Frommer's Italy 2018

Florence’s Duomo.

Just speak the word Italy, and you can already see it. The noble stones of ancient Rome and the Greek temples of Sicily. The wine hills of Piedmont and Tuscany, the ruins of Pompeii, and the secret canals and crumbling palaces of Venice. For centuries, visitors have come here looking for their own slice of la dolce vita , and for the most part, they have found it.

Nowhere in the world is the impact of the Renaissance felt more than in its birthplace, Florence, whose vast repository of art includes works left by Masaccio, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and many, many others. Much of the known world was once ruled from Rome, a city supposedly founded by twins Romulus and Remus in 753

b.c.

There’s no place with more artistic treasures—not even Venice, a seemingly impossible floating city whose beauty and history was shaped by its centuries of trade with the Byzantine and Islamic worlds to the east.

Of course, there’s more. Long before Italy was a country, it was a loose collection of city-states. Centuries of alliance and rivalry left a legacy of art and architecture in Verona, with its Shakespearean romance and intact Roman Arena; and in Mantua, which blossomed during the Renaissance under the Gonzaga dynasty. Padua and its sublime Giotto frescoes are within easy reach of Venice, too. In Siena, ethereal art and Gothic palaces survive, barely altered since the city’s 1300s heyday.

A millennium earlier, the eruption of Vesuvius in

a.d.

79 preserved Pompeii and Herculaneum under volcanic ash. They remain the best places to get close-up with everyday life in the Roman era. The buildings of ancient Greece still stand at Paestum, in Campania, and at sites on Sicily, the Mediterranean’s largest island. Cave dwellings, frescoed rupestrian churches, and even a rock cathedral honeycomb one side of Matera, in Basilicata.

Dining Italian style at alfresco cafe near the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Monteriggioni.

The corrugated, vine-clad hills of the Chianti and the cypress-studded, emerald-green expanses of the Val d’Orcia serve up iconic images of Tuscany. Adventurous walkers of all ages can hike between the coastal villages of the Cinque Terre, where you can travel untroubled by the 21st century. Whether it’s seafood along the Sicilian coast, pizza in Naples, pasta in Bologna, pesto in Genoa, or the red Barolo and Barbaresco wines of Piedmont, your taste buds are in for an adventure of their own. Milan and Florence are centers of world fashion. Welcome to La Bella Italia.

Italy’s best Authentic Experiences

Bull_rbull.jpg Dining Italian style: There is probably no pastime more cherished than eating. No genuinely national cuisine dominates: Each region and city has its own recipes handed down over the generations. If the weather is fine and you’re dining outdoors, perhaps with a view of a medieval church or a vineyard, you’ll find the closest thing to food heaven. Buon appetito!

Bull_rbull.jpg Exploring Rome’s Mercato di Testaccio: In 2012 the old Testaccio Market made way for a glass-paneled, modernist beauty, across the street from Rome’s MACRO museum. Mingle with busy signore whose trolleys are chock-full of celery, carrots, and onions for the day’s ragù, grab a slice of focaccia or some Roman street food, and soak up the authentic flavors of the Eternal City. See p. 152.

Catching an opera at Verona’s Roman Arena.

Bull_rbull.jpg Cicchetti and a spritz in Venice: Cicchetti—tapas-like small servings, usually eaten while standing at a bar—are a Venetian tradition. To make the experience complete, accompany the cicchetti with a spritz made with Aperol and sparkling prosecco wine from the Veneto hills. Your options are numerous, but some of the best spots to indulge are on the San Polo side of the Rialto Bridge. See p. 430.

Bull_rbull.jpg Catching an opera at Verona’s Arena: In summer, Italians enjoy their opera under the stars. The setting for Italy’s largest and most famous outdoor festival is the ancient Arena di Verona, a site that’s grand enough to accommodate as many elephants as might be needed for a performance of Aïda. See p. 453.

Bull_rbull.jpg Slowing down to Italy pace: Nothing happens quickly here: Linger over a glass of wine from the Tuscan hills, slurp a gelato made with seasonal fruit, enjoy the evening passeggiata (ritual walk) just like the locals. They call it Slow Food for a reason.

