Vrooms With a View: Europe’s Most Scenic Drives (includes Val d’Aosta, Piemonte) [The Guardian]
Eat Like a Local in Venice, The Venetian Islands Locals Want to Keep to Themselves, Venice Bacari [The Guardian]
Global Eye: Venice Carnival [National Geographic Intelligent Travel Blog]
Italy’s Sleepy Surprise (Maratea, Basilicata) [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Where Puccini Might Shop in Rome [New York Times]
For a Real Italian Getaway, Follow the Herd (Abruzzo) [The Guardian]
What’s New in Rome and Venice for 2010 and What’s New in Italy, from Museums to Mountain Walks [Rick Steves for the Seattle Times]
Moving House? No, We’re Just Off to Italy to Visit the Folks (road tripping in a motor home) [The Guardian]
Roadtripping the Sicilian Coast [Matador Network]
Caravaggio’s Greatest Hits Draw Big Crowds in Rome [LA Times]
Italy Deserves More Than a Long Weekend (fashion-focused editorial) [New York Times]
Customs and Etiquette in Italy: 15 Things Every Visitor Should Know [Fodor's Travel Wire]
Giro d’Italia Bicycle Race is Making Its Way to Washington, DC, in 2012 [Washington Post]

And, while I don’t often feature articles from the Italy blogs in the round-up, I had to mention these two articles from Alex Roe, the blogger behind the excellent Blog From Italy:
Ballooning Over Tuscany
Floating Self-Catering in Venice

Photo © Carol Fletcher

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This installment of Italy travel articles includes two videos that I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy the round-up!

Skiing in Abruzzo [The Guardian]
Luxury Bargains: Italy in Winter [The Independent]
If You’re Ever in Florence, You Have to Visit This Mediocre Trattoria I Know [The Onion]
CBP to Foodies: No Hiding the Salami [Update: Travel Better]
Is Italy the ‘Citizen Kane’ of Travel? [World Hum video, below]

Venice in Winter [Financial Times]
Alone (or Almost) with Michelangelo in Vatican City [New York Times]
Fresh Powder Meets Fine Dining at Cortina d’Ampezzo [NYT]
The 31 Places to Go in 2010 (includes Gargano, Puglia) [NYT]
Tuscany – Timelapse Impressions [Matador TV video, click on the link]

Photo © madiash

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Stendhal in Parma [NY Times]
The Cursing Mommy Cooks Italian [The New Yorker - humor, of course!]
Italy’s Reality is a Vita Not So Dolce [The Globe and Mail]
Italy Made Easy [The Telegraph]
Body Scanners Coming to Rome, Milan Airports [USA Today]
Sightjogging: City Walking Tours on Speed [Matador Network]
Make Yourself at Home with a Spot of House-Sitting (Puglia) [The Guardian]
White-Lie City (Rome) [The American]

Photo © Dave Yoder for the New York Times

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I hope you’re all having a very happy 2010 so far. I’m hoping this will be a great year for Italy travel and finding deals on tours, packages, airfare, hotels, etc. That’s why I’m launching an experimental page over on the Italofile Social Network.

The new Travel Deals page is a place where you can find the latest information on discounted travel to Italy. Right now, the deals are listed as comments but I’ll be working with other methods as I go along. the Travel Deals page shows deals from various RSS feeds. You can post other deals in the comments on that page or send me your RSS feed link so I it can get looped into this page.

And if you’re offering a deal, you can contribute to the growing list or get your deal featured on the network’s home page. I’ll be cross-posting all this information on Twitter (@italofileblog) and the Italofile Facebook page.

So thanks to all of you for reading Italofile through the years and here’s to a fun and fruitful 2010!

Photo © jacqs87

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It has been a while since I posted an article roundup. Here are some of the great Italy travel articles you may have missed in the last month or so.

Roaming Rome, in a Martini Mood [L.A. Times]
Do the Splits on the Swiss and Italian Ski Slopes [The Independent]
Sicily’s Secret South [The Guardian]
Italy in Full (Palermo, Sicily) [Conde Nast Traveler]
Artists Lead the Way in the Oltrarno District of Florence [New York Times]
The Best Way to Travel in Tuscany [CN Traveler's Perrin Post]

Photo © ventofreddo

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Perugia has been in the news a lot lately but for all the wrong reasons. The picturesque capital of the region of Umbria has been the location of the media circus that has been the Amanda Knox/Raffaele Sollecito trial. And with the two having been convicted for the murder of Meredith Kercher, Perugia will certainly be in the spotlight as the appeals process begins.

