Destinations

12 Oct PALAZZO SCHIFANOIA – A RENAISSANCE TREASURE IN FERRARA

Posted at 02:24h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

After well over two years of renovations, the Great Hall of the Months in Ferrara’s Palazzo Schifanoia, one of the most extravagant and fascinating residences of the Italian Renaissance, has reopened to the public gaze. Borso d’Este commissioned a group of local artists to complete the celebrated fresco cycle that decorates its walls in 1469. The careful restoration, complemented by the new and much-improved lighting, has given it new life.

Borso d’Este was an illustrious member of Ferrara’s Este family, which ruled over the city for around 400 years from the 13th Century. He was very fond of sumptuous and magnificent displays of grandeur, which he used to great success to impress his subjects as well as neighbouring States. He wasn’t alone in this type of exercise: it was common in most Renaissance courts, where culture and shows of magnificence were often used as a political tool.

The fresco cycle of the months on the walls of Palazzo Schifanoia’s Great Hall is a result of these attitudes. The whole palace itself is a celebration of leisure and frivolous diversion as the name of the palace suggests — Schifanoia derives from the court’s use of the palace to avoid boredom (schifar la noia). It was also used to entertain and house foreign dignitaries and important guests.

The artwork is an enormous calendar that represents and glorifies the good acts and positive outcomes of Borso d’Este’s government. These are set out month-by-month and are depicted as being influenced and protected by the classical divinities and the stars according to the medieval astrological tradition.

The fresco portrays a loggia in the foreground with various scenes playing out behind it. The columns of the loggia frame the months, and each frame is divided horizontally into three sections. The top section portrays one of the classical divinities (on a triumphal float surrounded by followers and proteges). The middle is an astrological representation, with the sign of the Zodiac, surrounded by the three patrons of that month according to an Arabic reading of astrology and magic. The bottom section depicts scenes of Borso d’Este surrounded by his court, busy with the activities of government and court life, such as hunting with falcons.

Detail from the month of March by Francesco del Cossa – The Triumph of Minerva
Image by Sailko / CC BY-SA and found on Wikimedia Commons

The details of the frescos are so intricate and astounding that the meaning of some, especially in the middle section, are today shrouded in mystery. The fresco cycle, with its sophisticated and complex iconographic language, was conceived by the great Pellegrino Prisciani, Borso d’Este’s court intellectual. He was an important and influential figure in the cultural scene of the Ferrara court, an all-round humanist, well-versed in many disciplines, including astrology.

As for the artists and their work, they were a very talented group that created one of the most extraordinary works of art of the Renaissance. There is one artist in particular whose talent stands out from the rest. Francesco Del Cossa’s superior technique and exceptional artistic style make his contribution to the hall’s Eastern wall the most impressive. His work has survived the test of time much better than that of his colleagues.

Francesco Del Cossa is one of the most noteworthy, yet forgotten artists of the 15th Century. We know very little about his formative years. What we do know is that he worked between Ferrara and Bologna and that he was sought-after and much respected by his contemporaries and peers, including Michelangelo. So much so, that his work inspired an important school of followers.

As a final note, a warning to the prospective visitor. Unfortunately, not all of the fresco cycle has survived intact. If Del Cossa’s work on the Eastern wall (the months of March, April and May) is still in exceptional shape, and that of various masters (June to September) on the Northern wall is well maintained, the same cannot be said about much of the rest, where only faint traces of the old decorations remain. This is in part due to the ravages of time and partly because the fresco was painted over and forgotten for centuries.

In 1598, when the Este could not provide a direct line of succession, the Pope, who had granted the Este feudal rights to Ferrara, expelled them from the city and annexed it to the Papal States. Palazzo Schifanoia like the majority of the more than 50 leisure residences interspersed throughout the territory, fell into decay.

The Este’s expulsion brought to an end an era of fervid artistic activity and arguably the most prosperous period in Ferrara’s history. Their court was considered one of the most refined and progressive in all of Europe. They left the city of Ferrara a fantastic blueprint to their Ideal City they had cultivated for centuries, echoes of which are still evident today. The fresco cycle of the months in Palazzo Schifanoia is a magnificent example of this.

We visit Ferrara on our Undiscovered Riches – Discovering Emila Romagna tour, next scheduled for September 2021 and Emanuela will take us on a guided visit to the Palazzo Schifanoia.

Thank you to Emanuela Mari, local tour guide from Ferrara for contributing this article.

Emanuela fell in love with her city from a very early age — its art, history and culture were so intriguing that she decided to turn it into a career. She first completed a humanities degree (Lettere Moderne) at the University of Ferrara. She then undertook additional studies to become a licensed tour guide for the province.