Italy’s best Restaurants

Bull_rbull.jpg Ottava Nota (Palermo): Palermo’s old Arab quarter, the Kalsa is buzzing once again, especially at this place, which takes a creative angle on Sicilian cuisine. Ingredients come straight from the city’s famous produce markets. See p. 745.

Bull_rbull.jpg Trattoria dal Biassanot (Bologna): Just about every restaurant in Bologna lays claim to the original sauce alla bolognese, but many connoisseurs agree this is the best. Under the wood beams of a gracious bistro, you can sample light-as-a-feather pastas, then mop the plate clean with their homemade bread. See p. 358.

Bull_rbull.jpg Taverna San Giuseppe (Siena): A long, brick-vaulted room from the 12th century is the atmospheric setting for hand-rolled pici with a ragù of cinghiale (wild boar), ricotta-filled gnudi, and other expert takes on Tuscan comfort food. This is a place many travelers long remember as their best meal in Italy. See p. 242.

Bull_rbull.jpg Ai Artisti (Venice): Venice’s culinary rep is founded on the quality of the catch at its famous fish market. Both primi and secondi at Ai Artisti feature the freshest fish from the lagoon and farther afield. See p. 436.

Italy’s best Hotels

Bull_rbull.jpg Villa Spalletti Trivelli (Rome): Recent upgrades have only enhanced the unique experience of staying in a neoclassical mansion in the middle of the capital. Opulence plus impeccable, understated service comes at a price, of course. When our lottery numbers come up, we will be booking a stay here—a long one. See p. 131.

Bull_rbull.jpg Santa Caterina (Amalfi): Another favorite splurge on the peninsula, Santa Caterina is not outrageously posh, just magically transporting, with a setting in citrus groves above the sea. Ceramic tiles, a smattering of antiques, and sea-view terraces grace the rooms, and a garden path and elevator descend to a private beach. Shoulder season rates and special offers help bring the cost out of the stratosphere. See p. 657.

Bull_rbull.jpg Palazzo Tolomei (Florence): A palace where Raphael once stayed—and perhaps even gifted its former owners a painting in lieu of rent—sounds grand, and you won’t be disappointed. The Renaissance layout and a baroque redecoration from the 1600s are intact. See p. 204.

Bull_rbull.jpg La Bandita Townhouse (Pienza): In huge, loftlike guest quarters, distressed leather armchairs, slinky divans, and freestanding tubs are set against honey-colored stone walls and old beams. Complementing this contemporary twist on a Tuscan village home are a lovely garden and views over dreamy Val d’Orcia countryside. See p. 254.

Bull_rbull.jpg Fra I Sassi Residence (Matera): Staying in a cave is an experience in itself, especially when accommodations are as stylish and comfortable as these. All open onto a meandering, sunny terrace that provides a front-row seat on a sculpture-like cluster of cave dwellings that tumble down surrounding cliffs. See p. 702.

Italy’s best for Families

Bull_rbull.jpg Climbing Pisa’s wonky tower (Tuscany): Are we walking up or down? Pleasantly disoriented kids are bound to ask as you spiral your way to the rooftop-viewing balcony atop one of the world’s most famous pieces of botched engineering. Pisa is an easy day trip from Florence, and 8 is the minimum age for heading up its Torre Pendente, or Leaning Tower. See p. 297.

Bull_rbull.jpg Acquario di Genova (Liguria): After museums, churches, palaces, and more museums, Genoa’s aquarium is a welcome change of direction, for everyone in the family. It may not be as large as some North American super-aquariums, but it is beautifully designed (by architect Renzo Piano) and houses sharks, seals, and much weird and wonderful sea life, as well as a hummingbird sanctuary and great educational exhibits. See p. 547.

Bull_rbull.jpg Exploring underground Naples: There is more to Naples than you can see at eye level. Head below its maze of streets to see the remains of ancient Greek and Roman cities. As well as the Ágora and Forum, families can tour catacombs used for centuries to bury the Christian dead and tunnels that sheltered refugees from the cholera epidemic of 1884 and the bombs of World War II. See p. 577.

