Italy

By Catherine Sabino Italy may be best known for its epochal cities and dazzling seaside havens, but the country’s hilltop towns and borghi—medieval throwbacks found from the Alpine north to Sicily—also draw throngs of visitors—more than three million trek to San Gimignano alone each year. While the most popular hilltops

By Mark Sissons In a city globally renowned for its exquisite sense of fashion and beauty, the challenge of launching a new boutique five-star hotel is substantial. However, La Gemma Hotel, designed by the esteemed Italian architect Tito Bellini and owned by the Cecchi family, a passionate Florentine clan deeply

By Julie Maris/Semel Snow-capped mountains and multiple rainbows sparkled during the two- hour winding drive from Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport to Abruzzo’s vineyards. The prisms of light illuminated the beautiful and oft-neglected region for drink and nature secreted in the valleys and hills.   Young vintners, as well as

By Beverly Stephen Is it okay to admit we basically went to Rome to eat? We did meet up with some family for a reunion, but by unanimous consent, it was a pasta-fueled one. Blame it on Stanley Tucci. His “Searching for Italy” series stirred up cravings. We did manage

By Larry Olmsted Rome is known as the Eternal City for good reason – year in and year out it is one of the best places on the planet to enjoy an urban vacation. When I walk around Rome I can’t help but wonder if the locals are jaded, since

By Catherine Sabino Madonna di Campiglio, a mountain resort in Italy’s Dolomites, has long been a draw for prominent names, attracting Habsburg monarchs (Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth) in the late 19th century, and more recently, digital “royalty,” like the influential blogger/entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni. While Campiglio may not be

By Ann Abel People tend to talk about Puglia as if it’s just one place—the heel of Italy’s boot, a place of ancient olive trees, whitewashed masserie, the domed little hobbit homes called trulli. It’s a place that celebrates family, slow living, and long lunches under the Adriatic sun. That

By Mark Sissons Long before modern celebrity A-listers like George Clooney, Richard Branson, Gianni Versace and Madonna owned posh waterfront villas here, Lago di Como, the jewel in Northern Italy’s crown of glittering mountain lakes, was a popular retreat for Europe’s wealthy and famous. As far back as ancient Roman

By Catherine Sabino Cinque Terre’s fame has brought Italy’s southern Riviera new attention, with travelers seeking out neighboring villages in search of extra helpings of rustic coastal charm. Portovenere, although an outstanding destination in its own right, has sometimes been dubbed the “sixth” of the five famed hamlets because of

By Catherine Sabino If you’re looking for the Rome of the Romans, you don’t have to travel to an obscure part of the Eternal City to find it; just head to the Via Margutta, a few steps from such tourist magnets as the Piazza di Spagna and Piazza del Popolo.