She’s been working as a tour guide for more than twenty years and loves introducing her clients to Ferrara and its treasures. She speaks Italian, French and English fluently.

If you’re thinking of visiting Ferrara once this pandemic is over, you should definitely book a guided tour of Palazzo Schifanoia with her! You can contact her via her Facebook page, or of course, through us.

Detail from the month of April by Francesco del Cossa
Image by Sailko / CC BY-SA and found on Wikimedia Commons

Detail from the month of March by Francesco del Cossa
Image by Sailko / CC BY-SA and found on Wikimedia Commons

14 Aug HOW TO EAT PARMIGIANO REGGIANO – LET ME COUNT THE WAYS!

Posted at 02:26h in Destinations, Food and Wine by Italian Tours

Sitting at the Trattoria Corrieri in Parma we are presented with a plate piled high with golden, crumbling wedges of Parmigiano Reggiano, and a knife and fork. This is how they do it in Parma. At Luca’s mother’s house we spoon great clouds of the golden cheese onto our pasta. At our friend Theo’s place, we drizzle the best balsamic vinegar over hunks of Parmigiano and eat it with pears. Luca simmers Parmigiano rinds in his winter broth.

Parmigiano is perhaps the best known, the best loved and the most versatile of Italian cheeses. Italians have been making it since the thirteenth century, mainly in the region that takes in Bologna, Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena.

As part of our Unexpected Riches – Discovering Emilia Romagna tour we travel up into the lower part of the Apennine Mountains above Bologna to visit a caseificio or cheese maker. This is a cooperative of milk producers who raise the original Bruna Alpina cows, the breed that has traditionally produced the milk used for Parmigiano in this area. While other producers have switched to the more productive Friesian style cow, the milk the Bruna Alpina produces has a unique nutty taste and a much higher content of cream.

The cooperative aims to compete with larger companies on the basis of the quality of their cheese. As a group they can combine their technologies and reduce production costs to make this type of process financially viable. They are passionate about their cattle and the quality of the type of cheese produced in the mountain. They belong to a new group called the Consortium of Mountain Producers that is promoting traditional food production.

We make a day trip of this, heading out of Bologna early so that we’re at the caseificio in time to see the cheese being made. If we’re lucky we can see the Bruna Alpina cattle grazing in fields along the way. And of course, the highlight of all this for many people is a tasting of this very special cheese.

Above is a short clip from our visit to Caseificio Pieve Roffeno last year, showing the cheesemakers shaping the soft cheese into what will become a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s just one step in a very long process that has been done like this for centuries and strictly regulated by the Italian Parmigiano Consortium for many years.

We’re planning to run our Unexpected Riches – Discovering Emilia Romagna tour again in mid-2021. Please get in touch for more details.

13 Nov THE MANY FACES OF LAKE MAGGIORE

Posted at 00:43h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Secluded gardens, a magnificent waterfall, a monastery built into the cliff face – Lake Maggiore offers a lot more than the average day-tripper from Milan can see.

All the Italian lakes have beautiful private gardens on their shores. But just outside the town of Intra is a little known garden with links to Australian history. The Botanical Gardens of Villa Taranto were established by Captain Neil Boyd McEacharn, the son of a former Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Malcom Donald McEacharn and Maryanne Watson, daughter of Australian mining millionaire John Boyd Watson. A passionate Italophile, McEacharn spent the decade between 1931 and 1940 establishing this garden at his lakeside villa. Visitors wandering the garden’s seven kilometres of paths can enjoy 20000 plant varieties, and 300 different types of McEacharn’s greatest passion, his dahlias.

Not only are there secluded gardens around the lake, but following the Toce River up the Val Formazza to its source, one finds oneself in an area populated by a group of Italians whose elders still speak a dialect similar to High German, the language of the original settlers. At the top of the valley is the Cascata del Toce, the second largest waterfall in Europe. This waterfall is one of the most spectacular in the Alps, with a stunning freefall jet of water cascading to the rocks below.

Perched on a rocky ridge on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore is the Hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso. Since the 1300s the monastery has been inhabited by members of the Dominican order but is today inhabited by a group of Benedictine oblates. Visitors must maintain silence but are welcome to walk the lovely balconies that overlook the lake and take in the very special atmosphere of the place.

There are other more famous tourist destinations on the lake, most notably the Borromean Islands, Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori, with their justly famous gardens, buildings and vistas. From the Renaissance period they have all been owned and inhabited by members of the Borromean family. The most spectacular of these is Isola Bella, built in 1632 as a wedding present by Charles III for his wife Isabella, and containing Baroque gardens, grottoes and even white peacocks.

We stay on Lake Maggiore as part of our 14-day Milan and the Best of the Italian Lakes tour in May-June 2020 and on our 8-day Lakes Discovery tour in September 2020.

