rying to compile a list of the
best local tour guides in Italy
is a daunting task. For our listings, we chose
guides who live in the regions or
cities where they work and who
know their material thoroughly and
present it passionately.
What I Learned When I Moved to Tuscany
As we all know, Italy is a place of magnificent dreams. It is also a place of puzzling and challenging realities. Jennifer Criswell, author of the new book At Least You're in Tuscany captures the dichotomy in a way few authors have. We asked her what she learned after moving to Montepulciano.
Travel Agents and Group Tours for the Mobility Challenged
This article originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2019. Working with a travel agent is another option for the mobility challenged. Yet it may take a general travel agent or even an Italy specialist much time and effort (which may result in extra fees) to get up to speed on requirements and identifying providers. …
New Testaccio Market Opens in Rome
This article originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2019. On the second day of July 2012, after over a decade of plans and proposals, the famed Testaccio covered market closed down after 98 years and moved into a brand-new modern-looking structure, just a few blocks away. The motivation for the move was that the …
Italy for the Mobility Challenged
This article originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of Dream of Italy. Updated 2018. Unlike the United States, Italy does not have a national law like the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires buildings, sidewalks and public transportation to meet certain accessibility standards. Instead, municipalities, each with their unique assortment of ruins and centuries-old buildings and cobblestone streets, determine …
Beer Tasting in Rome
"Beer in Italy Is really an old story," our hostess tells us, "it dates back more than 3,000 years. But since the 1990s there has been a growing interest in birra artigianale by producers and a new generation of consumers."
Adventure at a Villa in Le Marche
Our rental is a palace in the center of the Le Marche town of Mercatello, in the heart of Italy's tartufo (truffle) region where magnificent black--and highly desired tartufi bianchi (white truffles)--are gathered from October 1 through the year's end hunting season.
New Italy Museum Traces History of Gelato
Who doesn't love gelato? Now, thanks to a new museum in Anzola dell'Emilia, a small town just outside Bologna, the world can learn to love the history of gelato, too.
Two Books for Italophiles
We who love Italy also love authenticity. There are dozens of books each year that are supposedly about Italy--but fall short of the real flavor of the Italian experience. For this holiday season, I'd like to highlight two books that crossed my review desk and contain some of the real Italy, the one that we dream about when we leave.
Learn from the Masters of Sicilian Cuisine at These Sicily Cooking Schools
Our writer says: "I think Sicily is enormously appealing, intoxicating even, and above and beyond the island's natural beauty, history, traditions and cultural attractions, I love its cuisine, also quite distinct from the other regional cuisines of Italy. Spending part of a visit to Sicily in a cooking school is therefore a kind of paradiso."