It pains me that many people are getting their first look at Perugia through the lens of a sensational murder case because Perugia is a destination I like to recommend to travelers looking for a new place to explore in Central Italy. Perugia is an austere, university town – indeed, its one of Umbria’s hill towns – with several unique characteristics that make it ideal for discovery. Here’s my brief list of its charms:

A History of Rebellion
While Perugia’s early history as a member of the Etruscan League is noteworthy, it is the city’s rankling of Rome that give it a reputation of rebellion. You could even say that Perugia has a “salty” past, as a large part of the town’s character was formed due to a battle with Rome in the so-called Salt War. From the early days of the Papal States, the people of Perugia were often at odds with the church. In 1540, things really came to a head when Rome doubled the tax of salt in 1540. The Perugians rebelled by drastically reducing their consumption of salt, resulting in pane sciapo, a bread made with little or no salt that is still consumed in Perugia today. Pope Paul III was the pontiff responsible for levying the high taxes during this time and made sure to punish Perugia when papal troops (led by his son) captured the city. The Rocca Paolina, a massive fortress built by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, bears the inscription “ad coercendam Perusinorum audaciam” (to curb the audacity of the Perugian people). This is the only fortress I know of that was built to keep its citizenry in rather than thwart outside invaders.

An Artistic Pedigree
A few of the aesthetic pleasures of Perugia include the stark caverns of Rocca Paolina, which has been retrofitted with escalators that run from between the upper and lower parts of town; the Etruscan walls; the Fontana Maggiore, a curious, round fountain built by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano; and the Piazza Italia, the lovely, tree-lined square overlooking the Umbrian valley where many Perugians take their evening passegiata. But Perugia is known in particular for the artist Pietro Vannucci (Perugino). You may also know of Perugino from his frescoes on the walls of the Sistine Chapel and for being a mentor to Raphael. Perugino’s works decorate the Collegio di Cambio in the Palazzo dei Priori and are also featured in the National Gallery of Umbria. Both of these places lie, aptly, on the Corso Vannucci – Perugia’s main street.

City of Chocolate
Finally, one of the best reasons to visit Perugia is because it is a mecca for chocolate lovers. Perugina Chocolate, creator of the Bacio, the hazelnut and chocolate confection that comes wrapped in a love poem, is headquartered in Perugia. Long since purchased by Nestle, Perugina still maintains the Bacio brand, as well as a few others, and has a chocolate boutique on – you guessed it – Corso Vannucci. In addition to Perugina, the city is also site to a chocolate festival each October called Eurochocolate. The festival is a chance for artisanal chocolatiers to show off their products and for guests to learn about chocolate based on a particular theme. If you’re so inclined, you can even stay in the Etruscan Chocohotel (how’s that for combining brands?). This hotel is in the lower town of Perugia, so not among the old, medieval treasures of the upper town. But, they do give you a bar of chocolate upon check-in and have a restaurant that features several dishes made with chocolate.

Photos © Paolo Bertinetto, Agnese Salinas, Maurizio Zanetti, fotopierino

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First they want to scan my copyrighted books and now Google wants to be a tour guide: has Google gone too far this time? I recently received a Google Wave invitation, so I was browsing Google Labs to see what else was on the backburner. It seems that Google will soon be launching City Tours, putting people like me – travel writers – out of business. Or will it?

Here’s Google’s thinking behind City Tours:

Making holiday planning as easy as searching the web. City Tours helps you identify points of interest and plan multi-day trips to most major cities. You just specify the location of your hotel and the length of your trip and City Tours will map out an itinerary for you.

