The Talented Mr. Ripley and Atrani ?
Many of you may recognize this work as being by the great Dutch graphic artist, M.C. Escher. But did you know the town is one […]
The Talented Mr. Ripley and Atrani ?
Many of you may recognize this work as being by the great Dutch graphic artist, M.C. Escher. But did you know the town is one […]
Rome with Children at Easter
The children who are now in Rome on Insider’s Italy custom planned trips aren’t particularly interested in the traditional Roman Easter time foods on my […]
The Perfect Walk After Lunch in Florence
While the light is still tender, we take our perfect post lunch walk. Down from Pian de Giullari, where Galileo lived there from 1631 till […]
Turning Back the Clock
All through the era of the Grand Tour and well into the 20th century, Italy was primarily a winter destination, a respite from New England […]
Italy for your Valentine
Italy’s pastry stores are gearing up for Valentine’s Day. Look at these delicious cream-stuffed maritozzo buns ! San Valentino was of course an Italian. And […]
Let’s Eat in Rome in January !
Here’s what you could be eating this month in Rome. The question is : if you are not, why aren’t you ? Since 1989, Insider’s […]
Celebrating with the Romans at Christmas; Roman Marvels in the Winter
Mirabilia Urbis Romae (“Marvels of the City of Rome”) is a celebrated medieval Latin text used for centuries by pilgrims and tourists as their guide […]
Italy is Best between October and April
What was once considered the “off season” is now the best Italy travel season of all Italy has broken two records this year : for […]
Acqua di San Giovanni
This is my 2023 acqua di San Giovanni (water of Saint John) made on the night between the 23rd and 24th of June. The name […]
Fourteen Days of Holiday Joy
This is the busiest night of the year for Befana. She is flying through the sky on her broom. There is no point in waiting […]
Happy New Year !
My best childhood friend lived on Rome’s Isola Tiberina and accordingly, much of my early teenage years were spent in her home looking out from […]
Italy is Best between October and April
What was once considered the “off season” is now the best Italy travel season of all Italy has broken two records this year : for […]
Buon Ferragosto !
Italy wide, everyone today celebrates Ferragosto. This ancient festival — ” feriae Augustae” in Latin — was decreed a day of holiday throughout the Roman Empire to […]
Where am I going in September and October ?
I have so often written in these Travel Letters about this, but I can’t help myself. Despite living here nearly all of my life, the […]
September in Italy ?
September in Italy is all the more special when our favorite accommodations have space for you. We can hand pick rooms here… and here… and […]
Italy in the Fall
When the first pine nut falls from the Roman umbrella pine tree, I know that fall is on its way in Italy. Fall, when the […]
Independent Travel in Italy !
Independence is the state of wanting or being able to do things for yourself, and make your own decisions. Independence is wanting to come to […]
La Festa di San Giovanni
Ever since I have had a terrace, I have been making the Acqua di San Giovanni (Water of St. John) on a traditional magic night […]
Twelve Days in Italy (“Pace e Bene”)
St. Frances of Assisi greeted his brothers with Pace e Bene. Peace and Be Well. Talking to you, my clients, during your travels, I hear you, […]
Victory
It is not an April Fool joke, but a hard-won victory for a country that suffered more than many during the last 26 months. Italy […]
February 25 : A Day in Italy
There is nothing particularly special about today’s blog, except that it is representative of February 25 in Italy in Rome, Padova, and in and just […]
Dreaming of Italy, Dreaming of the Table
Everyone who loves Italy, or knows that they will love Italy, is dreaming of the Italian table. Everyone. In the trips that we plan,remarkable eating […]
An Insider’s Italy Trip with your Valentine
Buon San Valentino ! Delight your Valentine today with the promise of an Insider’s Italy-organized trip to Italy, celebrating a release from the restrictions of […]
Sicily in the Spring
Greedily, I fall into a Sicilian spring. Springtime here is as powerful as the Greek legend of the annual return from the underworld of Persephone. […]
Longing for Italy… Longing for the Sea
All the more after two years of restricted movement, our clients long not only for Italy but — many tell us — for the sea. […]
How Are Things In Italy ?
How are things in Italy ? Things are… Italian. Indeed, as much of the world waits it out, Italy continues to go around the sun. […]
Giving Thanks in Italy
There is so much to be thankful for that I know not where to start. I am thankful for you, my clients, whom for over […]
Italy Hits Vaccination Goal of 80%
Italy will meet its vaccination target by the end of September. As of today, more than 80 % of the Italian population over the age […]
Italy’s Moment in the Sun
Italy is in a sweet place now, with an Italian yesterday recognized as the world’s fastest man (Olympic Gold, 100 meters). Italy basks still in […]
What is required for Americans to enter Italy ?
It is easy and straightforward. With very little effort, you can be swimming here, like our happy clients, near Positano. Travelers from the US entering […]
“Addio !” to the Masks (but many Italians still wear them)
Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for in Italy, and puts a bit more distance between us and the last year and a […]
Acqua di San Giovanni
This is my 2023 acqua di San Giovanni (water of Saint John) made on the night between the 23rd and 24th of June. The name Saint John […]
European Travel Ban Lifted: Back to Italy !
Such good news to awaken to ! Today, the European Union recommended that its member states lift the ban on leisure travelers from the […]
It Feels Like Italy
A repeat client wrote us today, sharing her concerns about coming to Italy this year. She asked me a series of good questions, and to […]
Guest Posting : Paradise on Pellestrina
This fifth guest posting is from Marv in San Francisco. Back in the last century, in the early ’90s, I was preparing for an Italian […]
A Cause to Celebrate : La Festa della Repubblica
A short blog on a festive occasion: Italy’s Festa della Repubblica, the 75th Anniversary of the Republic which Italy became after the June 2, 1946 […]
Italy Reopens for International Travel
Si parte ! (We’re Off !) Italy is reopening to travelers, as is all of the European Union, after a ban that began on March […]
Mother’s Day and Italy
Today I was exchanging Mother’s Day greetings with an old friend. I later sent her this photo, of my mother, her mother and her grandmother, […]
Let the Planning Begin !