Bull_rbull.jpg A trip to an artisan gelateria: Blue Smurf or bubble-gum-pink flavors are a pretty clear indication of color enhancers, and ice crystals or grainy texture are telltale signs of engineered gelato. Gelato in fluffy heaps, however pretty, have been built with additives and air pumped into the blend—so steer clear. Authentic gelaterie produce good stuff from scratch daily, with fresh seasonal produce and less bravado, along with a short ingredient list posted proudly for all to see. Check Where to Eat and Gelato sections in individual chapters for our favorites: Rome (p. 140) and Florence (p. 215) have several genuine gelato artisans. Believe us when we say: You will taste the difference.

Bottlenose dolphins swim in Genoa’s Acquario di Genova.

Italy’s most Overrated

Bull_rbull.jpg Campo de’ Fiori (Rome): Yes, the piazza is stunning: It’s the only square in Rome without a church, and the Renaissance light bounces off ochre and burnt-sienna facades. But between 8am and 3pm, it is a busy market where goods are geared toward (and priced for) tourists, not locals. Wait for the departure of the last boisterous pigeons and the vendors selling aprons embossed with the sculpted abs of Michelangelo’s David, and grab a slice of real Rome at sunset, when Campo de’ Fiori reclaims its local, intimate, old Rome face. See p. 151.

Bull_rbull.jpg Ponte Vecchio (Florence): Sorry, lovers, but this isn’t even the prettiest bridge in Florence, let alone one of the world’s great spots for romantics. It’s haphazard by design, packed at all hours, and hemmed in by shops that cater mostly to tourism. For a special moment with a loved one—perhaps even to pop the question—head downstream one bridge to the Ponte Santa Trínita. Built in the 1560s by Bartolomeo Ammanati, its triple-ellipse design is pure elegance in stone. At dusk, it is also one of Florence’s best spots to photograph the Ponte Vecchio…if you must. See p. 184.

Bull_rbull.jpg Capri (Campania): We hate to say anything bad about such an enchanting beauty, but Capri falls victim to its justified popularity. Arrive in midsummer on a day excursion, corral through the gardens of Augustus, ride a boat through the Blue Grotto, shell out 5€ for a bottle of water. You will wish you could spend the night here, to enjoy the scenery and sparkling-white towns after the day-trippers leave, or to walk the scented flower paths early on a spring morning. Any of which, of course, you can and should do. See p. 670.

Italy’s best Museums

Bull_rbull.jpg Vatican Museums (Rome): The 100 galleries that constitute the Musei Vaticani are loaded with papal treasures accumulated over the centuries. Musts include the Sistine Chapel, such ancient Greek and Roman sculptures as Laocoön and Belvedere Apollo, the frescoed stanze executed by Raphael (among which is his School of Athens), and endless collections of Greco-Roman antiquities and Renaissance art by European masters. See p. 78.

Bull_rbull.jpg Galleria degli Uffizi (Florence): This U-shaped High Renaissance building designed by Giorgio Vasari was the administrative headquarters, or uffizi (offices), for the dukes of Tuscany when the Medici called the shots around here. It’s now the crown jewel of Europe’s fine-art museums, housing the world’s greatest collection of Renaissance paintings, including iconic works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. See p. 176.

Bull_rbull.jpg Accademia (Venice): One of Europe’s great museums houses an unequaled array of Venetian paintings, exhibited chronologically from the 13th to the 18th century. Walls are hung with works by Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, and Tintoretto. See p. 407.

Bull_rbull.jpg Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples): Come to see the mosaics and frescoes from Pompeii and Herculaneum—the original of the much-reproduced Cave Canem (Beware of the Dog) mosaic is here, as are the Villa of the Papyri frescoes. Much else awaits you, including the Farnese Bull—which once decorated Rome’s Terme di Caracalla—and some of the finest statuary to survive from ancient Europe. See p. 591.

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums.

Bull_rbull.jpg Museo Egizio (Turin): With a dazzling new refit unveiled in 2015, Turin’s Egyptology museum has doubled in size and now has the finest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside Cairo. See p. 515.

