Archive for May, 2010

Starting today, you’ll notice a new feature on our blog: Ask Roberto. Driver in Italy owner Roberto G. Melaragno has spent his adult life in Italy and would like to share his knowledge of Italian culture, customs, tours of Italy and Italian travel with you. In Roberto’s own words:

I was born in Canada and moved to Italy when I was twelve, where I began to merge my North American upbringing with the beautiful culture and language of Italy.

Over 15 years ago, I started Driver in Italy, with a view to creating the most efficient, professional and personal private driver service in Europe. Meeting people from all over the world, helping them get the service they need and showing them our destinations is our focus, and part of what makes my company special.

Roberto is ready to answer your questions about Italy and beyond! Simply go to the Ask Roberto page and ask away. In addition to responding to each question, Roberto will regularly select a question from the submissions and profile the response in a blog post right here on the Driver in Italy Travel Blog!

Image: Galleria degli Uffizi, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from gaspa’s photostream

Italy is home to some of the most famous art in history. Art is found all over in Italy: framed and on display, in the middle of a courtyard and sometimes art is the building you’re standing in. Instead of trying to cover all of Italy’s art in one entry, let’s break it down a couple places at a time. Today: The Uffizi Gallery and The Galleria dell’Accademia.

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy is one of Italy’s most popular tourist attractions and is housed in a former palace that dates back to 1560. While serving as a state building, the Uffizi’s original occupants, the Medici family, filled it with art and sculptures. In 1765, the Museum was opened to the public as one of the first modern museums.

The Birth of Venus

Today, The Uffizi Gallery is home to some of the most recognizable paintings in the world. These include:

• Sandro Bottecelli’s The Birth of Venus (pictured, right)
• Caravaggio’s Bacchus and Medusa
• Titian’s Venus of Urbino
• Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo
• Leonardo da Vinci’s The Adoration of the Magi
• Raphel’s Madonna of the Goldfinch

The Uffizi Gallery can be very busy and wait times to get in during the summer season can top 5 hours. Booking a ticket in advance will reduce your wait time.

While you’re seeing Art in Florence, a trip to the Galleria dell’Accademia is a natural stop. The Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze, which houses the Galleria, is Europe’s first drawing academy and still a functioning art school today. While providing a much smaller collection than that of the Uffizi, the Galleria dell’Accademia is home to perhaps the most famous statue in art history, Michelangelo’s David. Originally placed in the nearby Piazza della Signoria, the Accademia has housed the statue since 1873. Many other Renaissance paintings including those by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Paolo Uccello, and Giambologna are included in the collection.

Driver In Italy can make your art trip to Florence even easier by providing transportation, tickets, and your own professional, English-speaking tour guide. Check out the Guided Visit to the Uffizi & Accademy Galleries package on our website for more details.

Image: Gnocchi al Granchio, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from harshlight’s photostream

There are few countries in the world that can compete with the Italian love of food. Beyond being simple nourishment, food is a way of life for Italians and it’s not hard to understand why. With Italy’s Mediterranean climate making lands fertile for all variety of crops, Italians can trace their food history all the way back to the fourth century BC. While “Italian food” to you may be synonymous with spaghetti and pizza, there is so much more to Italian cuisine. There’s even a whole industry of Italy tourism dedicated solely to the food inclined (or beverage, if you’d like a wine tour of Italy).

The differences begin before the food is even on the table. Eating is a family event for Italians and a traditional dinner consists of at least 4 courses: Antipasto (appetizers), Primo (a first course, usually a starch), Secondo (second course, your meat or fish) and Contorno (side dish of vegetables, sometimes served alongside the Secondo). While a full traditional dinner may not be an every day event for an average Italian, the spirit of the feast lives on in the amazing restaurants you’ll no doubt visit during your tour of Italy.

You can stick to your old standbys of pizza and spaghetti during your Italy vacation, but it’s much more fun to try new things… you’re on vacation, after all! Gnocchi, potato dumplings in sauce (pictured above), are one of my favorites and you haven’t really had spaghetti or risotto until you’ve had a real Italian spaghetti carbonara or Seafood risotto in a coastal town. For a Secondo, try some ossobuco (braised veal shanks) or whatever the catch of the day is. If you’re really adventurous, have an Insalata di Mare (seafood salad, usually consisting of squid, scallops and octopus) for your Contorno.

We could really go on and on about the food in Italy (and probably will do more later). For now, if you want to know more about Italian cuisine (and see new mouthwatering pictures every day) check out the great Italian food blogs Parla Food and Not Only Pizza.

Image: Giro d’Italia in Leiden, a Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivative-Works (2.0) image from archeon’s photostream

The Giro D’Italia (or Tour of Italy) is Italy’s answer to the Tour d’France. For three weeks in May or June every year, cyclists and cycling fans from around the world come to Italy (and nearby countries) to watch one of the most exciting cycling events of the year.

The first Giro d’Italia was run in 1909, but while the event may be over a hundred years old, this year marks the 93rd Giro (the race was suspended during both WWI and WWII). The race consists of 21 stages, ranging from just over 5 miles to 159 miles. At the end of each stage, the overall leader is given a pink jersey to wear. At the end of the last stage, the cyclist with the fastest time wins the Giro. There are also special awards given based on mountain times, points and youth classifications.

While the Giro began in Italy, in recent years the stages have branched out across Europe. This year’s Giro began on May 8th in Amsterdam. After spending the first three stages in the Netherlands, the race will move today to Italy, kicking off in Savigliano. The stages will make their way thoughout Italy before ending in Verona on May 30th.

As an annual event, the Giro d’Italia is something that you don’t want to miss on your May tour of Italy. When you’re traveling to Italy, make sure to check the Giro schedule and plan to be in one of the Italian towns that the race passes through. Driver in Italy can put together a special Italy package to take to to one or all of the Giro stages so you don’t miss any of the action

Throughout the history of filmmaking, Italy has been a top destination for location filming. Searching on The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) for movies with filming locations in Italy will bring up over 6000 results including television series, new releases and American and Italian film classics. Whether it’s the scenic locations or the excuse for a vacation that draws filmmakers to Italy, visiting the sights of movie classics has become an area of Italy tourism all unto itself. Here are my top three Italy Movie Destinations to put on your Italy Itinerary:

3. Casa di Giulietta – Verona (as seen in Letters to Juliet)

Okay, maybe this one’s cheating a little bit, as I haven’t actually seen the movie yet, but The House of Juliet and her famous Balcony transcend film into theatre significance, as well. For hundreds of years, people have been visiting the balcony said to be the one where Juliet spoke to Romeo in Fair Verona. In early 2009, the city of Verona began allowing sets of star-crossed (and not so star-crossed) lovers to wed at the romantic venue.

2. Venice (As seen in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade)

Ah, Venice, indeed! When in Venice and in need of a chase scene, of course you’d be using gondolas instead of cars! Not quite my idea of an Italy cruise, but certainly a fun, iconic scene. Fun Fact: When Indy pops up from under the street in the middle of a square, he’s in Campo San Barnaba.

1. La Bocca della Verita – Rome (As seen in Roman Holiday)

The most iconic scene in a movie filmed entirely on location in Rome, this moment at the Mouth of Truth made millions fall in love with Audrey Hepburn. It’s Hollywood lore that Gregory Peck actually improvised his bit in this clip, making her reaction 100% genuine. The Mouth (actually, an ancient drain cover from the viaduct system) is located on the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Piazza Bocca della Verita.