Martha has traveled extensively in Italy for more than 30 years and she currently has a home in the Lunigiana region, an off the tourist track part of northern Tuscany, where she spends about half the year, using it as a base to explore Italy and getting to know the local food and culture. Follow her writing on Martha's Italy. Martha's travels have included every region of Italy. She enjoys attending traditional festivals, visiting historic sites, exploring undiscovered towns, and sampling the regional cuisine. Her first Italian experiences were on the island of Sardinia, where, as a member of the staff, she helped plan the logistics for an archaeological project, cooked traditional Italian cuisine for the crew, and managed the dig house for five summers. She also participated in a summer archaeological survey on the Salento Peninsula of Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot, walking fields and stopping to interview locals about possible artifacts in the area. Martha wrote the Italy Travel site on About.com for 10 years. She has also written about Italy for the Grand Wine Tour, HomeAway UK blog and Qatar Airlines Inflight Magazine. She wrote two mobile apps, Puglia and Italy Travel Tips, with Sutro Media.
Lazio is the region that surrounds Rome. A variety of interesting sights can be found in Lazio. Top things to see include Roman and Etruscan sites, lakes, Papal palaces, wine, gardens, small hill towns, and the whimsical Bomarzo Monster Park. This region also has a long stretch of coastline with good beaches. Within Lazio is Vatican City, which is really...
Emilia Romagna is known as one of the top culinary regions of Italy and Bologna is a top city for foodies. Three famous foods originate in this region – Parmesan cheese, Parma ham (prosciutto), and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. In addition, many beautiful castles and historic cities with Renaissance and medieval monuments are in this region. Emilia Romagna is in...
Calabria is a long, narrow region with more than 500 miles of coastline bordering the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. The region is known for its pristine beaches and rocky cliffs above the sea. Inland are four mountain ranges with national parks and some of Italy’s highest peaks. Much of this area was settled by the ancient Greeks. Calabria has a...
Basilicata is one of Italy’s regions that’s less visited by tourists. It includes a national park and rocky stretches of coast along the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas with excellent clean, sandy beaches. The inland is interesting to explore although there are not many tourist services in some places. A rental car is recommended since there isn’t much public transportation although...
Italy is a long, narrow country shaped like a boot. Its 20 regions are usually classified as northern, southern, or central. Italy is a diverse country and each region has many interesting places to explore and things to see, from art and historic sites to the natural beauty of its mountains, countryside, and coasts. Each region has its own unique...
The Abruzzo region of central Italy is very scenic. National or regional parks cover much of the area inland. Therefore, mountains and hills, medieval castles and villages, monasteries, and Roman ruins cover the inland area. Abruzzo’s eastern border is on Italy’s eastern coast along the Adriatic Sea. Because it was once divided into three regions, it’s sometimes called the Abruzzi (plural)...
Italy, Italia, is a Mediterranean country in southern Europe that borders the countries of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia along the Alps. Its coasts are primarily on the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. Nearly 4700 miles of coastline make for fantastic beaches and seaside towns to explore. About 40% of the land is mountainous so there is good skiing in winter...
Being inside the Sistine Chapel with only 12 people on an after-hours visit with the Roman Guy.
Central Italy’s Le Marche region and the interior of the island of Sardinia.
That depends on where I’m going. If I’m visiting cities and big towns, I love taking the train, sitting back and enjoying the scenery. For visiting small towns and the countryside, a road trip by car is definitely the best option, not being on a schedule and stopping wherever something looks interesting.
Just about any place I go in Italy I can find something interesting to see or do.