Italy’s Treasures: art, food and wine of Italy.
That was the name of the trip my daughter and I took with Collette Travel, and a more perfect name I cannot imagine.
I have thought a lot about this after visiting Italy for the second time, and I think I am comfortable saying there isn’t a country that has more magnificent cities than Italy. Our trip was mainly in Northern and Central Italy and with each city that we went to, I would think, “okay, this is my favorite… it can’t get better than this…” and then we would go to another city, and I would think it all over again! When people think of Italy, they think of, among other things, the most famous artists our world has known (Micheangelo, Da Vinci, etc), but the country itself is art. It’s exquisite and beautiful and an artist or photographer’s dream to make art of the country itself.
Our itinerary included two nights each in Stresa, Cinque Terre, Venice and four nights in Tuscany, with day tours to other cities from each place.
The beautiful town of Stresa, on Lago Maggiore, was our first stop at the magnificent Regina Palace. Deep green tree covered mountains at the foot of the Alps, dotted with homes in the hills and surrounding the lake, my daughter and I felt like celebrities as we, and the others in our group, would board boats to travel to small islands on the lake for dinner or tours. Dining with views of the lake, on dimly lit patios with views of the lake is the picture of northern Italy that one has when you imagine George and Amal Clooney relaxing at Lake Como.
From Stresa we traveled to Oira, a quaint ancient town nestled in the hills. The town still boasts churches and homes that have been present since the 1300s. Our local tour guide’s family who owns a B&B, vineyard, farm and restaurant there in the town. After a walking tour of the town, our group relaxed in their restaurant, sampling the family’s artisan wines, cheeses and honey.
From Stresa we also visited Lake Orta where we traveled by boat to the island of San Giulio where the main attraction is the working convent. Visitors can walk the “path of silence” around the convent and read signs along the path with quotes about silence. Some of my favorites were “silence is the peace of oneself” and “in the silence, you breathe God.”
In Stresa itself, we took walks along Lago Maggiore, with stops into the main city square for real Italian pizza, gelato, and espresso in tiny cups.
Italy is such a diverse country and a little smaller than the size of California – if you need an idea of how much culture, food, wine and art come from this one country. Northern Italy is very different than southern Italy – so different it’s almost like two different countries. Northern Italy is cooler and wetter than southern Italy, and this even results in differences in the taste of the pasta itself. For example, because of the cooler and wetter climate, northern pasta isn’t as “dry” as southern pasta.
As I said, being in Stresa in northern Italy along the banks of Lago Maggiore, at the foothills of the Alps, made me feel like a celebrity!
Do you have a special place in Italy? This itinerary will leave you wanting for more and more returns to Italy. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs on picturesque Cinque Terre and Carrera, a surprise marvel.