Italy Travel Tips for Americans

(updated May 2008)

In January 1999, my girlfriend and I saw a $399 round-trip airfare to Rome advertised on the internet. The deal was offered for late March. We had both wanted to return to Italy for quite a long time. Finally, as an old Nike ad said, Just do it!, we did. Since then, weve been back more than ten times, have re-visited other countries, and plan to return to Italy again and again.

On each trip we study a different aspect of ancient, medieval or renaissance history, or religious art. We do our own planning, and ... (more)

0. Me in Firenze
Standing at the Piazza Michealangelo that overlooks Florence. (November 1999)

1. Lodging - Cefalu/Collegio di Maria
The Collegio di Maria convent (arrow) is located in the centro storico of the...

1. Lodging - Firenze/Oblate d'Assunzione
On each visit to Florence, we stayed at the convent of the Oblate...

1. Lodging - Firenze/Oblate d'Assunzione
Comfortable gardens.

1. Lodging - Giardini Naxos/Arathena
We stayed at Atathena Rocks in Giardinni Naxos. This is a great hotel that is...

1. Lodging - Giardini Naxos/Arathena
This is the view from the balcony of our room at the Atathena Rocks in...

1. Lodging - Giardini Naxos/Arathena
This is the of our room at the Atathena Rocks in Giardinni Naxos. This is a...

1. Lodging - Intra Verbania/Il Chiostro
This hotel was on the cover of the "Beds and Blessings" book....

1. Lodging - Intra Verbania/Il Chiostro
This is the front entrance. Parking seems competitive, but we always found a...

1. Lodging - Lipari/Mendolita Residenza
While in Lipari (Eolian Islands) we stayed at Mendolita Residence in a studio...

1. Lodging - Monterosso Hotel VillaSteno
The Hotel Villa Steno's Breakfast Patio provides a peaceful and...

1. Lodging - Monterosso Hotel VillaSteno
This is a view of Monterosso from the ferry approaching the dock. The pink...

1. Lodging - Naples/Hotel Paridiso
Breakfast at the Hotel Paridiso is served on a terrace overlooking the Bay of...

1. Lodging - Napoli/Hotel Paridiso
The Hotel Paridiso provides an excellent breakfast with a breathtaking...

1. Lodging - Rome/Instituto San Guiliana
We have stayed here three times so far. The Instituto San Guiliana...

1. Lodging - Rome/Villa Lituania
Founded in 1945, the Villa is run by the Sisters of St. Catherine to...

1. Lodging - Sciacca/Verdetechnica
Verdetechnica is perched high on a hill overlooking fields of flowers and the...

1. Lodging - Sciacca/Verdetechnica
The Verdetechnica farmhouse that we rented was so authentic that it came...

1. Lodging - Siracusa/Domus Mariae
The Domus Mariae was one of the convents listed in the "Beds and...

1. Lodging - Varenna/Villa Cipressi
A centuries old chateau whose rooms have agreat view of Lake Como. We had the...

1. Lodging - Verona/Hotel Bologna
The Hotel Bologna (with the green awning) is in the historical district of...

1. Lodging - Verona/Residenza Verona Hse
On another trip, we rented an apartment at the Residenza Verona House. It is...

2. Eating - Bologna Specialty Shop
Remember that any fresh food you buy in Italy, needs to be eaten...

2. Eating - Bologna Specialty Shop
Tasty window shopping. Remember that any fresh food you buy in Italy,...

2. Eating - Cefalu Sicily
Early morning delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables to the restaurants and...

2. Eating - Ercolano Market Day
(April 2000)

2. Eating - Ferrara Bakery Shop Window
Tasty window shopping. (November 2001)

2. Eating - Firenze Cafes
Even at a cafe there is a possibility you may be joined by feathered...

2. Eating - Firenze Piazza Santa Croce
One of the perils of picnicking is the possibility of a pigeon...

2. Eating - Firenze/Fresh Hot Chestnuts
During a fall evening walk, hot chestnuts are available to take the...

2. Eating - Firenze/Mercato Centrale
This is where you can purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and...