E’ primavera ! In Rome the peas and fava beans are in, and all across the country, everything’s coming up spring. Looking ahead, the best […]
“When Can We Come to Italy ?”
“When the dust settles in this world I want to go back to each and everyone of those places and have a reset”. Robin Finkelstein […]
“With a Great Party and Joy”
“E’ domani la Pasquetta, Sia santa e benedetta..” So begins a traditional song from the Abruzzo region, my earliest introduction to Italian regional music. This […]
Easter Egg Hunt in Rome
Easter is simply not Easter without an egg hunt. Long an expert in this field, we are delighted to share some of our favorite Insider’s […]
Pesce d’Aprile !
Pesce d’Aprile ! April Fool’s ! One of my cherished Italian childhood memories was the annual April Fool’s chocolate fish from the pastry store, a […]
Dolphins and a Tomato Garden
In Venice yesterday, at 7 AM, for the first time in recent memory, a pair of bottlenose dolphins gambolled in the Basin of St Mark. […]
Happy Italian Father’s Day !
Today in Italy it is Father’s Day, San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph). commemorating an older father whom Italy celebrates with various wonderful San Giuseppe pastries enjoyed […]
One Year Later
Today Italy marks the first day of national remembrance for the victims of COVID-19. Flags are at half-mast at Italian public buildings. Italy’s COVID-19 death […]
Sustainable Tourism
When in 1989 I began Insider’s Italy, clients would tell me about the destinations they intended to visit and would ask me what I thought […]
On Life Goes
On life goes, in Italy as elsewhere. In Italy, these next immediate weeks, however, will be rough for a country that has been through so […]
Searching for Italy
Stanley Tucci’s six-part “Searching For Italy”, Sundays on CNN, is charming, and cinematographically wonderful. A staggering 1.52 million viewers watched his first program. The second […]
Vaccines ! Moving Forward !
My heart sings to know how many of you have been vaccinated. In Europe we are behind, and in Italy have suffered extra slowdowns as […]
“And Then We Emerged to See the Stars Again'”
The final line of Dante’s Inferno reads : E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle. “And then we emerged to see the stars again.” May the […]
Guest Posting : “You See, This is the Thing”
This fourth guest posting is from Denise in New Haven I think I may not be your most typical client because I lived […]
Don’t Make Her Suffer Any Longer
So much is afoot in Italy. Consolingly, it is what has always been afoot. Artisans cane chairs. Buffalo milk mozzarella braids are made early in […]
I Can’t Wait Any More (How Long Still Do I Have to Wait ?)
Travelers wrote us this week saying: “We’ve survived the plague ! A special trip is in order ! We’ve had both of our shots ! […]
Oh… Carnevale !
Carnevale ! Oh Carnevale ! In Venice, where Carnevale is important both culturally and touristically (as it is in various other Italian cities including Ivrea, […]
Nothing in the World is Better Than Travel in Italy
When they were very small, especially, and before school friends and academic life developed their pull, nothing, but nothing in the world was more delightful […]
Guest Posting : Anticipation
This third guest posting is from Craig in Ann Arbor. “When my Plan arrives at my office, I put a sign on my door that […]
Guest Posting : Opening Doors
This is the second of a series of guest postings by Insider’s Italy clients who write about their experiences on trips we have planned for […]
Autumn !
While much of Europe and North America shivers in winter, Italy has been delightfully springy. Coats are cast off, restaurant tables set up outside, and […]
Flying with the Kites
February is a month of passage between the winter and the spring. Living in Rome, where it never really gets cold, so it has always […]
For your Valentine
Pastry stores are gearing up for Valentine’s Day. Look at these delicious cream stuffed maritozzo buns ! San Valentino was of course an Italian. And […]
Guest Posting : Becoming an Italian
This is the first of a series of guest postings by Insider’s Italy clients who write about their experiences on trips we have planned for […]
Gennaio de’ gatti, Febbraio de’ matti !
The old Tuscan proverb “Gennaio de’ gatti, febbraio de’ matti” refers first to amorous cats who howl all day and night throughout the month of […]
A Helping Hand — and Italy
In early March of 2020 I took my last light-hearted research trip around my home, which is Italy. At the time I thought that Covid […]
What are you missing most ?
A year into Covid-19, Insider’s Italy is still here. It is your support that allows us, after 30 years of business, to not lose hope. […]
Happy New Year !
Happy New Year, friends ! Most of Italy (with five regions left behind) is now a yellow zone. Non-essential shops are open and (joy !) […]
Rome at Christmas
Romans are yearning for 2021. We are all. In Covid-time Rome, life at Christmas time continues, with many traditions chiseled deeply by tradition and […]
Where do you want to go ?
There is bright sun today in much of Italy. In Positano it bounces off the shiny majolica tiles, and is nearly blinding. Everyone has cast […]
Giving Italy
In this surreal year of 2020, being unable to hug and spend time physically with family, friends, and loved ones has proven a major destabilization […]
Traditions and Wonders : Looking Ahead
My neighborhood pasticceria is making their holiday panettone and the fragrance spills out onto the street. The smell of the buttery, yeasty, dome-shaped Christmas bread […]
Solace and Pleasure in Winemaking
While the world is upside-down with COVID, Italian nature is just as spectacular as ever. This year, natural seasonal events, like olive harvesting or wine […]
New Season Olive Oil !
