Tagged: italy

Tourist Returns "Cursed" Artifacts She Stole from Pompeii

The Brady Bunch tried to warn you. As the wholesome blended family learned in the sitcom's Hawaii episodes, you can't just grab any ancient artifact you find on vacation. The thing…

In a Covid First, Family Kicked off Cruise for Leaving Shore Excursion

Cruises out of the United States are still banned, but in Europe, where Covid-19 infections are under much better control, cruises are just beginning to resume. MSC Cruises was the…

Tourist Overload: Venice Limits Gondola Capacity Due to Heavier Visitors

The number of passengers allowed at one time aboard the iconic gondolas of Venice is being reduced from six people to five. It sounds like a social distancing thing, but, in fact,…

Sicily Creates Fund to Pay 50% of Vacationers' Costs

Sicily is giving vacationers an offer they can't refuse. The government of this storied Italian island has put aside €500 million (about $595 million) to pay for 50% of the cost of…

Immunity Passports for Travelers: Quick Solution or False Hope?

Every day, it seems, we’re learning more and more about Covid-19. Over the last few weeks—and they feel like years, don’t they?—we’ve learned that loss of taste and smell might be…

Venice's Gondoliers Deliver Food to Isolated Locals Now

It can be difficult, as a visitor, to step off the tourist treadmill in Venice. Until recently, it was a city besieged by tourism, with 60,000 outsiders a day filling streets and…

A Facebook Page for Sharing Window Views from Around the World

"If you want the people to understand you, invite them to your life and let them see the world from your window!" So wrote Turkish novelist and playwright Mehmet Murat ildan. And while…

In Pompeii, An Ancient Brothel Reopens for Visitors

In the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, three residences that had been closed for years due to safety concerns are once again open to the public. The Italian Ministry of Cultural…

It's Literally Illegal for Visitors to Eat in Parts of Italy Now: A Roundup of the New Tourist Laws

You may not have heard, but Italy has been busy passing some new laws recently, and they may end up changing your behavior the next time you go. The laws ban everything from how you…

Rome Bans Souvenir Stands Next to Iconic Sites

Tourists in the market for a Pope Francis bobblehead may have a tougher time finding that souvenir on the streets of Rome this year. The city has banned stalls selling mugs, magnets,…

Bologna's Best Food: A Walking Tour (with Lots of Eating)

Bologna is known throughout Italy as Bologna la Grassa, which means Bologna the Fat. This nickname is well-earned—from ragù to mortadella, the Emilia-Romagna region serves up generous…

The Best Beaches in Italy (And How to Get to Them)

Travelers coming from outside of Europe may not think of Italy as a beach destination. But consider that “the Boot”—including its major islands Sicily and Sardinia and a dozen other…

Talking with Frances Mayes About Her Latest Book, 'See You in the Piazza'

Frances Mayes, author of the memoir Under the Tuscan Sun, is to Tuscan travel what ketchup is to Russian dressing.  For tens of thousands of vacationers, her tale—both the book that…

Venice Has Adopted the Ultimate Means for Reducing Crowds: Admission Fees

Just about everyone will agree that the worst current problem in travel is overtourism—the crowded conditions in the world’s most popular cities and destinations. In places like…

The Leaning Tower of Pisa Is Leaning Less

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is standing a little straighter these days. Engineers say that the tilt of the Italian icon has reduced by about 4cm (1.6 in.), according to news reports.More…

New Rules in Rome Target Rowdy, Boozy Tourists

Italy has just about had it with your nonsense.Straining under the burden of accommodating endless hordes of tourists and their accompanying noise, litter, rowdiness, and traffic…

This Fall, See Rome, Venice, and Florence by Rail for Less Than $25

Traveling by train among Italy's three most popular tourist destinations can be extremely affordable this fall, provided you buy your tickets right now. European travel booking site…

Current Volcanic Eruptions Bring Memories of Vesuvius, Says Arthur Frommer

I have found it odd that in all the media coverage of the eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii, no journalist has drawn a comparison to the eruption of Vesuvius outside…

Floating Bike Path Being Built Around Italy's Lake Garda

A new cycling route that seems destined to be considered one of the world's most beautiful is under construction in northern Italy. Encircling the famously crystal-clear Lake Garda,…

Play the Casanova at New Museum in Venice

Giacomo Casanova belongs to the rare class of historical figures whose names became common nouns. Traitorous World War II-era Norwegian leader Vidkun Quisling and France's lecherous…

Two New Biographies Are Indispensable for Trips Through Europe or America

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are currently purchasing and avidly reading two monumental biographies in book form about two monumental figures in world and American history. In…

You'll Love these Lesser-Known Islands in Italy For a Quiet Vacation

Beyond the well-trod cities and verdant wine regions of Italy's mainland, "the boot" is ringed by picturesque islands, each with its own unique geography, culture, and ambiance. Of…

If You Miss These Southern Italian Dishes, You've Missed Southern Italy's Food

Southern Italy's food—or at least exported, re-created versions of it—is known the world over because so many southern Italians have emigrated elsewhere over the past century or so.…

Upper Levels of Rome's Colosseum Reopening for Tours

The upper tiers of the Colosseum in Rome are reopening to the public for the first time in four decades. The renowned architectural marvel—which dates to the first century A.D. and is…

14 Reasons Calabria Needs to Be Your Next Italy Vacation

Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, is unfairly one of the country’s lesser-known regions among Americans, but it’s long been popular with Europeans, especially for its stunning 500…