2. Eating - Mount Etna/La Capannina
We drove to Mt. Etna from the east approach to see the lava flows near...

2. Eating - Naples Gelato
Gelato is a treat specific to Italy. It is not to be confused with...

2. Eating - Pompeii Citrus Market
Outside the Pompeii Archeological Park entrance several vendors...

2. Eating - Ravenna Mercato Centrale
After looking at Ravenna's mosaics, you can purchase fresh fruits,...

2. Eating - Rome
This Roman restaurant captializes on one of the frustrations facing...

2. Eating - Rome/Campo di Fiore Market
You can stop and enjoy a coffee while contemplating the ingredients...

2. Eating - Rome/Campo di Fiore Market
Early deliveries to the morning marketplace. (November 2003)

2. Eating - Rome/Campo di Fiore Market
Fresh, flavorful and colorful.

2. Eating - Rome/Campo di Fiore Market
Procuitto di Parma at the Butter and Cheese Shop.

2. Eating - Rome/Castel San Angelo
There is a cafe on the upper level of the Castel San Angelo, with an...

2. Eating - Sorrento
The sidewalk cafes offer great views of the sights around the city center....

2. Eating - Torino Market
The large outdoor/indoor daily market in Torino provides many...

2. Eating - Venice/Rialto Market
Venice's main market operates in the mornings near the Rialto bridge. The...

2. Eating - Verona Piazza Bra
When eating outside, if you fail to clean your plate, the pigeons will...

3. Shopping - Firenze/San Lorenzo Market
One of the largest outdoor markets is open most days come rain or shine....

3. Shopping - Naples/Presepe
The Via San Gregorio Armeno, just off the Spacanapoli in Naples is noted for...

3. Shopping - Rome/Religious Goods
There are many religious goods stores near Vatican City. (November 2003)

3. Shopping - Volterra/Alabaster display
(November 2001)

4. Driving - Firenze/Florence Rush hour
This rush hour near the Uffizi Palace in Florence may look different than...

4. Driving - Rome
This brave gent directs traffic near the Piazza Venezia, which, in my humble...

4. Driving - Rome Parking Ticket
This is the first parking ticket we ever saw issued in Rome. Up until...

4. Driving - Rome Police Tow Parked Car
Apparently, enough is enough even in the creative parking capital of...

4. Driving - Sicily/Cefalu
I was nervous driving my rental car down the same streets as this bus. The...

4. Driving - Sicily/Giarre Goats
On the the way home to Giardini-Naxos from Mount Etna, we encountered...

4. Driving - Sicily/Siracusa
Picturesque Twilight driving along the seaside road on Ortiga Island...

4. Driving - Sicily/Taormina
When driving, be sure to check under the car before starting up and...

4. Driving - Sicily/Taormina
The roads to Taormina are steep. If you're squeemish about narrow...

4. Driving - Sicily/Tindari
Outside the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna at Tindari the souvenir stands...

