Beautiful Italy!
Where else in Europe can you find the blend of great art, delicious food and wine, and human warmth and welcome that awaits you in Italy? This Mediterranean country has made a profound contribution to Western civilisation, producing some of the world's greatest thinkers, writers, politicians, saints, and artists. Impressive traces of their lives and works can still be seen in Italy's great buildings and enchanting countryside.
This time around, I decided to make Florence our base. From there, I explored Tuscany and Cinque Terre at my heart's content! Arezzo, Chianti, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano and Montepulchio only a busride away.
Country roads wind around cypress trees on hilltops that often appear to catch and hold onto the clouds. Planted vineyards, fields, and orchards turn those curving hills into a patchwork of colours and textures that have inspired artists and delighted travellers for centuries. Sitting majestically in the midst of all this natural splendour is Siena, longtime rival of Florence and one of Italy's best-preserved medieval cities. Other hilltop towns will beckon you as well: San Gimignano, with its lofty towers; the ancient city of Volterra, once capital of a flourishing Etruscan state; and a myriad charming villages dotting the rolling hills of Chianti.
Central Tuscany has an enticing landscape, one that invites you to follow its meandering roads to see where they might lead. Perhaps you'll come to a farmhouse selling splendid olive oil or one of the superb wines produced in the region; or perhaps you'll arrive at a medieval pieve (country church), an art-filled abbey, a castello (castle), or a restaurant where a flower-bedecked terrace looks out on a spectacular panorama. Whatever road you take, Siena, Italy's most enchanting medieval city, is the one stop that's mandatory. The perfectly preserved centro storico, with its medieval palaces, is a delight to walk around; vehicle traffic is banned. Once in the region, however, there are plenty of other places to explore: San Gimignano is known as the "medieval Manhattan" because of its enormous towers, built by rival families, that still stand today. Like Siena, it benefited from commerce and trade along the pilgrimage routes, as the wonderful art in its churches and museums attests. With additional time, consider venturing farther afield to Volterra, with a stop in Colle di Val d'Elsa along the way.
After the wonderful time in Tuscany, I set off to Venice. Venice is called La Serenissima, "the most serene," a reference to the majesty, wisdom, and impressive power of this city that was for centuries the unrivaled leader in trade between Europe and the Orient, and a major center of European culture. Built entirely on water by a people who saw the sea as a defense and ally, Venice is unlike any other town. No matter how often you've seen it in photos and films, the real thing is more dreamlike than you could ever imagine.
Italy, one of my favourite destinations, was once again a delight to my senses!
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