Bull_rbull.jpg Santa Maria della Scala (Siena): The building is as much the star as the collections. This was a hospital from medieval times until it closed in the 1990s, and its frescoed wards, ancient chapels and sacristy, and labyrinthine basement floors were gradually revealed for public viewing. See p. 237.

Italy’s best Free Things to Do

Bull_rbull.jpg Getting rained on in Rome’s Pantheon: People often wonder whether the 9m (30-ft.) oculus in the middle of the Pantheon’s dome has a glass covering. Visit this ancient temple in the middle of a downpour for your answer: The oculus is open to the elements, transforming the interior into a giant shower on wet days. In light rain, the building fills with mist, but during a full-fledged thunderstorm, the drops come down in a perfect shaft, splattering on the polychrome marble floor. Come on Pentecost to be rained on by a cloud of rose petals. See p. 100.

Bull_rbull.jpg Surrendering to the madness of a Palermo market: In Sicily’s capital—a crossroads between East and West for some 2,000 years—the chaotic, colorful street theater is a vignette of a culture that often feels more Middle Eastern than European. The Vucciria isn’t what it was, however: Focus on the Capo and Ballarò markets. See p. 747.

Bull_rbull.jpg Watching the sun rise over the Roman Forum: A short stroll from the Capitoline Hill down Via del Campidoglio to Via di Monte Tarpeo brings you to a perfect outlook: The terrace behind the Michelangelo-designed square provides a momentary photo op when the sun rises behind the Temple of Saturn, illuminating the archaeological complex below in pink-orange light. Early risers can reward themselves with breakfast in the bakeries of the nearby Jewish Ghetto. See chapter 4.

The Pantheon, Rome’s best-preserved ancient building.

Bull_rbull.jpg Discovering you’re hopelessly lost in Venice: You haven’t experienced Venice until you have turned a corner convinced you’re on the way to somewhere, only to find yourself smack against a canal with no bridge, or in a little courtyard with no way out. All you can do is shrug, smile, and give the city’s maze of narrow streets another try, because getting lost in Venice is a pleasure. See chapter 9.

Bull_rbull.jpg Driving the Amalfi Coast: The SS163, the road of 1,000 bends, hugs vertical cliffs and deep gorges, cutting through olive groves, lemon terraces, and whitewashed villages—against a background of the bluest ocean you can picture. One of the world’s classic drives, it provokes fear, nausea, and wonder in equal doses; the secret is to make sure someone else is at the wheel. Someone you trust. See p. 652.

Italy’s best Architectural Landmarks

Bull_rbull.jpg Brunelleschi’s dome (Florence): It took the genius of Filippo Brunelleschi to work out how to raise a vast dome over the huge hole in Florence’s cathedral roof. Though rejected for the commission to cast the bronze doors of the Baptistery, Filippo didn’t sulk. He went away and became the city’s greatest architect, and the creator of one of Italy’s most recognizable landmarks. See p. 175.

Bull_rbull.jpg The Gothic center of Siena (Tuscany): The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo stands at the heart of one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities. Steep, canyonlike streets, icons of Gothic architecture like the Palazzo Pubblico, and Madonnas painted on gilded altarpieces transport you back to a time before the Renaissance. See p. 225.

Bull_rbull.jpg Pompeii (Campania): When Mt. Vesuvius blew its top in a.d. 79, it buried Pompeii under molten lava and ash, ending the lives of perhaps 35,000 citizens and suspending the city in a time capsule. Today, still under the shadow of the menacing volcano, this poignant ghost town can be coaxed into life with very little imagination. See p. 620.

Detail of a preserved fresco from Pompeii.

Bull_rbull.jpg Valley of the Temples, Agrigento (Sicily): The Greeks built these seven temples overlooking the sea to impress, and their honey-colored columns and pediments still do. Seeing these romantic ruins—some, like the Temple of Concordia, beautifully preserved; others like the Temple of Juno, timeworn but still proud—is an experience of a lifetime. See p. 777.

