A Place for Renaissance Tours
I recently read a travel article in the New York Times, by Jon Kaltman, entitled “Italy: Travel to Remember.” In this article, Jon Kaltman recommends five places to visit in Italy. Thanks to reader J.D. for pointing me to this article.
The first place he recommends, according to the article, is the ancient city of Rome. According to Jon Kaltman, a retired Army Intelligence Officer, “Rome is a great city to visit. It’s filled with beautiful marble, beautiful buildings, and historical sites, which you can tour.”
The second place he recommends for his next trip is Florence and the Italian lakes. He states, “Florence is a great city to visit. It’s very artistic and Renaissance, and it’s famous for theamps, or streetlights that are basically sculptures of art.” Florence was rated as the number one tourist destination in the magazine, Travel & Leisure, in the March/March Issue. This is good news for Florence and the surrounding area, because tourism is a big part of Italy’s economy.
The third place Jon Kaltman recommends to visitors is the town of Bologna. He says, “Bologna is my favorite city. I drove up and down the hill several times, looking at the gardens, the architecture, and the buildings. I really like Bologna.”
The fourth place Jon Kaltman recommends to travelers visiting Italy in the future, is Treviso. “I enjoyed my time there. Treviso has an old world charm. It’s also very popular. The food is outstanding, the wine is superb, and there’s also a really wonderful organ coming from Campania.” The organ is called the ‘Sagra’, which is pronounced ‘sigh-sigh-ee’.
For another wonderful place to start planning your vacation to Italy, the region of Tuscany is well worth a visit. The Val d’Orcia is a natural park consisting of beautiful rolling hills and is regarded as one of the finest natural parks in Europe. The Val d’Orientale is another wonderful park with rolling hills in the north of Italy. There are also the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Duomo in Siena. These museums will definitely add to your itinerary and are worth a stop for if you have the time. Florence is also a great day trip, although you’ll probably want to stay overnight in Genoa or Bologna if you can.
The last stop on our tour of Italy would be Siena. I was surprised by the fact that there is a direct train service from Florence to Siena. I would like to thank them for this because it has made it much easier for me to get from Florence to Siena. If you do take the train there, be sure to use the tunnel from Siena to Pienza (it’s close to the starting point of the tunnel).
I hope we have enjoyed stopping here in Siena and enjoyed our time there. We have definitely made the most of our time, even though it took us nearly a week to get where we wanted to go. If we ever find ourselves in Florence or Tuscany, we will definitely make it out to see these places again. As we said before, we would like to visit sometime in the future, maybe when we’re a little older, so we could take a look at the Piazza di San Marco in Florence or the Duomo in Siena.
I’m a passionate traveler, writer, and Italophile. My fascination with Italy’s history, art, and culture has led me on countless adventures across the Italian landscape. Through “I Live Italy,” I share my love for this extraordinary country and aims to inspire others to explore its boundless beauty.
