"Italia - awakens passion, gives life & confidence" Top 5 Page for this destination Italy by Trekki

Italy Travel Guide: 68,953 reviews and 184,296 photos

Burano, colours for the soul :-) - Italy

Italia, my beloved Italia….. I was in Italy quite often as a kid (Adriatic sea, Roma, Napoli, Capri, and all these typical touristy places). Later I lost sight of it because I wanted to “conquer the planet” (travel to all the exotic countries and regions like Patagonia, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc). But in 2007 I came back to my senses and have decided to explore more of my own continent Europe. Now Italy wasn’t that far away anymore.

Apart from several hiking trips in Italy’s alps, my first “grown up” travel was to Venezia in May 2007. I fell in love and deeply regret that I didn’t speak enough Italian (if any) to talk to the people and to learn more about the city and her secrets. Some of these secrets I discovered though, at least I think so. Well, Venezia has planted this desire to come back to Italy and this is what I did in April 2008. My original plan was to travel through Emilia-Romagna, but during planning I realised that I wanted to see more of the regions south of it, namely Umbria and Marche. However since I had booked a flight to Bologna and rented a car, I was able to travel at least to the Adriatic Coast and visit the region where I had spent several holidays as kid. The rest of the days I drove through Marche and Umbria and it was one of the most enchanting trips. It deepened my love for Italia and I could not wait to get back. Luckily I found a perfect teacher for my language lessons. She lives and teaches Italian in one of the most magic cities, Gubbio and I already look forward to my next lessons and all the lessons to come.

So what can you expect here on my Italia pages? Not Roma, not Napoli, not Toscana, not Amalfi coast. These are the places where almost everything is being said and written, at least for the major cities and sights. I was once in Firenze, but will most probably never return there. What I have listed in the to-do section are villages and cities which are very much overlooked by the travellers who want to visit Italy. But by adding them to Italy’s to-do section I want to add a bit of a different colour to the Roma-Napoli-Amalfi-Firenze-Pisa-Siena bulk. However, in case you look for the best written piece about Firenze, look at Brenda's page. At least I have added a bit of Venezia.

Since May 2007 I have been in Italy at least twice a year. It seems that I hardly spend my holiday/vacation time anywhere else but in Italy. Umbria, Marche, Emilia Romagna so far. I have only begun to discover hidden secrets in these parts and will continue to do so. My next destinations will hopefully be Abruzzo, Lazio (province of Rieti), Campania (Cilento) and Molise.
If I ever manage to tear myself away from Umbria and Marche.....

My next trip to Italia will be May 2012, Gubbio of course and surroundings :-)

Welcome to Bella Italia – it has more to offer than the typical touristic sights.

Since my Italy writings have grown over the time, I have decided to list each individual review in a separate album. If you like, pick the ones that match your interest:
=> Italy reviews

Balcony in Burano

Oh, and in this context I found the most magic and special website about "small town Italy": Family Life s.r.l., a company with seat in Atella, Basilicata, has made more than 600 videos about the small towns in Italy. I could sit and watch for hours and found already many many villages I must visit.
Thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart!

Another interesting project is Meraviglia Italiana. It is directed to the Italian youth and means not to forget the wonders of Italy, apart from the famous cities.
Enough material for me to fall in love with too :-) It is about the historical events, the special celebrations, the saints, the people, the values.
May 24, 2012, the winner will be announced :-)

And to get you into the mood, I have picked some typical songs from youtube. First of all, the most famous of all, unfortunately not sung by Adriano Celentano (it is impossible to watch from German accounts due to terrorism by German greedy GEMA and their inability to come to peace with Youtube), but by Squadra Azzurra: Azzuro.

And then:
Eros Ramazotti, Ti amo,
Umberto Tozzi, Tu,
Angelo Branduardi, La pulce d'acqua,
Gianna Nannini, Bello e impossibile,
Al Bano & Romina Power, Felicità
:-)
Just to name a few .-)

One other song now does not get out of my head, although it is old and has a sad historica background. But... it is gorgeous, and the lyrics as well:
Bella Ciao

One more, especially for those who want to return again and again and again: Tornerò (in the version of Pupo).