Bull_rbull.jpg Castel del Monte (Puglia): If the 13th-century castle that Frederick II built above the fertile Puglian plains looks familiar, that’s because it appears on Italy’s 1-cent coin. This tall octagon is embellished with eight octagonal towers, a fanciful masterpiece that merges Islamic and Gothic influences. See p. 705.

best Undiscovered Italy

Bull_rbull.jpg The aperitivi spots and craft-beer bars of Rome: Don’t confuse aperitivo with happy hour: Predinner cocktails tickle appetites and induce conversation and flirting. The best aperitivi bars allow free access to all-you-can-eat buffets if you buy one drink. And Romans are increasingly turning to artisan-brewed beers for that one drink. See Entertainment & Nightlife, in chapter 4.

Bull_rbull.jpg Drinking your coffee al banco: Italians—especially city dwellers—don’t often linger at a piazza table sipping their morning cappuccino. For them, a caffè is a pit stop: They stand at the counter (al banco), throw back the bitter elixir, and continue on their way, reinforced by a hit of caffeine. You will also save a chunk of change drinking Italian style, at least 50% less than the sit-down price, even in the baroque surrounds of Turin’s Piazza San Carlo. See p. 154.

Bull_rbull.jpg Genoa’s handsome center: Don’t be fooled by a rough, industrial exterior: Genoa has Italy’s largest centro storico, with architecture that rivals Venice. A restored old port, the Palazzo Reale, and the palazzi of Strada Nuova are just a few of the highlights in a trading city that got wealthy from the sea. See chapter 11.

Bull_rbull.jpg The art at Padua’s Cappella degli Scrovegni: Step aside, Sistine Chapel. Art lovers armed with binoculars behold this scene in awe, the cycle of frescoes by Giotto that revolutionized 14th-century painting. It is considered the most important work of art leading up to the Renaissance, and visiting is an unforgettable, intimate experience. See p. 449.

Bull_rbull.jpg The canals of Treviso: Venice’s near-neighbor has canals of its own, and much thinner crowds, even in peak season. Its atmospheric old fish market occupies an island, and city churches are adorned with medieval artworks by Tommaso da Modena. This is also the place to try recipes that use Treviso’s prized red radicchio. See chapter 9.

Bull_rbull.jpg The view from T Fondaco dei Tedeschi: This newly opened Venice department store—renovated by stellar architect Rem Koolhas, no less—was once an elegant palazzo beside the Grand Canal. The views from its free rooftop deck are even more spectacular than the opulent goods inside. See p. 405.

Italy’s best Active Adventures

Bull_rbull.jpg Seeing Ferrara on two wheels: Join the bike-mad Ferraresi as they zip along narrow, cycle-friendly lanes that snake through the city’s old center, past the Castello Estense and the Renaissance elegance of Palazzo Schifanoia. You can also bike a circuit atop the city’s medieval walls. See p. 361.

Bull_rbull.jpg Kayaking around Venice: At around 120€ per day, seeing Venice from a kayak is not cheap. But if you want to get a unique angle on the palaces and quiet canalside corners of Italy’s fairy-tale floating city, there is nothing quite like it. See p. 394.

Bull_rbull.jpg Riding the Monte Bianco Skyway, Valle d’Aosta: In Italy’s far northwestern corner, you can catch a revolving cable car and travel high on Europe’s tallest mountain, departing from the hiking, biking, and skiing resort of Courmayeur. Standing 4,810m (15,780 ft.), Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc to the French) guards the border between France and Italy and is flanked by perilous glaciers and jagged granite peaks, all visible from cableways that opened in 2015. It’s pricey, but unforgettable. See p. 536.

Riding the Monte Bianco Skyway, Valle d’Aosta.

Bull_rbull.jpg Walking the Cinque Terre (Liguria): The 3-mile path from Corniglia to Vernazza and the 2-mile section from Vernazza to Monterosso are the most rewarding in terms of sheer beauty. Narrow paths are surrounded by terraced vineyards, as well as olive and lemon groves that seem to hover over a sapphire Mediterranean Sea. This coastal path is best tackled in the early morning, before the crowds. Out of season, you might even have it to yourself. See p. 566.

Italy’s best Neighborhoods

Bull_rbull.jpg Testaccio, Rome: The relaxed atmosphere of this working-class, all-Roman neighborhood is a perfect wind-down from the sightseeing hype and the crowds. Its appeal for travelers is growing, with museums, industrial design and architecture, lively nightlife, and especially culinary highlights, including the relocated Mercato di Testaccio. See chapter 4.

