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Sicily also has the biggest balance sheet of any Italian region, with a disproportionate 17,000 full-time employees on its payroll. And the region is home to the Mafia organized crime group, which underpins a parallel economy, puts added pressure on small-business owners and encourages tax evasion.”
Recent Italy Travel Articles by Dream of Italy Editor Kathy McCabe
Where to Stay in Puglia: Two Luxury Farmhouses (The Huffington Post)
Use Woody Allen’s “To Rome with Love” As Guide to Rome (ItalyTravel.com)
Meet the 3 Bs in Piedmont: Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera (Ciclismo Classico Blog)