After one of the most beautiful Octobers that any of us can remember, it will be a long winter in Italy. Many Italians I know […]
Gustavo
Insider’s Italy is so fortunate in our exceptional partners. These are passionate guides, food artisans, lecturers, teachers, farmers, artists, winemakers, cooks or, like Gustavo, special […]
Peaceful Solitude
A guard pored over a crossword puzzle and occasionally stood up to stretch; his regular yawns were the only sound to disturb Marcus Aurelius, his […]
Show us Rome !
“Show us Rome PLEASE” wrote a client who has not missed Italy once in 14 years. We’ve planned trips for him and his family to […]
Safe Train Travels
For nearly every Insider’s Italy client, central to travel is the train. Long-distance, high speed service is offered by both Trenitalia and Italo with remarkable […]
The Simplicity of Perfection
“Marjorie ?” “Yes, Don ? ” Don, who loves to cook, and for the last six summers has had us plan food-focused travels, is on […]
Normalacy
In the new normality that is Italy, there is — for nearly everyone — absolutely no question of not wearing a mask. Yesterday, in Tuscany, […]
Awaiting the Mozzarella
I could have spent the entire morning with my neighbours, waiting for the delivery of the mozzarella. The cold, fresh, firm balls of mozzarella which […]
Home
All my life has been focused on Italy, from birth to this day. Italy has always been my true north, and whenever I am not […]
Andiamo !
Melancholy is a theme in many of the notes and calls from clients this spring and summer. Regret and sadness that they are not in […]
Plan Now, Travel Later
If you are considering Italy sometime in the future, please buy one of our Travel Planning services now. For the first time since I began […]
“I want to go back to each and everyone of those places and have a reset”
“Everyplace and everything about Italy is so meaningful!! It is all memorable. Insider’s Italy has given us a wealth of opportunities and knowledge. When […]
Supporting the Artisans
Not being allowed to travel to Italy is excruciating. My first suggestion, to lessen the pain, is to visit our new website (www.insidersitaly.com) and begin […]
Auguri Mamma !
Today would have been my mother’s 99th birthday, and I am having a nostalgic time reviewing all of the celebrations enjoyed over the years in […]
The Italian Foods of July
To bring Italy closer, while you are there, and Italy is here, some of my favorite Italian foods of July. Spaghetti alle vongole is not […]
Bringing Italy Closer
I can hardly wait — as hardly can you, I know — till you move from dreaming of Italy to planning for Italy and then, […]
Waiting for You
It is devastating for me, an American, to know that at present Americans are not permitted travel to Italy or to the European Union. Italy […]
“But I would rather spend this summer in Rome with my family than in Phoenix.”
Yesterday’s Politico included a cogent article by Dan Diamond and Sarah Wheaton that is too pertinent not to share with those who love Italy… and […]
Conversation with a Restaurant Owner
Marjorie: Hello hello, is this La Locandiera ? Restaurant owner: Yes yes hello, good day. Marjorie: This is Marjorie Shaw from Rome. I had a wonderful, […]
LIBERAZIONE !
In Amalfi, Saint Andrew will — as longstanding tradition requires — soon be celebrated on his feast day, June 27th. Although social distancing will curb […]
The Italian Foods of June
As you are there, and I am here, I want to share with you the foods of June in central Italy. In a country that […]
A Superlative Villa
Insider’s Italy clients usually know what they want — whether a special three city trip, an archeological exploration of Sicily, a week of perfect swimming […]
Authentic Venice
Last night Nicola Zingaretti, the governor of the Lazio region, secretary of the Democratic Party and a recovered COVID-19 patient said : “The Italians have […]
Back to Culture !
The Italy we know, the Italy we love, this week came one step closer to looking at itself in the mirror and saying : “oh […]
Italy’s National Day
Italians are used to being at home so a holiday is not necessarily a break from their normal routine, but today’s National Day, the Festa […]
Passione
In these endless weeks of COVID-19 lockdown, friends in Paris told me that what they missed most was going out in the sun. I have […]
Yearning for Archeology
During lockdown, I reread Mary Beard’s “The Colosseum” and the smashing Ingrid Rowland “From Pompei”. Both are personal favorites from our Insider’s Italy Reading Lists. […]
Si riparte ! (We’re off !)
“Si riparte !” We are off. Well to some extent, we certainly are. We also are not. Regional governors Italy wide and city mayors remind […]
Restaurants Open : Mamma Mia !
Italy is not a country of take-out food. Restaurateurs have had mixed results in the last weeks since national regulation allowed for the commerce of […]
A Setback in Venice and the House in Centena
Antonella in Venice despairs, and we with her, that today Venice’s museums decided not to reopen on Monday despite the region’s all-clear to do so. […]
Venice Rediscovered
Since lockdown began, I have travelled everywhere in Italy in my head. I am of course also storing there the trips I was planning for […]
Mamma
A day late for Mother’s Day, but no matter. Insider’s Italy, the 32 year old personalized travel planning company I run with my husband Robert, […]
Listening to Italy
With the world on pause, now is a unique opportunity to listen to those close to you, or to those you wish were closer to […]
Drawing from Traditional Music, Celebrating Traditional Music
In a time of uncertainty and social isolation, playing and singing music is tremendously sustaining. Music from our past, that draws us far back into past generations, can be […]
The Dawn of Phase Two
Tomorrow is the day when Italy, after 56 days of national lock down, steps from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Italian prime minister Conte […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the Time of Coronavirus. Story Twelve : Milano
The locomotive of Italy is Milan, a city that Romans love to compare unfavorably to their capital for its inferior weather and much higher pollution levels but […]
Meaningful Travel
In these fraught times, it seems to me that the best thing to do is to immerse yourself in what is most meaningful to you. […]
“Phase Two” and Favetta
“Fase 2” has been announced, and all of Italy was listening. Last night at 8 PM, coinciding with most Italians’ dinner hour, Italy’s prime […]
La Festa della Liberazione
We added a second Italian flag to our windows today. Today is the Festa della Liberazione, marking the liberation of Italy by the Allies. All across […]
“I think it is a magic place”
While selecting photos for our new website (nearly ready to launch !) I came across this essay by Isabel, then aged nearly seven, dictated with […]
Happy 2773th Birthday, Rome !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ROME, ON YOUR 2773TH BIRTHDAY ! I love you so : you are the city where my grandparents arrived one hundred years […]
What is Normality ?