Bull_rbull.jpg San Frediano, Florence: Most Florentines have abandoned their centro storico to the visitors, but the Arno’s Left Bank in San Frediano has plenty of local action after dark. Dine at iO (p. 214), slurp a gelato by the river at La Carraia (p. 216), then drink until late at Diorama (p. 222) or catch an acoustic gig at Libreria-Café La Cité (p. 220).

Shopping for antiques on Via San Gregorio in Spaccanapoli, Naples.

Bull_rbull.jpg Spaccanapoli, Naples: It’s sometimes said Naples is Italy on overdrive, and the city goes up another gear in the narrow, crowded, laundry-strung lanes of its centro storico. Gird your loins, watch your wallet, and forget about a map—just plunge into the grid and enjoy the boisterous scene as you browse shops selling everything from limoncello and carved nativity scenes to fried snacks and the world’s best pizza. It’s a European souk. See chapter 12.

Bull_rbull.jpg Cannaregio, Venice: This residential neighborhood has silent canals, elegantly faded mansions, and hidden churches graced by Tiepolo paintings. Here, too, is the old Ghetto Nuovo, a historic area of Jewish bakeries, restaurants, and synagogues. It’s all a great escape from the chaos around San Marco. See chapter 9.

Bull_rbull.jpg Navigli, Milan: The city is still riding high on a post-Expo wave, and nowhere exudes it more than the regenerated Navigli neighborhood. Its hub is the Darsena, once Milan’s canal port, now home to a market, shops, and bars. It’s also the place where Milanese come together after dark for summer concerts, Christmas markets, or to watch the game on a big screen. See chapter 10.

Bull_rbull.jpg Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso, Matera: Inhabited for more than 3,000 years, clusters of cave dwellings carved into limestone cliffs create one of Italy’s weirdest architectural spectacles. The primitive, earth-hued assemblage of houses, churches, and monasteries pile one atop the other along a jumble of twisting stepped streets. They now house some unique restaurants and hotels, too. See chapter 14.

Rio Marin Canal with boats and gondolas from the Ponte de la Bergami in Venice.

Many of the stereotypes you have heard about this charming country are accurate. Children are fussed over wherever they go; food and soccer are treated like religion; the north–south divide is alive and well; and (alas) bureaucracy is a frustrating feature of daily life for families and businesses. Some stereotypes, however, are wide off the mark: Not every Italian you meet will be open and effusive. Every now and then—but rarely in the South—they do taciturn pretty well, too. This chapter provides a little historic and cultural background to help you understand what makes Italy tick.

The most important thing to remember is that, for a land so steeped in history—3 millennia and counting—Italy has only a short history as a country. In 2011 it celebrated its 150th birthday. Prior to 1861, the map of the peninsula was in constant flux. War, alliance, invasion, and disputed successions caused that map to change color as often as a chameleon crossing a field of wildflowers. Republics, mini-monarchies, client states, Papal states, and city-states, as well as Islamic emirates, colonies, dukedoms, and Christian theocracies, roll onto and out of the pages of Italian history with regularity. In some regions, you’ll hear languages and dialects other than Italian. It all combines to form an identity that’s often more regional than it is national.

This confusing history explains why your Italian experience will differ wildly if you visit, say, Turin rather than Matera. (And why you should visit both, if you can.) The architecture is different; the food is different; the legends and important historical figures are different, as are the issues of the day. And the people are different: While the north–south schism is most often written about, cities as close together as Florence and Siena can feel very dissimilar. Milan to Naples is just over 4 hours by train, but the experience is like two different worlds. This chapter aims to help you understand why.

An elaborate Carnevale costume, Piazza San Marco, Venice.

cuisine Around the Country

Italians know how to cook—just ask any of them. But be sure to leave plenty of time: Once Italians start talking food, it’s a while before they pause for breath. Italy doesn’t really have a unified national cuisine; it’s more a loose grouping of regional cuisines that share a few staples, notably pasta, bread, tomatoes, and pig meat cured in many ways. On a Rome visit, you’ll encounter authentic local specialties such as saltimbocca alla romana (literally jump-in-your-mouth—thin slices of veal with sage, cured ham, and cheese) and carciofi alla romana (artichokes cooked with herbs, such as mint and garlic), and a dish that’s become ubiquitous, spaghetti alla carbonara—pasta coated in a silky sauce made with egg, pecorino romano (ewe’s milk cheese) and cured pork (guanciale, cheek, if it’s authentic).