06 Jan FIVE REASONS TO VISIT PUGLIA

Posted at 01:10h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

Avoid the crowds and enjoy the slow life

Although Puglia is starting to attract crowds, particularly to big name destinations like Lecce and Alberobello, it’s still relatively easy to avoid the type of crowds that plague cities like Rome and Florence. Locals still live the traditional slow life: shops close at lunchtime, people go home for lunch, there’s time for a siesta – all a fabulous excuse for you to relax and absorb the slower-paced atmosphere.

The history

Puglia’s position in the heel of the Italian boot, close to modern-day Albania and Greece, has contributed to a rich cultural legacy. Over hundreds of years diverse groups of people settled on land traditionally inhabited by the local Messapian tribes: Spartans, Greeks and Romans in ancient times, followed during the middle ages by a series of Bourbons, Angevins, Normans and Saracens. Their influence is evident in the unique culture of the Puglian people today and in the artifacts on show in the museums of Lecce and the MARTA in Taranto.

Delicious food and wine

Pugliese gastronomy – some of the best food you’ll find anywhere in Italy! The region is traditionally agricultural and the land continues to provide outstanding fresh, high quality produce. Puglia is particularly famous for olives and olive oil, cherries, eggless pasta, burrata and other cheeses, almonds, tomatoes, lemons, wheat bread and of course the fresh seafood. The local cuisine reflects this bounty. Until about ten years ago Puglia exported the bulk of its grapes and wine; however these days Puglia is focusing on boutique wines and producing exceptional varieties like Primitivo, Negroamaro, Bombino Bianco and Susumaniello.

Towns like nowhere else

Apart from the big name towns that have plenty of publicity, Puglia has a host of small lesser known towns that can absorb the interested traveler for hours on end. We can recommend charming small towns like Martina Franca and Locorotondo in the Valle d’Itria or Vieste and Trani along the coast. The Pugliese are extremely proud of their towns and maintain their flower boxes and streetscapes in picture perfect condition.

Blue waters of the Gargano Peninsula in Puglia

A stunning blue coastline

Puglia is surrounded on three sides by the Ionian, the Taranto and the Adriatic Seas. The coastal landscapes differ but are invariably stunning: limestone cliffs and stacks and pebble beaches along the Gargano Peninsula, white sandy beaches on the western coast, the spectacular rocky coastline in the east and everywhere a startling blue sea.

Maybe 2018 is the year you should get to know this wonderful corner of southern Italy!

We run regular tours to Puglia each year.
Contact us today to book your place!

24 Nov AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO MILAN

Posted at 04:35h in Destinations, Travel Tips by Italian Tours

What’s not to love about Milan? Milan’s Expo in 2015 really put the city on the tourist map, not only as a convenient transport hub but as a destination in its own right, offering culture, food and fashion.

We’re lucky enough to visit Milan fairly regularly as it’s the first base on our Milan and the Italian Lakes tour (31 May – 13 June 2018 – read the itinerary here) and we’ve got to know the city fairly well over the years.

So where do you start in Milan? Most visitors head straight for the Duomo and the Galleria in the centre of Milan, a great place to start your tour of the city and undeniably the area with the biggest wow factor.

You need to buy tickets for the Duomo. Smart travellers will pre-book tickets that allow them to skip the queue and get through security that much faster. You can buy a combined ticket for the Duomo, the roof walk (which we think is an unmissable experience) and the Museo del Duomo, which provides an excellent history of the building. Visit the official website for ticket sales here.

From the Duomo, wander through the Galleria by all means, but look upwards and avoid the expensive tourist shops that proliferate here. If you are keen to shop in Milan, Philippa recommends the Brera area for boutique shopping; for big brand names and high-street chains explore the Corso that extends behind the Duomo; for more budget shopping, try the Corso Buenos Aires area.

You may want to see Da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Last Supper, which has been beautifully restored. Tickets sell out fast and there is very little chance of simply turning up on the day and gaining admission. Make sure you book well in advance. The official site publishes the date when tickets will go on sale for a specific month so it’s worth keeping an eye on the site to ensure you don’t miss the booking window.

While you’re in the area don’t miss Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church that is attached to the refectory where the Last Supper is housed. Luca is a particular fan of the Bramante designed cupola sitting atop this gothic church. To get there take the number 16 tram from Piazza Cordusio or take a cab.

But Milan offers much, much more than the big three attractions. Here is a list of some of our favourites:

For art lovers visit the Pinacoteca di Brera, a treasure house of Italian art and more. Don’t miss Mantegna’s Dead Christ and the Three Mourners, as well as works by Bellini, Piero della Francesca, Tintoretto and Caravaggio.