The reported number of deaths from coronavirus in Italy rose by 433 on Sunday, 49 less than on Saturday, taking the total number to 23,660. The […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the Time of Coronavirus. Story Eleven : Spello
Much of what I love to wear is made by Paola. Paola is a transplanted Roman who moved to Spello in Umbria in 1996, and […]
Lockdown Pasquetta
Pasquetta is my favorite holiday of the year, and this is because I was born, grew up in and have lived most of my life […]
Easter Egg Hunt in Rome
In honor of a beloved family tradition, we present a blog of several years ago. Buona Pasqua ! Easter is not Easter without an […]
Good Friday in Rome in Times of Coronavirus
Good Friday in Italy is the one day of the year when the bells do not ring. This is odd, even if you are not […]
Waiting — or not — for Easter in Coronavirus Italy
I am not a Catholic, but in the past my own Roman Easter eve tradition has been to attend the mass at Sant’Anselmo, on the Aventino […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the Time of Coronavirus. Story Ten : Naples (and the Presepio)
My friend Alberto is a gifted presepio artist who lives in the community of Barra in Naples. Alberto’s presepio, or creche figures, are remarkable 12 centimeter (3.75 […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the Time of Coronavirus. Story Nine : Sicily
Silvia, owner with her husband of Mandranova, a Sicilian agriturismo inn our clients love, is as frank as ever : “The period we are living […]
Finding Solace in Pictures
In these days I have found comfort in reviewing photographs taken by my grandparents, and of my grandparents, from 100 years ago when they […]
Palm Sunday
Much of Italy awakened this morning to the sound of church bells, easier to hear than usual because in Italy there is essentially no traffic. […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the Time of Coronavirus. Story Eight : Treviso.
Giorgia in Treviso is an outstanding cook. The best holiday meal I ever had was in her home when she lived in Rome : tiny […]
A Little Bit of Paradise
“La casa di campagna dei miei nonni materni, in questi giorni la sto pulendo e mettendo a posto.“ “My maternal grandparents’ house, during these lockdown […]
Pesce d’Aprile
Pesce D’Aprile ! “April Fish” ! April Fools ! One of my earliest childhood memories is when I was three, and the stocky doorman of our […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the Time of Coronavirus. Story Seven : Naples, Rome, Venice.
SABRINA IN NAPLES Sabrina is one of the most dynamic Italians I know, with flashing eyes, a ready smile, sharp intellect and an insatiable […]
Vinegar at the Time of Coronavirus
Insider’s Italy often books private visits with food artisans. One whom clients invariably say became a friend and revolutionized their understanding vinegar is Mariangela, the […]
Bergamo
Jason Horowitz is a Rome neighbor, a friend of many friends, someone I have wanted to meet for a long time after he wrote a […]
The Patrimony of our Elders
My friend Marcus, whom I went to school with in Rome, this morning sent me the link to a recording made yesterday in Bergamo, the […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the time of Coronavirus. Story Six : the Veneto.
Today’s reports are from Venice and Verona, both the Veneto, a region which is not the epicenter of Italy’s coronavirus epidemic but in terms of […]
Day 14
It has been two weeks now that Italy, the world’s center of active coronavirus cases with 50,418 cases at present – more than double the […]
Making Bread
My New York friend Lucy married Luciano, from a small town in the Abruzzi, in 1972. She is a classicist and a journalist, is […]
Day Ten
It is not easy to lock down in a small apartment with teenagers. And not for a day, or for a week, but for the […]
Buon San Giuseppe ! (Happy Saint Joseph’s Day)
I am republishing this because I have no new photos to share of succulent Saint Joseph’s day pastries from our pasticcerie. In these unspeakable days in […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the time of Coronavirus. Story Five : With Two Lagotti Romagnoli.
This evening at 6 PM, several of my friends did not have the heart to take out their trumpets and pot lids with wooden spoons, […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the time of Coronavirus. Story Four : Furore.
“It is such a delicate moment”. So wrote me this evening Debbie. I had said to her earlier how I felt that life had, in […]
A Purposeful Return to the Past
Come the liberation from this nightmare, the dogs of Italy will be skin and bones, as they are perpetually escorted on walks by stir crazy […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the time of Coronavirus. Story Three : Civitanova Marche.
On day 5, Italians are realising to what extent they are creatures of habit. Now that some of the most precious daily rites are denied, […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the time of Coronavirus. Story Two : Venice.
We are now four days into the surreal social experiment that is quarantining an entire country of 60.5 million Italians in their homes, this […]
At Home : Letters from Italy at the time of Coronavirus. Story One : Rome.
I hear it from clients every day, those who were planning their weddings, anniversaries, family travels, first time trips. Every trip was a […]
“Roma Ai Tempi del Coronavirus”
“I boil them. I take them home at the end of the day and when I am making my dinner I boil a pot of […]
Waiting with Italy, waiting for Italy
So much to say about the Coronavirus, which has circulated in much of the world for weeks if not months, and was first identified in […]
Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving fills my heart with thanks. I give thanks for the possibility to travel all year long in a country which affords me my profession, daily […]
Rome in the Winter is Magic
Around this time of year I awaken one morning in Rome, and notice that there is a change. The light has taken on another quality. […]
The Beloved Hotel
In the 30 years we have run Insider’s Italy, we have investigated hundreds and hundreds of hotels and inns. And with the passage of years, […]
Longing for Italy
There are moments when I am not in Italy and when I am overwhelmed by a longing for it. As you review the photo essay […]
A Toast to the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene !
It makes our hearts sing to know that not only does the pizza of Naples have UNESCO World Heritage recognition and protection, but since last […]
Rome in August
“Pronto Margherita ? “ “Si.” “Ciao, sono Claudio. Tu ad agosto non parti, vero ?” “No Claudio, non parto. Tu sai che per volonta’ mia […]
Rome is a City of Animals
Rome is a city of swifts, whose arrival close to the day of San Benedetto (March 21) marks for me the beginning of spring. Their […]
Rome and Memory
Only children, in my experience, maintain an ongoing conversation with themselves much of the time, a habit we establish in early childhood. Adults are not […]
Happy New Year !
Happy New Year to our new friends and our old ones ! More than ever, in 2018 we are longing to share our Italy with […]
Christmas in Rome
One year, a beloved repeat client wrote us : “we really need to come to Italy this Christmas to get away from the shopping malls, […]
Vigilia Dinner with Sixty
This evening my lagotto Teddy and I stopped in the foyer of the apartment building of my history teacher who lives a block away, so […]
Philosophy of Travel
We’ve written on our philosophy of travel before. In an increasingly globalised society — one where wearying sameness produces irreparable cultural damage and makes your trip […]
Taking Kids to Italy
Does any other country have as many names for children as does Italy ? First you are a creatura (a “creature”), then a bimbo or […]
My Christmas with the Animals
The circumstances were such that I was in Rome without dear children and husband this Christmas : they went ahead on a family holiday to Washington. […]
Home
When I returned back to Rome, after nine days by the sea in Marblehead MA, I was in the first hour taken by three things. […]
Letter from Rome
All over Italy, the swifts, swallows and martins fill the morning and evening skies with their melodious cries. It is spring in Italy and how absolutely […]
Celebrating Differences
Today I was pondering the imminent opening in Milan of Starbucks, Italy’s first of that American chain. That Starbucks has arrived here, in a country […]
The Joy of Preparing for Italy
When I first begin working with our Ultimo service travelers, I give them what I require first when I plan my own trips : wonderful […]
Intensity of Flavors
When I have been away from Italy for more than a week or so, I am all the more struck by the differences on my […]
Agretti and Longing
Does it happen that eating certain foods creates a fully three-dimensional feeling inside of you ? The feeling I have when I eat agretti is […]
Primavera !
Spring is here ! In Rome, we are celebrating with vignarola, which is spring in your bowl, a combination of artichokes, peas, fava beans, spring […]
The Truffle Dog Who Would Not Truffle
When we chose our lagotto romagnolo puppy, the last thing in our minds was the breed’s unsurpassed ability at sniffing out truffles. White and black truffles. Of which Italy […]
Italian Father’s Day
Italian Father’s Day falls today, in coincidence with the feast of Saint Joseph, an older dad whom it is nice to celebrate with various wonderful […]
Memories and Holidays : The Presepio
Everyone who celebrates Christmas has Christmas memories. Mine go back more than 40 years and are nearly all memories in Rome. And most of them […]
What makes an Insider’s Italy City Hotel ?
Perhaps it is easiest to explain by introducing you to one that has all of the criteria. It is smaller rather than larger. It is […]
Amalfi in November
Last weekend in Amalfi reminded me how the Italian summer goes on and on. Early November on the Amalfi coast means tintore and pedirosso grapes […]
Primavera alla Landriana
Spring at Landriana. We bring you here our photo essay of the 18th edition of Rome’s premier annual flower and garden show; our third review, […]
It’s the Journey not the Arrival that Matters, Italo !
An announcement is made, while we’re en route, that the train will be delayed by 30 minutes to an hour. Alas, it hasn’t happened yet […]
… More on Winter in Italy, Journey to Puglia
Last month, to further celebrate winter in Italy, we left our home in Rome to travel south to Puglia — an easy three-hour drive to […]
Winter in Italy – Carnevale !
Rome has not the elaborate and extraordinary costumes and masks of Venice (we’ll post photographs from a prior trip in another blog) but this year […]
How Do I Love Thee ? (A Story of Mud)
Italy, how do I love thee ? Let me count the ways. Or tell of one experience yesterday when, after tripping on stairs, I found […]
Frappe and Castagnole
After a winter that has really not been a winter, in Rome we are preparing for a possible tiny dusting of snow. This […]
Celebrating the Simple
I was taken by a remark in this weekend’s New York Times ( “The War Against too Much of Everything”) : “ ‘As our planet […]
Le Nonne
While they are not behind the desk, nonne (grandmothers) in many ways direct at least six of the hotels we love most, and where we […]
Winter in Italy
About 80% of the travel planning we undertake is for trips that occur between May and October. When — we think — the best time […]
The Christmas Presepio (by Nathan Louis)
The Presepio comes from the Latin word meaning to enclose and today it means manger, a Christmas nativity scene. Presepi come in all different sizes. There […]
“And we walked ! How we enjoyed walking ! “
When I asked my mother last night, as we twirled the pasta together, what Rome was like during her childhood in the two decades before […]
A Path Less Taken
Time and again our clients request the Cinque Terre — a destination in the Liguria region consisting of five seaside towns connected by historic walking […]
An Evening with Carlo Noro
Last week’s dinner organized by Slow Food here in Rome was among the best meals we have ever eaten anywhere. Both Carlo Noro’s remarks about […]
Summertime in Italy ?