I thought I’d look up Rome as a test. Google presented me with a three-day itinerary – complete with map, of course. The plan included walking time, distance, and links to the sites included on the tour. The first day had me going to locations such as the Museo del Risorgimento, the Pasta Museum, Les Musées du Capitole (Capitoline Museums – Google’s link was spelled the French way), and about five other place. Fine. Some of these sites, especially the Capitoline Museums, are worthy of a first-day visit even for a first-timer. But the itinerary didn’t tell me, for example, that the Pasta Museum is near the Trevi Fountain (though you can see that fact if you zoom in on the map), or that the Museo delle Cere (the Wax Museum) is totally lame.

I’ll give Google points for being able to add/delete sites from an itinerary and change dates. For example, if I were beginning my trip on a Monday (when many museums are closed), the auto-generated agenda ostensibly should steer me towards sites that are actually open. You can also choose the length of your tour, from 1 to 5 days. Unfortunately, when I chose a one-day tour of Rome, Google came up empty-handed. The program should at least generate a basic tour for one day – ya know, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, a handful of churches.

So Google City Tours is still in the Labs stage. And, in my opinion, has a long way to go to get it right. Thankfully, I think this tool, like an online translator, is helpful and pretty cool. But, in a field as subjective as travel, nothing beats the human touch.

Am I right?

Photo from Google

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Italofile Then and Now
When I started Italofile over three years ago, my goal was to help promote my Italy travel guides, collect Italy travel information in “real time,” and basically keep up with the ever-changing landscape that is the Italy travel experience. To give you an idea of how much can change in three years, there really weren’t a whole lot of blogs specifically about Italy-now there are thousands! In fact, my blog friend Jessica at Boots N All was just starting Italylogue, one of the best and comprehensive Italy blogs out there today.

Three years ago I started blogging so I could “stay in the game,” as it were. Now I write so I can stay out of it.

Doing It For Dante
If you have been following Italofile for some time, you may have noticed that my posts are less frequent. I apologize for that – it’s not for a lack of enthusiasm. Instead, over the past three years, as my first baby Dante has morphed into a toddler, I have been taking time out to enjoy him. And, admittedly, it has taken a lot out of me.

When Dante – who, of course, shares his name with a great poet – didn’t say his first word by 18 months, we realized we had a problem. Since June of 08, just before his 2nd birthday, we have been getting therapy for Dante, from speech and special ed to occupational therapy for his fine and gross motor skills. We’ve been told that D has PDD-NOS, an autism spectrum disorder also known as “atypical autism.” Dante is what you call “high functioning” and he has a photographic memory. Alas, he still can’t hold a conversation. We are hoping, of course, that these early intervention therapies will help Dante enough so that he’ll be able to tackle kindergarten successfully two years from now.

Why Write Now?
So what does any of this have to do with Italofile? Well, above, when I said that I am trying to stay “out of the game,” I meant that blogging, freelance writing, and basically working from home are my only options right now as a means for income. Going to work in an office right now isn’t practical for my family as I have Dante – and his little brother Leo – to care for. I choose to take on self-guided projects so that I can set my own deadlines (or no deadlines) and be available for my children when they need me. Sure, I could try to go back to the office, but leaving Dante in daycare for the hours he’s not in therapy would be a disservice to him and the caregivers, not to mention a large sum of outgoing funds. It’s a reality for many parents. I know I am not particularly unique in that respect.

Branching Out
What it boils down to is that I want my readers to know that I am still doing my best to be the “Italy travel resource.” in fact, I am fairly active on Twitter, a medium that has been very beneficial for a busy SAHM and blogger like myself. Yes, friends, there is a face – and family – behind the posts about Rome and Florence. I have also launched a companion social network to Italofile at http://italofile.ning.com, where I hope that readers like you will add to the conversation about traveling in Italy.

How You Can Help
The first thing you can do to help is sign up at the Italofile network on Ning and start contributing to the dialogue about Italy travel. I want to get everyone – from armchair travelers to local tourism boards in Italy – to sign up so we can all benefit from the information, deals, and direct connections.

Another way you can help is by clicking on an ad or two when you visit italofile.com or the Italofile social network. If you’re a hotel or offer a product or service, consider placing your own ad on Italofile. Send me a message at melanie at italofile.com if you’re interested. Or, check out my Amazon.com picks in the Italoshop. You know how it works. A couple clicks from everyone will be of great help to me as I try to stay home and do what’s best for my bambini.