Less than a kilometre from the Brera, is the smaller and charmingly eclectic Museo Poldi Pezzoli. This was once a private family house and collection and contains a fascinating assortment of artworks including a beautiful Botticelli, exquisite porcelain and a stunning display of armour.

Classical music buffs should jump at the chance to attend a performance at the Teatro alla Scala. There are performances of ballet, opera and classical music almost all year round, except for August. You need to buy tickets well in advance and be sure to book on the official La Scala website to avoid the ticket scalpers.

Want some more wonderful churches? Our favourites are Sant Eustorgio to see the Cappella Portinari, the most exquisite Renaissance chapel remaining in Milan; Sant’Ambrogio, which is one of the oldest churches in the city and an excellent example of medieval architecture; San Maurizio which has a complete and spectacular Renaissance fresco cycle that covers every surface in the church.

Sore feet? After all this activity, wind down with an aperitivo in the Navigli area, where a collection of great bars and restaurants line one of the old canals that were once used as transport arteries in Milan. It’s picturesque, trendy and lively – a wonderful way to finish the day.

Where to stay:

We love the Hotel Gran Duca di York, a lovely 3 star hotel tucked away on a quiet street just a three-minute walk from the Piazza del Duomo.

Where to eat:

For food lovers, a visit to Peck is a must. Part upmarket grocer, part cafe and restaurant, it’s worth a visit simply to take in the sumptuous displays of fruit and vegetables, meats, cheeses, pastries, chocolates and more.

For an authentic meal in the centre of town, try Trattoria Milanese (Via Santa Marta, 11), where you can try local specialities like Risotto alla Milanese (flavoured with saffron) and the Cotolleta alla Milanese, essentially a giant veal schnitzel.

You can visit Milan with Italian Tours as part of our delightful Milan and the Italian Lakes tour from the 31 May – 13 June 2018! You’ll also stay in the wonderful medieval town of Bergamo and visit Lakes Como, Maggiore and Orta on this 14-day tour.

07 Oct TEN YEARS OF ITALIAN MEMORIES

Posted at 06:20h in Destinations by Italian Tours

This year Luca and I are celebrating ten years of Italian Tours. Like so many people do, we’re asking ourselves where on earth that time has gone.

We ran our very first tour in September 2007. Luca was teaching Italian language at a Sydney college. He always tells his students that the only way to become truly fluent is to spend time in Italy practising the language with the locals. When a group of his students got together and asked him if he could organise a tour to Italy that combined sightseeing with opportunities to practise the language, the idea for Italian Tours was born. A group of eight people joined us for a two-week tour and the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the past ten years we’ve accumulated a host of travellers’ tales, some hilarious, some very special experiences shared with our guests…. and some just crazy!

Lots of our stories revolve around lost property and yes, the occasional lost guest! Fortunately, we are good retrievers. In Puglia recently we were exploring an olive oil estate with some of the oldest trees in Italy when our bus driver realised he’d dropped his keys somewhere on the estate. While our guests were tasting the very special olive oils in the courtyard, they were blithely unaware that Luca was missing in action as he and the bus driver frantically scoured the area for the keys so we could get to our next destination. The olive oil fairy had obviously been at work: they discovered the keys near the base of the oldest tree on the estate, a close to 3,000 year-old tree that continues to produce olive oil to this day.

On another occasion, we were exploring the beautiful hill town of Montepulciano. We dropped our guests at the top of the steep hill so that they could wander down through the enchanting small streets and meet us at the bottom. Imagine our reaction when one of our guests stopped us en route to say that her husband had disappeared. After an anxious search, we discovered our independently-minded guest – he’d joined another group and was happily sitting in a cantina enjoying their wine tasting!

Unsurprisingly many of our fondest memories revolve around food and the generosity of the restaurant owners and staff we’ve met over the years. On one trip we contacted a small restaurant that was normally closed on the day we were passing through. Not only did they readily agree to open up for our group of twelve diners, but they also brought in a local signora who specialised in regional cooking. We were staggered – but delighted – when they presented us with a six-course degustation menu based on the local specialty, the meat and cheese from the Italian water buffalo species: bresaola di bufala, mozzarella di bufala, pappardelle with ragu of bufala, bufala steak and more.

Many of our clients, especially the women but sometimes even the men, have enjoyed some fantastic shopping over the years. As a regular and dedicated Italian shopper, I’ve a number of favourite shops that I loves sharing with our guests: a specialty shoe shop in Milan that makes ballerina flats in every colour under the sun, a scarf stall in the leather market in Florence where the owner not only sells the scarves but teaches new ways to tie them, and a handbag shop in Parma that sells extraordinarily beautiful items. One guest bought six handbags for his daughters, daughters-in-law, secretary and other lucky women friends.