Oh, and very famous, very emotional with a specific meaning for me is Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partirò. When I leave the planet one day, I want this to be played while my ashes are scattered on the slopes of Mte. Ingino :-)

Fascinating flag throwers in Gubbio

All pictures have been taken by me, if not marked otherwise.
Please do not use any of them without my permission.
The same applies for my writings here.
Thanks.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Heaven on earth: the people, the food, the landscape, the culture, the art, the atmosphere: history and traditions alive :-)
Cons:The tourist magnets like Roma, Venezia, Firenze get more and more crowded. And Italy can't be reduced to these only.
In a nutshell:Heaven - I will live here one day :-)

Last visit to Italy: May 2011
Intro Updated Jul 2, 2012
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Reviews (108)

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Comments (38)

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ettiewyn Jul 30, 2012 at 11:04 AM

Hi Ingrid, I just checked back here to re-read some of your practical tips and add them to my trip planner to print them out - very useful advice especially for a newbie like me! :-) Especially things like not touching goods, comperto etc.
I also downloaded the music from youtube :-))) Yes, we DO get into the mood!!! :-) I already bought "Gebrauchsanweisung für Italien" but still need to read it... And I loved the pictures of Golden Gubbio, most amazing! Oh, and your "table of contents" listing all the individual tips was most helpful for my purpose to quickly find the information I need right now - a very good idea!
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Nemorino Jul 7, 2012 at 2:11 PM

Hello Ingrid, I’ve just been trying to catch up on some of your many new tips and updates to this page since 2010. It’s great that you keep returning to Italy and adding more useful information and insights.
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SONG Jul 3, 2012 at 6:58 AM

Wonderful Italian pages!!! Congrats on being mentioned in the Italian press for your VT work. :-)
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brendareed Apr 29, 2012 at 4:05 AM

Well, Ingrid~ I decided to be a naughty girl and rather than work around the house this morning I opted to sit on the back patio, enjoy the fresh air, and read your Italy pages. Oh, my goodness, and was it worth it!! They are fantastic! I love how your personality shines through your writing - I can just see you talking about these very same places in person. They make me want to pop down to Italy, rent a car, and drive around the countryside! All your tips are superb and your links to outside websites and Googlemaps add to the benefit travelers will gain from reading your magnificent pages! Well done! I can't wait to read more of your pages...but for now, I think I better get some work done around the house. Thanks for putting in so much time and effort to your pages - I loved them! :-) ~Brenda
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lynnehamman Apr 12, 2012 at 3:21 PM

.OK I have started on these excellent and well researched tips. I totally agree about hiring car and EXPLORING the regions.....am so excited about this trip.Unfortunately the ONLY time that we can go is July, which is high season. Ah well....... Thanks and Hugs
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Maryimelda Mar 1, 2012 at 7:54 PM

Hi Ingrid, What can I say? These pages are excellent and you have left nothing out. As usual your photography is the very best and your appreciation of colour stands out a mile. Many wonderful memories here as well. I know you would really love Assisi but I must admit that the first time I went there was on a tour bus and what a mistake that was. The next time we stayed overnight in the top part of the town and after 4pm had Assisi almost all to ourselves. The view from the fortress of the sun going down over Umbria is something I will never forget and the little bar full of locals having beer and peanuts and chattering into the night was a wonderful experience and they were so welcoming to us.
Full marks my friend, these pages say it all!!! Ciao, Kate
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Tijavi Oct 29, 2011 at 8:31 AM

Your love for bella Italia is so palpable in these so well-written pages. Thanks for sharing your passion for Italy, and for your experiences. I wanna dine in Redibis, and see Piano Grande, among others. And the duomo in Orvieto? Ohlala!
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breughel Sep 23, 2011 at 10:22 AM

Lago Trasimeno, Hannibal and Delendae est Carthago; good souvenirs from the time I was a teenager!

We also much liked Umbria. Visited Perugia,Assisi,Gubio but this is years ago before VT.
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globetrott Sep 20, 2011 at 6:26 PM

an excellent page with great photography and a lot of excellent infos & backgroundstories ! Commissario Brunetti is my favorite hero, I am watching it on DVD !
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Kuznetsov_Sergey Jun 24, 2011 at 10:35 AM

Perfect page with marvelous tips and brilliant photos! It deserves 5-top for sure on this destination! I've seen updates since June of 2010 (second half after last visit this May). Wonderful VT-job, Ingrid!