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This article originally appeared in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of Dream of Italy.  Known as the “Pearl of Versilia,” Viareggio is a seaside town located on the Tyrrhenian coast in the province of Lucca. While the history of the Versilia region (the territory named for the Versilia river, encompassing parts of the Lucca and Massa-Carrara provinces) goes back to …

This article originally appeared in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of Dream of Italy.  As Viareggio’s oldest hotel, opened in 1871 and a favored destination on the Grand Tour by the likes of poet Rainer Maria Rilke and composer Giacomo Puccini, Hotel Plaza e de Russie has maintained its seaside Art Nouveau elegance with a modern palette. I arrived for …

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2022 issue of Dream of Italy. Find the main article here. While I’ve been enchanted by stunning vistas throughout Tuscany, I was simply blown away by the views at Lupaia, which sits on top of a hill with a direct view of Montepulciano, a 10-minute drive away. Though close to civilization, the oasis-like …

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2022 issue of Dream of Italy. Find the main article here. When Shannon and Scott Kircher, a dynamic young couple, who found great success with their Anguilla hotel Frangipani Beach Resort were looking for a new challenge, they set their sights on Tuscany. In record time, especially by Italian standards, they have transformed …

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2022 issue of Dream of Italy. Find the main article here. Bringing my senior wire fox terrier to Italy with me for the first time, I wanted to comfortable place for him to adjust the first few days. I shouldn’t have worried as Borgo 69 checked every box, not only for him but …

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2022 issue of Dream of Italy. Tuscany…there’s a reason so many of us keep returning to this special swath of land again and again.  While I love exploring every corner of Italy from north to south, Toscana exerts an inexplicable hold on me, I have to admit. Tuscany isn’t just one landscape or …