When May starts we begin to think about the summer ahead — about plans made and not made, about how the precious summertime weeks can […]
Magic at the Pantheon
As the children gamboled through the Pantheon, one of the world’s most interesting natural/architectural events there took place. Hierophany – from the Greek roots hieros, […]
The Gardening Event of the Year
Those friends who do not love gardens please read no further. Those who love gardens — or people or dog watching, because both are great […]
Happy Birthday Rome !
AUGURI CARISSIMA ROMA ! You don’t look a day over 2765 ! Once I threw a rooftop birthday party for my city in which everyone […]
The Pyramid
If the sun is bright A small tunnel gives no fright And Claudio la Rocca can shine a light On this spectacle in white Then […]
Hope on the Motorway
On the way to Umbria on Friday we stopped near Terni for gas, air in the tires and for me, an espresso. We stopped at […]
A Roman Easter Feast
We are between research trips this weekend, and are happily at home in Rome. On Saturday we marketed. On Sunday morning we Easter basket hunted. […]
Awaiting the Swifts
Two days ago I wrote about a saint, Joseph, who is associated with a pastry. Today another saint, this time associated with a bird. Or […]
Buon San Giuseppe ! (Happy Saint Joseph’s Day)
Today is Father’s Day in Italy. And also the feast day of Saint Joseph, the day when Italy wide, Italians celebrate Mary’s husband with a […]
Buona Festa della Donna !
Donne ! Today is International Women’s Day and the event, which dates from 1909, is being celebrated Italy-wide with imagination and gusto. Mimosa (Australian acacia) — […]
Private Biking Trips in Tuscany
The situation : you and family or friends wish a private bicycling trip in Tuscany, cycling exactly the distance and difficultly that suits you. Sustainable […]
These are a Few of Our Favorite Things
Not long ago, a client, trying to select whom to use among the agents listed in the Travel and Leisure “A” List for Travel Agents for […]
The Continuing Adventures of the Roman Winter
Having taken my cue from Rome children, I was over-dressed this morning at 7 when I slipped down the hill into old Rome to see […]
Blizzardiamo !
Here we are again, preparing for Il Blizzard. Il Blizzard is the new word of the moment, screaming from newspapers and television and radio weather […]
The Monday After the Roman Snow
Rome is still deep in the thrall of its rare snow. I visited my favorite lions in the world today, in Piazza del Popolo, to […]
The Snows of Rome
It was our plan to be in Venice this weekend, on a little research trip, but there was an uncharacteristic nip in the air and […]
Scenes from a (Snowy) Roman Terrace !
Schools across Rome were closed. We await the biggest snowstorm of the last 25 years, tomorrow, and on our terrace today had a little antipasto […]
What’s New for 2012 ?
We plan trips that we feel are the most interesting independent adventures in Italy. Rome, Florence and Venice are the cities that you continue to […]
La Passione ! (A Roman Terrace Garden)
Take one reasonably nice but uninspired Roman terrace, with ten years of accumulated, cluttered pots and four untended olive trees. Add plants – principally geraniums […]
Where Else ?
This city center, four-star, family-run Florence hotel is my children’s favorite. Where else, when there are children guests at Christmas-time, does the owner leave on […]
Buona Befana !
Florence’s Befana (or Epiphany Witch) spends Epiphany delivering toys and sweets to patients and staff at Meyer children’s hospital just outside of town, and then […]
Sulmona
Of all the many reasons I love Italy, one of the principal is the ability to change your world in a very short period. By […]
The Celebrities
Preparing for New Year’s Eve, I introduce our family’s three guests of honor : Le lenticchie (assurance of prosperity in the New Year) L’olio novello […]
The Perfect House
One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was “The Perfect House“. This is an elegant, charming memoir/travel diary by architect Withold Rybczynski chronicling his week […]
Good King Wenceslas Last Looked Out, on the Feast of Stephen….
Today in Italy is Santo Stefano, the day after Christmas, a national holiday, which gives everyone another day to celebrate with friends and family, to […]
A Roman Christmas : Fish, an Aqueduct and Preparing for Father Christmas
Our Roman family’s day-before-Christmas began, and as tradition dictates, with the selection of fish for the classic Christmas Eve feast. In our case two local […]
The Poetry of Roast Beef alla Fiorentina
Travelers for whom I’ve planned trips may know that I am vegetarian, though my restaurant reviews go beyond my personal choices and are suited to […]
The Smell of an Italian Christmas
My aunt, who was born in Rome, says she comes to Rome both to see me and to smell. Because the smells of Rome, she […]
A Neapolitan Presepio and its Makers
It was with some trepidation that I stepped off the Eurostar train in Naples last week. I was pleased to be there, a city […]
Putting Up the Presepio
The Presepio is up ! We are a little late, since serious enthusiasts of the Italian presepio (Christmas creche) will tell you that the presepio must […]
Shopping for Kitchen Items in Rome
This post came to be because so many of our travelers ask us for advice regarding special packable gifts that they can bring home with […]
Autumn ? No, Italian Indian Summer Goes On and On and On
We are stomping grapes on our Rome terrace today — anticipating a class trip that my son takes Wednesday to a local organic vineyard where […]
Uova da Bere
When I am lucky, the returning flight from our traditional summertime U.S. month arrives quite early. Time to drop bags, greet my mother, and then […]
Where have you been, Insider’s Italy ?
Where have you been, Insider’s Italy ? Where indeed ? Walking with sheep on the Transumanza of course, but principally at work developing an unprecedented […]
Primavera alla Landriana
We spent all of yesterday at the Landriana garden fair and horticultural display. This four day arcadia, at Tor San Lorenzo, is the spring-time event […]
Happy Birthday Dear Rome on your 2764th Birthday !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ROME, ON YOUR 2764TH BIRTHDAY ! I love you so : you are the city of my birth, my mother’s birth, my […]
Gardens !
