Lago Como from Villa Balbianello
While many visitors to Lago Como head for the more famous and more accessible Villa Carlotta, perhaps the quintessential villa on Lago Como is Villa Balbianello near Lenno. Its location is simply stunning, so stunning in fact that it was used as a location for one of the Bond movies!
Malcesine, Lago di Garda
While many people, particularly those from North America, head to the more well known lakes of Maggiore and Como, there is plenty to explore on the others. One of my favourite places in Italy is a little town (a village, really) on Lago di Garda called Malcesine. Lago di Garda is the biggest of the Italian lakes and popular with German and Austrian tourists, particularly because of its proximity to the Austrian border and Brenner Pass. I’m no wind surfer (never tried it and too old now!) but the northern part of the lake is world-renowned for that sport. I prefer a much lazier approach: strolling along the Lungomare into Malcesine from Val di Sogno, sipping wine in the harbour while people watching, or riding the gondola to the top of Mount Baldo for its spectacular views of the Italian and Austrian Alps. Malcesine has lots of restaurants, shops and cafes. Its small fishing port is very active and there is a ferry service from it to other towns on the lake. Malcesine is a great base to explore the rest of the lake as well as a wonderful spot just to relax by a pool or the lake itself.
Trulli Rooftops
Years ago (1983), I bought a Sunset Travel Book called Discovery Trips in Europe. The chapter on Italy talked about a region in southern Italy near the Adriatic shore where there are unusual white, cone-topped buildings called trulli (trullo, singular). Since then, until 2009, the area had been on my “to do” list. Alberobello, the town where the largest concentration of these buildings is, is a World Heritage Site so it was on my itinerary that year. Not only did I get to see these incredible structures but we actually stayed in one. Continue reading
Hotel Room in Matera (Sassi district)
Yes, you can have luxury staying in a cave. In the relatively unknown Italian province of Basilicato, there is a town called Matera . An ancient area of the town, known as the Sassi, is filled with intact trogladyte dwellings – homes, businesses, restaurants, hotels, etc. Here it is possible to sleep in a cave in luxury.