Even we make discoveries while we’re on tour. One day in a little hill town in Tuscany we were exploring a tiny medieval church. The local lady who was the custodian of the church walked us through and then paused in front of a side altar and pulled out a drawer. Resting serenely inside was the remains of a local saint, obviously loved and revered by his flock.

Perhaps our most enduring memory though was an evening we spent in an agriturismo in Arezzo. Our group was having dinner in the agriturismo’s medieval chapel, now used as a dining hall. Inspired by this magical location, one of our guests was moved to recite a lovely piece about St Francis of Assisi, whose basilica we had visited that day. It was a very special moment for us all.

We love the places we find to visit and often return there ourselves, so our friends and family we not surprised that two years later we returned to the same agriturismo for our wedding!

We also love the work we do. We know how fortunate we are to travel to the places we love, to make new friends with our guests, and to be able to share our knowledge and love of Italy with them. We have six more tours running in spring and autumn of 2018 and look forward to sharing them with you.

25 Jul 5 REASONS TO VISIT TURIN

Posted at 09:04h in Destinations, Food and Wine by Italian Tours

Turin was the first capital of a united Italy in the nineteenth century and it has the feel of an important city, regal in its nature and set out to impress. The Roman town was founded in 28BC and although it became an important centre in the empire, it was never as important as Aosta up the road. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Turin was forgotten and existed as a large agricultural borough. It wasn’t until 1563 when Duke Emanuele Filiberto chose it as his capital that it was really put on the map.

Turin doesn’t have the same crowds of tourists as Rome, Florence and Milan, and that’s what makes it a great city to visit if you want to get off the beaten track!

1. The urban architecture
The ruling Savoy family wanted a capital city that was fit for their Duchy and in the 1700s, court architect Filippo Juvarra’s vision was turned into an urban environment to rival the more established European capitals. The Renaissance had already finished, so the period of refurbishment coincided with the Mannerist and Baroque period, which the town made its own — Turin is known as the baroque capital of Northern Italy. Think elegant piazze, splendid palaces and lovely churches.

The historic centre is very pleasant to wander around, well ordered and on a manageable scale. Don’t miss Palazzo Reale and Palazzo Madama on Piazza Castello and make sure you sit for an aperitivo at one of the cafes on the elegant Piazza San Carlo

2. The Mole Antonelliana and the Cinema Museum
The Mole Antonelliana is one of the enduring symbols of Turin, an oddly shaped building that was conceived as a synagogue, taken over by the Savoys as a museum of the Risorgimento and today houses the fascinating museum of cinema.

Most people know that Italians have a history and a fascination with cinema, but not many know that it all started here in Turin. It was here that the country’s first studios were set up and where the first feature length movie was produced in 1914.

If you’re a cinema buff, the museum is a must-see, if you’re not, the building itself is still worth a visit. The roof has the best vantage point of the city and on a clear day the views out towards the Alps are breathtaking.

3. The Lingotto
At the beginning of the 1900s, Fiat, Italy’s largest automotive industry, was growing and it needed a new plant. In 1916, in an area that was still farmland, they opened the Lingotto. It was considered innovative and modern and had the whole world watching. After more than 60 years of operation the plant was closed in the 1980s and the famous architect Renzo Piano was invited to convert the factory into a multipurpose centre. It’s possible to see the famous roof-top test track (as featured in the original 1969 version of The Italian Job) and the Giovanni and Marella Agnelli Art Gallery, which houses the couple’s exquisite private collection, with works by Canaletto, Tiepolo, Canova, Manet, Renoir, Matisse, Picasso and Modigliani.

Finally, the Lingotto is the home to the flagship Eataly store – the chain of upmarket providores that has taken Italy, and the world by storm. Which brings me to reason #4 …

4. The food
Food is especially important in Piedmont and the capital Turin will have foodies at its mercy. The people of Turin love their food and many follow the philosophy of the Slow Food Movement which has its headquarters just outside in the small town of Bra. The number of quality restaurants in the city and the enormous Porta Palazzo food markets are further evidence of the city’s love of food. It’s well worth spending a morning wandering through the markets and marvelling at the fresh produce — piles of aubergines, ripe tomatoes and porcini mushrooms, meat, fish, cheeses, herbs and spices and much more!

Lastly, we need to mention the Torinese obsession with both chocolate and coffee, which they have combined masterfully in the classic local drink Il Bicerin – a delicious, layered concoction of chocolate, coffee and hot milk, not to be shaken – or stirred! Try it at the historical Il Bicerin cafe where it was invented and where they have been making it since 1763.

