“True wellness exists in 360 degrees, and this is something that Italy does well.”

“…it’s rare to come across a villa, rifugio, palazzo, hotel, museum, that we wouldn’t want to get married in.”

“…the city has long been a hotspot for savvy travelers in search of everything from OG balsamic vinegar to Ferrari and Maserati to a quieter slice of the hilly region.”

“Describing Coppedè is hard–not just because of its beauty (which is difficult enough to put into words), but for its sheer eccentricity.”

“Like all border areas, Valle D’Aosta is the true melting pot of its neighbors France, Switzerland, Piedmont, and Lombardy, and the region’s historic Franco-Provençal influence left lasting effects on the language, the architecture of the massive and fortified castles, and the nature of the people.”

You better believe that when our team takes a holiday, we avoid tourist hotspots like the plague. Instead, you’ll find us in the small villages we used to visit with our families, secluded beach coves where bagni sunbeds don’t cost an arm and a leg, and mountaintops where there is nothing between us and the […]

“The architectural and cultural reconstruction of the area was akin to the rebirth of a phoenix from the flames.”

In Sicily, island life is a vestige of the past–people move languidly under the beating sun; fishermen haul in their catches only for the fish to reappear, moments later, on your plate; and crumbling archeological ruins peek out from secret corners. In the Tyrrhenian sea, there are the Aeolian Islands, counting the Seven Sisters islands […]

Whether you’ve followed Part I of our itinerary and are now halfway through your trip, or you’re starting off here, welcome! There is no such thing as seeing it all in Sicily – the landscape is vast and varied, its architecture and customs change from area to area, and the food…oh the food, is endless […]

“Each of these civilizations left its mark on the city, leaving indelible traces on the cityscape and a dazzling heritage of cathedrals, red earth-colored domes, mosaics, muqarnas ceilings, ogival arches, and majolica.”

“Italy without Sicily leaves no image in the spirit. It is in Sicily that we find the key to everything… The purity of the contours, the softness of everything, the yielding exchange of colors, the harmonious unity of the sky with the sea and the sea with the earth.”    I couldn’t have said it […]

The eastern coast of Sicily is home to the island’s second-largest city Catania, known enigmatically as “the black city”. The color of its buildings, covered in the inky hues of volcanic ash, is testament to the ever-present threat of Mount Etna. Yet, despite the repeated destruction wrought by the volatile mountain, the city has risen […]

“In an ideal conversation with a Rione Sanità local, you will not yet hear of gentrification.”