This picture from @NationalGeoPix is simply ridiculous. Hat tip @cinque_terre for seeing and posting it. If Manarola isn’t on your list of places to visit, it should be now.
It’s like Burano on a cliffside. We’ll be doing some events in Cinque Terre this fall and possibly sooner as demand dictates. Don’t hesitate to ask.
Ravenna–a jewel of the Veneto often overlooked. Worth seeing!
Ravenna, Italy sits at the literal crossroads between the old world and the new, between Western Culture and Eastern, between Europe and Asia Minor — it is a city that has seen much change in the past several thousand years, and this change is cataloged in its many churches and epochal architecture. While the City of Ravenna has much more to offer travelers than just its holy sanctuaries, today we will be giving our readers an insight into these buildings that — regardless of your faith or denomination — are beautiful living pages out of history.
Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy
This Byzantine-era church is fairly simple in its architecture, but marks the beginning of Byzantine expansion into Europe around 526 AD. The church was originally begun by Bishop Ecclesius at a time of much change for Greece, Italy, and especially Ravenna which was…
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Have a good shot you’ve taken in Venice? The Venice, Italy FB page has a contest going and is taking submissions and votes. Some good shots already posted, and a few votes garnered for some pictures that capture the feel of the place. But add your visual sense to the mix if you can!
(Venice as the sun sets is magic…)
Our friend Mama Isa has two spots left for a special pasta and tiramisu cooking class this week. If you’re going to be in the Veneto this week, make time! It’ll be worth it. Her classes are usually limited to six people, and you get scads of individual attention and coaching. We’re always glad to pass along referrals to her as the verdict is universally “tutti squisiti!”
Always breaks my heart when I read bloggers saying the food’s not good in Venice; invariably it’s someone not very experienced there staying a day or two and being disappointed the places with “menu turistico” posted in the window and offering pizza are less than inspired. This article from Italian Talks is a great counterpoint to those posts from folks disappointed about the Venetian culinary experience; as they note, take a walk around the way, maybe even get lost on a side street, and stumble upon a place where the locals eat, and you’ll be far happier.
I don’t write to scold those folks who, for lack of guidance or tight schedules, fail to discover the genius of Venetian dining, but merely to forewarn others that this let-down is entirely avoidable.
(Free hint: look for a place with a menu that looks more like this; note the absence of the phrase “menu turistico”.)
One of the biggest perks you’ll enjoy traveling with us: you won’t need to guess about finding the *real* Veneto cuisine and hope to find a delicious, authentic meal at a non-tourist trap. Why? Because after 30 years of guiding people through Venice, rest assured Doug Sassi isn’t going to lead you astray.
There IS great food in Venice, but it’s found around the corner and off the beaten path, and it requires a little digging, a little patience, a little guidance, and a little sense of adventure. But it’s there, and we’ll guarantee you’ll agree.
Not too shabby! Lots of great shots. I’m less and less impressed by some of the Instagram gimmicks out there all the time and think they don’t contribute as much as Instagram wants you to think (the Vatican shot is a prime example…does that really help you get a better sense of the place?), but sometimes they really just nail the feel of the place and provide an emotional understanding a generic iPhone shot won’t.
Where to eat in Pisa!
Discovered this label at La Scala in Baltimore (if you’re in need of a good meal with a gregarious host and you’re in Charm City, that’s where I’d send you) about a decade or so ago. Forza Sudtirol!
Founded in 1848, the Tiefenbrunner Castel Turmhof Winery owes its name to the ancient castle known today as the home of the Tiefenbrunner family. The winery is in the hamlet Entiklar, in the town of Kurtatsch, which is in the South Tyrolean province of Bozen amid the awe-inspiring Italian Alps. Tiefenbrunner produces over 20 types of quality wines, and each bottle receives the attentive care of expert winemakers and owners, Herbert Tiefenbrunner and his son, Christof. Many international awards testify to the quality that results from their generations of experience, with the flagship of Tiefenbrunner being the Müller-Thurgau “Feldmarschall.”
One specially produced wine is the Müller-Thurgau “Feldmarschall von Fenner,” which has been cultivated since 1972 at the Hofstatt vineyard, 1000 meters above sea level. This wine is named for Franz Philipp Freiherr von Fenner zu Fennberg, for whom the estate once served as a summer residence. Viticulture at this…
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Can’t wait for summer tomatoes from the back yard!
Haven’t stayed here yet…but after seeing these pictures, I will soon. Panarea is a small island in the Mediterranean, small and isolated and accessed via hydrofoil. Certainly quite far from the beaten path, which is what so many more of us need to go find.
Who’s with me?
Sassi Italy Tours 