5. The Egyptian museum
Most people haven’t heard of it, but the Museo Egizio is the second largest collection of Egyptian archaeology, anthropology and artefacts in the world, only surpassed by the museum in Cairo. It was re-opened after an extensive renovation in 2015, and now displays the collection in chronological order, from the 4th century BC to the 3rd century AD. There are numerous highlights in the collection including a spectacular tomb from 3500BC and an extensive Papyrus collection. If you’re an Egyptophile, it’s a must see and even if you’re only mildly interested in Egypt, it’s still a fascinating and well curated collection.

We adore Turin and have included it as our first base in our Tastes Tour of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta. Contact us today!

08 Jul UNDISCOVERED TREASURES OF PUGLIA – MAY 2017

Posted at 07:51h in Destinations by Italian Tours

What a wonderful and still undiscovered area Puglia is, and our May tour this year began in the most beautiful of Pugliese towns, Lecce. We spent our first, perfect day walking with our local guide Simona, a passionate Leccese who has the ability to bring to life the stories and characters of the city she loves so much.

One of the unusual stops we made was at a workshop where they construct and restore carta pesta, the Leccese version of papier-mâché. This construction method has always been used to make religious statues. It’s popular not only because there is no marble in the area but also because they are extremely light and can be carried through the streets for processions or mounted in churches without causing structural damage. Some are up to 400 years old and need constant care and restoration. Others are made new, including smaller models for personal use in people’s homes.

We could really visualise the layers of civilisation in the city when we visited a museum that began as a plumbing exercise. Attempting to fix leaky pipes, the building owners began to dig underground only to discover an archeological treasure trove just centimetres beneath their feet. While the actual artefacts have been surrendered to the authorities who oversee national treasures, the building is open for exploration and we were able to wander though the different layers of Leccese civilisation from the Messapians to the Greeks, Romans and beyond.

Our visit to Otranto, a town south of Lecce, introduced us to a small but famous walled seaport from which crusading knights departed for the Holy Land. We strolled the walls, admiring the blue bay and enjoying weather so clear that we could see as far as Albania on the other side of the Adriatic.

We were also lucky enough to see the Tree of Life, one of the largest early medieval mosaics in Europe that is still in place in the cathedral. It covers the entire floor of the cathedral and depicts the connections of all forms of creation, with creatures as the base and God at the apex and the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and sin. Figures to the side illustrate ways of behaviour that will help a good person avoid falling into this sinful state, a lesson for us all!

We also stopped into Galatina, a small farming town to see an exquisite complete Renaissance fresco cycle depicting the life of St Catherine of Alexandria, not only beautiful but also unusual in that Renaissance art is rarely seen in this part of Italy. From the religious to the culinary, we called in to a pasticceria to sample pasticciotto, a uniquely local concoction of short pastry filled with custard that in Galatina is still produced by the seventh generation of the pastry cooks who invented it.

Finally we moved on to Gallipoli on the other side of the peninsula overlooking the Ionian Sea. This fishing port is a popular holiday destination for Italians seeking its lovely sandy beaches; two of our intrepid travellers took to the water for a quick dip. Seated along the sea wall, we dined on fresh local seafood before our return to Lecce.

After inspecting the olive trees and presses we had to taste the oil!

Leaving Lecce on our way into the Valle d’Itria we stopped at a masseria, one of the traditional fortified farmhouses that have now been restored and are used for wine production. Our charming hostess Alessia took us on a tour to learn about Puglian wines. We wandered through the vineyards, where a crew of local women from the village were pruning the vines, and learned about the masseria’s vine growing technique. The alberello technique dates back to Roman times and allows the vines to grow as small trees rather than on a trellis.

Alessia organised one of the local village ladies to come in to cook us a typical meal, simple but absolutely wonderful: we feasted on fresh fennel, homemade local ricotta, orecchiette with a light vegetable sauce and a delicious tart, all washed down with lashings of the masseria’s wine.

For the next four nights we stayed in a country retreat near Martina Franca, a beautifully restored farmhouse. The breakfast room is built within three trulli, the typical round white buildings with their conical slate roofs for which this area is famous. Alberobello is the centre of the trulli region and our visit there provided guests with some great photo opportunities. We were also fascinated to explore an abandoned trullo that our driver knew of and see how these now mostly restored buildings would have functioned in their original state.

We also visited an ancient olive grove, with one of the most ancient olive trees in Puglia that is believed to be somewhere between 2500 and 3000 years old and still bearing fruit. The owners took us through their underground olive presses where we could see a pre-Roman, a Roman and a medieval olive press that are still intact. We did of course try the oil from the ancient trees which was very good.