While our North American friends, family and clients are recovering from the (presumed) last snow storm of the season, Insider’s Italy travelers have for over […]
Pesce D’Aprile
Italy-wide, pranks, jokes and tricks are underway, marking a national festa called “April Fish”, or April Fools. This centuries-old celebration appears to be associated with the […]
The First Week of Lent
Still revelling in the memory of the pastries there on offer during Martedi Grasso celebrations, I today went to my neighborhood pastry shop in pursuit […]
Ravenna
“Nowhere else in the world are there such relics of the fifth and sixth centuries, and, unlike many Italian cities, Ravenna is easy to understand. […]
FAI : Italy’s National Trust
How many of you know that since 1975, Italy has had a National Trust called FAI that adopts frescoes, gardens, parks, castles, stretches of coastline, […]
Buon San Valentino
Especially to those in love, the Italian Saint Valentine is a person of note. He is the patron saint of beekeepers too, perhaps related to […]
Non la digerisco
Italy wide, wander any market (with your Travel Plans we will tell you about favorites in every city that you visit) and in front of […]
An Antidote to Winter: Paestum
When I am in New York in the dog days of winter, with cold and snow and grey the theme of the season, the Italian […]
Two Tuscan Inns with Award Winning Wines
Either of these Insider’s Italy inns would be top favorites even if their vineyards did not produce wines that win top international and Italian wine […]
Week of Culture
From April 9th through 17th, every national museum Italy wide is free. National museums are already free for European citizens under the age of 18 […]
Future recall and wonderment
Surely one of the things we most wish for our children is that they tuck away experiences for future recall and wonderment. These are the […]
Happy New Year !
Tantissimi auguri di Buon Anno to you all ! Our January 1 celebrations included a walk along the Servian aqueduct (41-54 A.D.), 20 minutes from […]
Nathan in Florence
I am Nathan and seven years old. This is a blog about my adventures in Florence, which is one of my favorite cities. First A […]
Isabel in Florence
My name is Isabel and I am six years old. Here I am dancing with lots of other children made of marble and who are playing […]
Your Favorites
Today is the shortest day of the year, and from tomorrow we will have more light. And as we dream of longer days — remembering […]
On a Cold Winter’s Day
On a cold winter’s day, what better place to find solace than in the frescoed house of Livia ? Off came my coat when I […]
Our Inns Grow the Food that You Eat
While in North America some resorts and hotels are just now cultivating their food in-house, many of our country inns have always done this, offering […]
Family Reunions
Insider’s Italy is a family company run by three generations. My mother provides ideas, my husband Robert and I organize the day-to-day running of business, plan […]
When to Splurge ?
Often you ask us if you should consider spending a little bit more in particular locations. As we know our hotels so intimately, and […]
Seasons
Perhaps it is that our children are in a Waldorf school, where seasons are celebrated so regularly. Perhaps it is that I am at our […]
Bravi i Musei Italiani !
For those who’ve travelled around Italy as long as have I — since the 1960s — the improvement in Italian museums is a wonderfully pleasing development. […]
Think Small
“ The small landholders are the most precious part of a state ”. Thomas Jefferson. The clients I’ve helped for 20 years know that my […]
Continuity
One of the most compelling reasons to visit Italy is to observe and enjoy the continuity of life. The gladiator at the Colosseum whose profile and […]
A Tourist or a Traveler : Two Ways to Visit the Amalfi Coast
“I would like to stay in Sorrento.” “Positano !” “I want to take a bus trip to Pompeii !” “Rent a car and drive around […]
From the Field, This Morning
8:30 AM. I am phoning my biodynamic, organic farmer who delivers to me once a week his vegetables, grown an hour away from Rome on […]
Listening
In an age of text messages and Twitter, we listen carefully to our clients. In an age of hurried emails and Blackberries , we are […]
Regions to Explore : Le Marche
On 10 Oct 2010, at 23:59, Cindy wrote: Marjorie- Several years ago we took a tour with another family through the Tuscan region of Italy. […]
Indian Summer
Lots of you are buying frequent flier award tickets now — these often go on sale one year before travel date. “Where to go ?” […]
Off the Beaten Path in Lazio
We always urge travelers to visit locations that are not exploited by over tourism, and to focus on lesser commercialized towns that are off the beaten […]
Isabel’s recommendations
My name is Isabel. I was born in Rome on August the 4th and I am six-years old. I live in Italy. I love my […]
First visit to Italy
I am Nathan and this is my children’s blog. I’m seven heading for eight. If an American child arrived in Italy, he wouldn’t know first […]
Filiera Corta
One of the words we hear most often — in reference to Slow Food restaurants and to consumer food shopping habits — is ” filiera […]
Il Fotografo
Stefano Cavalli is not only super simpatico, very warm and quite bilingual, but also an exceptionally gifted photographer of professional breadth and experience. We are familiar […]
Autumn in Italy for Food Lovers
Italy-wide, October and November see a celebration of seasonal delicacies, a plethora of food festivals and the grape and olive harvest — plus the arrival […]
“The American”
“The American”, just out, is the biggest box hit of the moment in North America. Writes the New York Times : “Mr. Clooney… seems to appreciate […]
Happy Labor Day (Buona Festa del Lavoro)
North Americans are not the only travelers enjoying the dolce far niente of Labor Day. Italians are enjoying this weekend too (as are many of our […]
Bon Bon
Another joy in Italy — for those who speak some Italian — is listening to the remarkable variety of dialects. Italy was unified into a […]
Pizza Bianca
Every corner of Italy — including its myriad islands — has a local bread. One of the joys of Italian travel is celebrating the variety. […]
Castelluccio
A lentil’s throw from Rome is the tiny village of Castelluccio di Norcia. Two and one half hours from Rome, on a route that is […]
Acqua !