I haven’t done the paypal donate thing yet: I am somewhat too proud to beg. A fellow blogger suggested I request donations through Paypal, so now I guess I ain’t too proud to beg! So if you want to send me some change for an espresso or gelato, click the following button:

Also, if you have other ideas for how I can generate a modest income from my Italofile projects, please let me know. (I am working on some other web projects: visit www.missadventures.com for more info on those.)

And Finally…
Of course, I know that you savvy readers can go almost anywhere to get info on traveling in Italy. But I do think that I bring a unique perspective to my travel advice (and now, in particular, travel with kids!). Please feel free to ask me questions, send suggestions of topics you’d like for me to cover, or anything else to Melanie at italofile dot com.

Photo © Melanie Mize Renzulli, 2009.

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Shrine to Vicchio Victims

Last year saw the release of the book the Monster of Florence, a true tale about a serial killer who terrorized the hills around the Tuscan capital for almost 20 years, from 1968 until 1985. While several men were tried for the heinous crimes, many Italians, crime experts, and the book authors Mario Spezi and Douglas Preston, believe that the real killer remains on the loose to this day.

I knew nothing about the sensational story of the Monster of Florence when I was first doing research for one of my Italy guides long ago. Certainly, I had heard of Il Mostro, the dark comedy by Roberto Benigni based on the crimes and the search for the perpetrator,  but I hadn’t given it a second thought. You can be sure that the tourism boards did not wish to point out the areas where these crimes had taken place. In fact, two of the victims – Horst Meyer and Uwe Rüsch – were tourists who were camping in the Tuscan hills.

As a travel writer, I also wasn’t keen to reveal this scary piece of Tuscan history. No use in discouraging travelers from visiting Tuscany just because of a few terrible incidents, I thought. But looking back on one of my research trips, I realized that I had actually stayed in a hotel – by myself – just minutes from one of the crimes scenes. The thought of it still sends shivers up my spine.

The part that especially upsets me is a memory of strolling into my hotel in the early evening. I had gone to a local pizzeria and enoteca to pick up my dinner for the evening. I was strolling the quiet suburban Tuscan streets in the twilight without a worry. Little did I know that the Monster of Florence had likely prowled down this same street searching for victims or on his way back from a fresh kill. Did I mention that the story of the Monster of Florence was the inspiration for Hannibal Lecter? Did I also mention that this particular evening was September 10, 2001? Horrible events – both past and future – were swirling about and I had no clue!

Well, I still have no desire to reveal where my fateful hotel was. That would not be fair to the hotel. But above is a map of the locations of the crimes. On the Monster of Florence UK website you can view a timeline of the events and their locations. Read these at your own risk! You’ll never look upon the Tuscan hills in the same way again!

By the way, here is a full-length 48 Hours video of author Douglas Preston speaking of his own entanglement with the case as well as the more recent murder trial of American student Amanda Knox in Perugia.

Photos from Monster of Florence UK website and www.prestonchild.com

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October is one of the most beautiful and busy months of the year in Italy. Here are a few things going on this month:

International Antiques Fair in Florence. This biannual event will take place through October 4 at the Palazzo Corsini. Almost 100 authenticated antiques sellers from around Italy will be exhibiting their wares.

Caravaggio Bacon. This unusual show will compare the works and lives of two “cursed” artists Caravaggio and Francis Bacon. See their works side by side in the Galleria Borghese in Rome from October 2 through January 24, 2010.

Festival Verdi. Parma, in Emilia Romagna, will hold a festival in honor of composer Giuseppe Verdi beginning today and running through the 28th. Throughout the city will be staged operas, concerts and other events. More info here.

La Barcolana Sailing Contest. Europe’s biggest sailing event takes place in the Gulf of Trieste on October 11. Prepare to be awed by the sight of more than 2,000 sailboats competing against one another on a 16 nautical mile course. See www.barcolana.it for more info.

Eurochocolate 2009. The 16th installment of the chocolate extravaganza will take place from October 16-25th in Perugia (Umbria). This year’s theme is “Breaking the Rules” (Rompete Le Righe) and will highlight creativity. You can learn more by visiting www.eurochocolate.com or checking out Eurochocolate on Facebook. You can also get news on your mobile.

Photo from www.mondomostre.it.

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