On one of our days here we drove down towards Taranto to visit the MARTA, an exceptional archeological museum housing an enormous collection of artefacts from the area. The collection goes as far back as the Bronze Age, and includes items from the area when it was occupied as a Spartan colony and later roman artefacts. There are fabulous grave goods including intricate gold jewellery of inestimable value, decorated Greek pottery, fine Roman glassware and an actual tomb of one of the athletes from the Olympic Games and his winnings: four huge urns of olive oil!

Looking down on the ravines in Matera

We headed towards our next base at Trani via Bari, where we stopped to explore the rabbit warren of the medieval centre with our local guide and to visit the Basilica of St Nicholas, where we mingled with the pilgrims who come from all over the world to visit his tomb. Although this is a Catholic Church, St Nicholas is revered by Greek, Russian and Romanian Orthodox Christians, who are encouraged to pray over his relics at least once during their lifetimes. Interestingly, to facilitate this the Catholic Pope had just sponsored the loan of one of his bones to the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow.

Back on the coast in Trani and we stayed in a lovely hotel overlooking the fishing port; from the terrace we sipped aperitivi and watched the sun go down. What bliss!

The unquestionable highlight of this part of the trip was our visit to Matera, where for centuries people built their dwellings into the rock faces of the ravines. In fact, this city is the third oldest continually occupied urban space in the world. It was originally settled by pre-historic local tribes and remained inhabited until the 1950s, when a slum clearance program removed the inhabitants. Our guide Antonio grew up with grandparents who lived in one of these fascinating dwellings and shared his memories of life during that time. Today the Matera is undergoing a resurgence and the dwellings are now filled with boutique hotels, bars and shops, as well as some local residents who are returning to live there.

Our final base was on the Gargano peninsula in gorgeous accommodation overlooking the Bay of Mattinata, so called because it is bathed in morning sunlight. This is area of spectacular natural beauty, with limestone cliffs rising up from water so clear that you can see right to the bottom.

The land rises steeply from the coast to a cooler, greener agricultural landscape, with beautiful forests and cream Podolica cattle, wearing collars and bells around their necks. The pilgrim site of St Michael is located here in an underground cave that is entered through a church above. We descended the steep steps to the grotto beneath, sharing the moment with dozens of visiting pilgrims. Driving back down to the coast again, we finished the day at an old fishing outpost called a trabucco where we had dinner by the waterside as the sun set.

On the last day of the tour, we took a private boat trip along the coast looking at the limestone cliffs, chatting with local fishermen, exploring caves, and arriving finally at a pebbly beach where we had a private picnic lunch overlooking the symbols of Puglia, white limestone outcrops that form islands in the blue bay, the ‘faraglioni.’ We could not have asked for a more perfect way to end our tour.

Our September 2017 trip to Puglia is booked out, but we will be running the tour again in May 2018, so start planning your next holiday in Italy now!

14 – 28 May 2018 – click here for the full itinerary!

10 Jun GORGEOUS GARDENS … AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

Posted at 13:04h in Destinations, Gardens by Italian Tours

Spring in Rome is just about perfect weather for exploring gardens, and this year our group of nine travellers saw Rome at its best.

We spent our time in Rome with our fantastic local guide Sara, an art historian who took us to the little town of Tivoli to explore its two landmark attractions: Villa d’Este and Villa Adriana. These are serious historical sites. Villa d’Este and its completely over the top gardens with their famous fountains, were the creation of a troublesome cardinal who was relegated to this Roman outpost to keep him from interfering in the politics of the Vatican at the time. It’s a real statement of his wealth and power. Villa Adriana was the summer palace of the well-travelled emperor Hadrian, an accomplished architect and art lover. Sara brought the whole landscape to life with her stories of these ancient sites.

May 1 is a national holiday in Italy and the streets of Rome were thronged with people and parades. Sara joined us again to explore some of the major sites of the Eternal City, including a brief but miraculous interlude when we were almost the only people in the normally overcrowded Pantheon. It was a special day mingling with the locals on Piazza Navona and exploring the back streets of Rome with a Roman insider.

A third great highlight was our visit to the Vatican Gardens, only accessible by tour and a welcome escape from the crowds of people queuing outside the Vatican Museums. We found ourselves wandering through peaceful gardens, so quiet that we could hear birdsong, and enjoying the rose gardens that contain flowers of particular significance to the Catholic faith, including one variety chosen by Pope Francis himself.

That afternoon we travelled to Giardino di Ninfa, south of Rome, an abandoned medieval village that is tucked underneath a mountain range and has developed its own microclimate.

On our way to Florence we stopped in at a castle in a medieval town called Vignanello, known for its historic box hedge garden. We visited the castle and rubbed shoulders with Italian aristocracy: the utterly charming princess who owns the castle showed us around!

