Italy - Marcus Travels in Italy

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HIGHLIGHTS OF A MONTH IN ITALY INCLUDE:

Orvieto and Monterubiaglio and a visit with Cooking with Style - Italian chief Velia de Anglis and Gianluca Antoniella who will be opening his Champagneria soon.
Sovana and Pitigliano are some of the interesting small towns in Tuscany.
Alassio, of course is one of the best beaches in Italy and interesting towns not taken over with new development.
Torino was interesting.
Glenn tours of the Aurora Pen Factory, one of the oldest pen manufacturers in Italy.
Santuario di Vicoforte with its elliptical dome.
Tour Piedmont's Langhe wine region scenic, treat yourself stay at the Corte Gondina.
Tolentino is a charming town and the Basilica of S. Nicola da Tolentino is stunning.
Enjoy Tuscany and Umbria, much to see and a great place to stay in Sarteano
Boat trip along the Gargano Coast
Santa Marie di Castellabate, along the Cilento Coast offers a charming village and good beaches.
Rome and a visit to the Vatican. Of course a stop at Novelli Pen is a requirement anytime I have the opportunity to visit Rome. The visit to La Cripta dei Cappuccini interesting on the edge of bizarre.

Our most recent travels took us through a number of regions of Italy that include: Marche, Umbria, Tuscany, Piedmont, Liquria, Apulia, Campania and Lazio. Information on a number of the locations that we found to be out standing is detailed in Great Places To Stay.

Some of the highlights include:

		TURIN/TORINO A city of great architectures. Emanuele Filiberto made Torino or Turin the capital of the Duchy of Savoy in 1563 with grand architecture such as Piazza San Carlo, via Po and the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale). As the Savoy's consolidated their family (everyone needed a palace) more building took place in Turin and the surrounding Piedmonte area.
		ORVIETO Orvieto is one of the best cities in Umbria. The cathedral is stunning, there are great restaurants and shopping. We enjoyed a procession involving medieval costumes. See Umbria
		ALASSIO This town has the balance between development and historic charm. One of the best beaches in Italy. See Great Places to Stay
		PIEDMONT An interesting region with castles and palaces (the Savoy's set this area as their home base) as well as some of the best vineyards in Italy. The Langhe Valley offers great scenery with hill top towns, old castles, and a patchwork of colours. See Piedmont and Great Places to Stay. The Santurario di Vicoforte has the largest oval dome around. Impressive.
		MARCHE The Marche has interesting sights and is still relatively low on the tourist scene. There are numerous impressive medieval towns to visit. The visit to the Basilica of S. Nicola da Tolentino is stunning.
		TUSCANY AND UMBRIA Tuscany and Umbria are favorites. As you drive the small roads you will be surprised how often you cross back and both between these two regions. See: Orvieto • Monterubiaglio • Montepulciano • Abbazia di Sant' Antimo We stayed at a Great Places to Stay.
		APULIA The Promontorio dei Gargano is a little bump on the east coast quite different that the traditional Adriatic coastline. Peshici - See Gargano in Travel Journal
		CAMPANIA Cilento Coast of Compania is one of the destinations for Italians. Some think of it as Amalfi Light but the coast is not as dramatic and the feel is very different. Some of the towns are targeted vacations and lack appeal. Santa Maria di Castellabate was an exception and a great place to use as a base for the area..
		LATIUM Rome for the last two days. Perfect way to end an Italian vacation. Having re-read the Robert Hutchinson's "When in Rome" a another visit to the Vatican was a must. Ranking next is a visit to Novelli Pen for Glenn. La Cripta dei Cappuccini was very interesting. We enjoyed what has become one of our Rome walks: Spanish Steps, Fontana Trevi, Novelli Pen, Pantheon and Piazza Navona. There is no better way to spend a day.