4. Driving - Verona/Car-Free Piazza Bra
When driving, be alert so you do not drive into "Pedonale" or...

5. Rail Travel - Assisi Trenitalia
The station is in the lower part of town. The old city and monastery is up on...

5. Rail Travel - Centovalli Railway
This narrow guage line connects Locarno, Switzerland with Domodossola in the...

5. Rail Travel - Centovalli Railway
The narrow-guage Centovalli Railway provides miles of scenic beauty between...

5. Rail Travel - Condove/Trenitalia
A short trip from the Torino (Turin) train station brings you to...

5. Rail Travel - Corniglia/Trenitalia
There is frequent local service in the Cinque Terre area. (April 2006)

5. Rail Travel - Ercolano/Circumvesuvia
Redecorated train to Naples at the Ercolano (Hercuaneum) Station. The...

5. Rail Travel - Ferrara/Trenitalia
Commuter parking lots may have as many bicycles as cars. (November 2001)

5. Rail Travel - Monterosso/Trenitalia
Frequent local service connects the towns of the "Cinque Terre"...

5. Rail Travel - Naples Mergellina Stn
This is a beautiful old-fashioned but modernized station that serves...

5. Rail Travel - Pisa/Trenitalia
Unofficially decorated train in the Pisa Station. (April 1999)

5. Rail Travel - Sicily/Himera Temple
South of Palermo in Sicily, Trenitalia tracks are close by the temple at the...

5. Rail Travel - Sicily/Taormina
The train station for Taormina is at sea level. Visitors need to ride the...

5. Rail Travel - Sicily/Trenitalia

5. Rail Travel - Venezia/Trenitalia
Recently redecorated train in the station at Venice. (May 2001)

5. Rail Travel - Vernazza/Trenitalia
Frequent local service connects the towns of the "Cinque Terre"...

5. Rail Travel - Vernazza/Trenitalia
Frequent local service connects residents and travelers to all the...

6. Buses - Napoli/Finicula
Because of its hills, Naples has several finicule (inclined railways) to move...

6. Buses - Regione Campania Archeobus
A single fare allows you to ride this archeobus which makes 16 stops at...

6. Buses - Roma Archeobus
The Archeobus in Rome makes the rounds of many of the most popular...

6. Buses - Rome Tram
This Tram stop is at Piazza Argentina. We used it to connect to the Airport...

6. Buses - Torino Tram
Torino (Turin) has an extensive and convenient public transit system. (April...

6. Buses - Venezia Traghetto
The traghetto is similar to a gondola, except it ferries passengers across...

6. Buses - Venezia Vapporetto
The vaporetto (water bus) on the Grand Canal in Venice's form of bus...

6. Buses - Vernazza / Cinque Terre Ferry
The ferry provides a scenic alternative to the train service for getting from...

7. Security - Cefalu Sicily
Carabinieri patrol the narrow streets near the duomo. (November 2002)

7. Security - Naples
Armed carabinieri protect a government building. (November 2002)

7. Security - Rome/San Pietro Station
A team of police officers protect the San Pietro Train Station in Rome.

7. Security - Vatican City
The Swiss Guard control access to the non-public areas of Vatican City.

7. Security - Vatican City
Many Swiss Guards and Vatican Police Officers are present at the papal...

7. Security - Vatican City/Benedict XVI
There was a high level of police presence at Vatican City following...

7. Security - Venezia Carabinieri boats

7. Security - Venezia Police Patrol Boat
Since Venice is a city with canals instead of streets, it is natural that the...

8. Accessibility - Assisi Reconstruction
Several years after the severe earthquake, many parts of old Assisi...

article published 03/02/2006

Comments

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Thanks so much for the in-depth tour of Italy! I know this took a lot of effort and it will be helpful to us when we go to Rome & Florence in Mar. 07
— Joyce, December 8, 2007

An excellent article, Tim (and wonderful photos). We have just returned to UK from our vacation in Sorrento and Sicily. Your comments and advice will be very helpful to first time visitors to Italy, and good reminders to those who visit again ..... and again .... well, it is such a lovely country! I found myself comparing many of the facilities you mention with what I experienced while we were in US (Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Wichita and Ark City) last year! It must have taken some time and effort to put this all together .... it's a wonderful mini-handbook! It will, I'm sure, be helpful to many travellers. Thank you.
— Judy Greenfield, June 21, 2007

Great advice! Couldn't agree with you more. My wife and I are about to leave for our third trip and we can't wait. Loved the people, the food, restaurants, etc., and the wonderfully hospitable Italians.
— Joe S, February 3, 2007

Very helpful article and beautiful photos!
— sally, August 13, 2006

We will be travelling to Italy Oct 2006. We found the article to be very helpful and thorough. I am impressed at how much time this kind fellow took to help others out! If the author is reading this, thank you!
— Chris, April 18, 2006

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