We had a lovely lunch at a little restaurant that’s been in business since the 1500s, and were introduced to cucina povera, the traditional food of the common people. The verdict? The common people ate well: we had an outstanding meal including a delicious bean stew that formed the staple diet of the local people.

We always love going to Florence because it gives us a chance to spend time with an old friend, Lior, who is one of the city’s best guides. Lior is always keen to tailor our walking tour to the interests of the group, and this group was interested in the history of Italian art. Lior was delighted: his special interest is in Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque art. He explained the differences between these fascinating art periods and took us to Santa Trinita in the centre of Florence where we learned to look at paintings by artists such as Monaco and Ghirlandaio in a completely new light.

Despite the influx of tourists, Florence retains plenty of unique gems, such as the pietre dure workshops that Lior took us to visit and, some of the group would say, the absolutely world class shopping that many of us indulged in during the free hours we had!

There are several wonderful villas and their associated gardens in and around Florence, and during our time there we visited several of them: the Torrigiani, the largest private garden within a European city, where the marquis himself took us on tour and regaled us with family stories; the Bardini garden high above the city where you feel as if you can reach out and touch the rooftops; Castello, where Cosimo de Medici grew up and where our group was charmed by the high school students who were practising their English by guiding visitors around the gardens; and Villa Gamberaia, beautiful even in the rain!

On the way to Verona we stopped in at a traditional acetaia outside of Modena, where we learned how Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is made, sampled some of the goods and contributed to Italy’s gross domestic product with our purchases.

We arrived in Verona to rain and more rain but this did nothing to dampen the group’s spirits. Brandishing umbrellas, our intrepid travellers set off to explore the cityscape with its fabulous urban architecture, glorious red marble pavements peppered with fossils, its central Roman arena and its piazze buzzing with street life.

Of all the cities we visited this had to be the group’s big favourite. And the city rewarded us: on our second day the sun came out. What better way to see Giardino Giusti, a little marvel hidden away in the centre of Verona, with is maze, low box hedges, lines of cypresses that were planted by the original owner to remind him of his Tuscan origins. We climbed the hill for the gorgeous view back to the city. From Verona we took a day trip to Villa Pisani, the fabulous Palladian inspired Veneto villa, which truly took our collective breath away. Our keen gardeners found unusual specimens in the gardens, including an English wood complete with wild flowers; we were also fascinated to learn about the lifestyle of the Venetians during the period in which these villas were built and how the architecture functioned.

The final stage of our tour took us north to the lakes, to Bellagio on Lake Como, where we enjoyed its spectacular scenery, visited the gardens at Villa Carlotta and took a day trip to Lake Maggiore to visit what might have been the favourite garden of the trip, Isola Bella. This fantastic and arguably over the top Baroque garden, complete with white peacocks strutting the paths, was built by the Borromean family on an island in the middle of the lake.

Lake Como turned on the most beautiful weather for the last day of our tour, and we departed Bellagio and Lake Como on a glorious sunny day. The group had discovered not only the beauty of Italian gardens, but the joys of Italian wine and food as well – as one member of the group said in parting, ‘It was much, much more than the gardens!’

We’re running our Great Gardens of Italy tour again in the Italian Spring of 2018 when we’ll be including Castel Gandolfo, the location of the Pope’s summer palace, for the first time.

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01 May AND WHAT DO TRULLI HAVE TO DO WITH TAXES?

Posted at 02:03h in Architecture, Destinations by Italian Tours

When people think of Puglia, one of the first images that springs to mind is a vision of quaint whitewashed, dome-roofed, round houses called trulli.

While the trulli architectural style dates back to pre-history, many believe that the passion for more modern trulli construction developed as an early and sophisticated means of tax avoidance. During the middle ages, landlords instructed the farmers to build the dry stones roofs of the trulli with a removable keystone in the middle and the walls without mortar. When the tax inspectors appeared the farmers would pull the keystone out, collapsing the building – thus allowing the landowners to avoid paying any taxes in what some would describe as an enduring Italian tradition!

The largest concentration of these pretty buildings is in Alberobello, but they are also common across the whole of the Valle d’Itria area, a region of farming and agriculture. In their simplest form they are used as farming sheds and are dotted amongst the fields.

The town of Alberobello is undeniably a tourist magnet but with good reason and well worth a visit. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has hundreds of trulli, many of which are original.

Today the charming rounded shapes and conical stone roofs of the Pugliese trulli are so appealing that many of them are used as restaurants and visitor accommodation.

On our The Road Less Travelled tour of Puglia we not only visit Alberobello, but stay in a beautiful hotel in the Valle d’Itria, Masseria Fumarola, where some of our lucky guests get to sleep under these typical conical roofs!

We’re running our Puglia tour later this year in September and again in 2018:

14 – 28 September 2017
14 – 28 May 2018