Italians are the world’s largest consumers of mineral water, with each woman, man and child drinking an annual average of 63 liters of the beverage. […]
Late September Sagrantino in Umbria
Please consider one of the most delicious of all Italian wines, Sagrantino. Sagrantino is an amazing Umbrian wine story with a remarkable number of quality […]
La Transumanza
Some travel experiences exceed one’s expectations. Last weekend’s Transumanza, which began 100 minutes southeast of Rome, was for me such an experience. I was […]
A World Away
Ninety minutes from Rome is a world away. We urge you to visit it. After Rome, perhaps, or on the way to Marche or Puglia. […]
Isabella and Dino
Italian cooking is at its most successful when direct, uncomplicated, free of artifice in taste or appearance. This is why we celebrate Slow Food — […]
World Ocean Day
This is World Ocean Day, officially recognized as June 8 each year. The concept for a “World Ocean Day” was first proposed in 1992 by […]
Etruscan Days
Do you know the Etruscans ? I first learned of them through my father’s novel, ‘The Crime of Giovanni Venturi”, a romp of a […]
A Vacation within a Vacation
The charming manager of one of our single favorite new hotels defines days spent here as a “vacation within a vacation”. Last week we spent […]
E’ Primavera !
At their dining tables, all over Italy, Italians are celebrating the coming of spring. The superb asparagus of Bassano have arrived, and the wild strawberries […]
Roma Bike
“Roma Bike” is part of a general European movement to introduce automated bike sharing programmes in cities to help reduce traffic and pollution. Both we […]
2763 Candles
Rome today celebrates her 2763rd birthday, this counting back from the legendary city founding in 753 BC. The city is in the midst of an […]
Off to Umbria
Again suitcases are packed. Wild flowers plus deep red poppies await us in Italy’s “green heart”. Splendid olive oil and the country’s best legumes and […]
Waiting for Easter
The only day of the year when Italian church bells do not ring is Good Friday, which was yesterday. Cities were quiet yesterday. In Rome […]
“9″
Ongoing research is central to Insider’s Italy. Most of this research is undertaken in the squares, streets, hotels, museums, restaurants, markets, pastry shops and other […]
Rome in Your Plate
After a day of wandering through Rome’s amazing urban squares, ruins, churches, museums and streets, you can partake in the Roman countryside through its products. […]
A Daily Celebration
Every single day we celebrate life in Italy with a cappuccino. You must too. We will tell you all of our favorite bar/cafes in each of […]
The Baths of Caracalla
When we plan our clients’ trips, we always include sights that less typically will appear on a tourist’s itinerary. The Baths of Caracalla are one […]
Bathing Suit Season
Everyone it seems is talking about bathing suit season. We hear it on the bus (“I must lose five kilos before bathing suit season”), at […]
The Perfect Spring Day
Across Italy, the crocus are springing and the swallows and swifts will soon arrive after their long migrations from Africa. At midday, jackets are shed. […]
Euro Down, Dollar Up and Prices Down !
From Venice to Sicily, from the Adriatic coast to the Tyrrhenian, prices Italy-wide are down. Hooray ! Inn and hotel keepers, aware of the continuing […]
”Horrible Cars ! Bad Buses ! We Love Boats !”
Nathan Louis and Isabel, after four days in Venice, were appalled to see cars again as we reentered the real world after our immersion in […]
Off to Venice !
The children have packed and we are ready to depart for tomorrow’s five-day research adventure in Venice. Our 8:50 AM Frecciargento train will have us […]
Arrotino !
This morning I was summoned to my terrace by a call that has been familiar since my childhood : “Arr-o-teeeeeeee-noooooooo !” I looked down to […]
Spring Favorites
The next months are among the nicest times of year for an Insider’s Italy trip. Please let us introduce you to some of our favorite […]
Honeymoons
We’ve custom planned honeymoons for so many clients that honeymoons are both a specialty as well as one of our favorite fields of travel planning. […]
Our Hotels
Every one of our hotels is delightful and special and unique, from our treehouse hotel nearly on the Tuscan border to converted monasteries to Renaissance […]
Andiamo !
Yet one more reason to visit Italy this spring : wonderfully tempting sale fares on most airlines. Delta is just one example, offering $698 from […]
Italy with Kids
Waiters here bend over backwards for children, bringing high chairs before you ask for them, keeping bread baskets consistently filled with bread sticks and focaccia, proposing […]
Buon Anno !
With warmest regards from Rome to all of our Insider’s Italy friends. Happy New Year, and Auguri ! Marjorie
Wanderlust
Is it these short days of late December, or the extra time spent cooped up at home during holiday festivities ? Is it spotting the […]
Celebrate Terra Madre Day 2010 in Italy !
For Terra Madre Day 2010, where in Italy would you like to be ? Terra Madre Day, December 10, is a worldwide occasion that promotes […]
Roman Salad Days
When at this time of year we are in our New York office, we dream of the sorts of salads we have every day in […]
Il Cioccolato da Energie !
Il Cioccolato da Energie ! This morning at our neighborhood cafe I was greeted with pomp and sobriety by an elegant older woman dressed all […]
Insider’s Italy Va in Treno !
We use the Italian State Railway for the majority of our travels and urge our clients to do the same, relying on auto rentals only […]
One more reason to visit the Amalfi Coast
What if one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines were to become largely self-sufficient in fresh fruit and vegetable production ? Our dear friend […]
Happy Thanksgiving !
Thanksgiving in our family is a Slow Food feast, and a coming together of friends – this year from the Amalfi Coast – and family. […]
A Day Trip From Rome in Pursuit of Olive Oil
Today we harvested our olives – our friend Kristina is in the branches of the Canino tree, which is one of the four we have […]
Strawberries in late November ?
Why not strawberries in late November ? So says the personable owner of Caramadre, one of our favorite Rome area organic farms, where we pick […]
No records found.
Donald Droppo, August 2019