To the north, in Florence and Tuscany, you’ll find seasonal ingredients served simply; it’s almost the antithesis of French cooking, with its multiple processes. The main ingredient for almost any savory dish is the local olive oil, prized for its low acidity. The typical Tuscan pasta is wide, flat pappardelle, generally tossed with a game sauce such as lepre (hare) or cinghiale (boar). Tuscans are fond of their own strong ewe’s milk pecorino cheese, made most famously around the Val d’Orcia town of Pienza. Meat is usually the centerpiece of any secondo: A bistecca alla fiorentina is the classic main dish, a T-bone-like cut of meat. An authentic fiorentina should be cut only from the white Chianina breed of cattle. Sweet treats are also good here, particularly Siena’s panforte (a dense, sticky cake); biscotti di Prato (hard, almond-flour biscuits for dipping in dessert wine, also known as cantuccini); and the miele (honey) of Montalcino.

Emilia-Romagna is the country’s gastronomic center. Rich in produce, its school of cooking first created many pastas now common around Italy: tagliatelle, tortellini, and cappelletti (made in the shape of little hats). Pig also comes several ways, including in Bologna’s mortadella (rolled, ground pork) and prosciutto di Parma (cured ham). Served in paper-thin slices, it’s deliciously sweet. The distinctive cheese Parmigiano–Reggiano is made by hundreds of small producers in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia.

Probably the most famous dish of Lombardy is cotoletta alla milanese (veal cutlet dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in olive oil)—the Germans call it Wienerschnitzel. Osso buco is another Lombard classic: shin of veal cooked in a ragout sauce. Piedmont and Turin’s iconic dish is bagna càuda—literally hot bath in the Piedmontese language, a sauce made with olive oil, garlic, butter, and anchovies, into which you dip raw vegetables. Piedmont is also the spiritual home of risotto, particularly the town of Vercelli, which is surrounded by rice paddies.

Venice is rarely celebrated for its cuisine, but fresh seafood is usually excellent, and figures heavily in the Venetian diet. Grilled fish is often served with red radicchio, a bitter leaf that grows best in nearby Treviso. Two classic Venetian non-fish dishes are fegato alla veneziana (liver and onions) and risi e bisi (rice and fresh peas).

Liguria also turns toward the sea for its inspiration, as reflected by its version of bouillabaisse, burrida flavored with spices. But its most famous food is pesto alla genovese, a sauce made with fresh basil, hard cheese, olive oil, and crushed pine nuts, which is used to dress pasta, fish, and many other dishes.

So many Neapolitans moved to the New World that the cookery of Campania—including pizza and spaghetti with clam sauce—is very familiar to North Americans. Mozzarella is the local cheese, the best of it mozzarella di bufala, made with milk from water buffalo, a species first introduced to Campania from Asia in the Middle Ages. Mixed fish fries (a fritto misto) are a staple of many a lunch table, and genuine Neapolitan pizza is in a class of its own. The cuisine of Basilicata and Puglia is founded on peasant simplicity: pasta, often made without egg, tossed with oil and seasonal vegetables or garbanzo beans, for example. The region is known for its Senise peppers—which when dried become sweeter and piquant—and spicy or fennel-spiked Lucanica sausage. Seafood is ubiquitous along the regions’ long coastline.

Sicily has a distinctive cuisine, with strong flavors and aromatic sauces. One staple is pasta con le sarde (with pine nuts, wild fennel, spices, chopped sardines, and olive oil). In fact, fish is good and fresh pretty much everywhere (local swordfish is excellent). Classic desserts include cannoli, cylindrical pastry cases stuffed with ricotta and candied fruit (or chocolate). Sicilian gelato and homemade pastries are among the best in Italy.

Italy Today

The big news for many North American travelers to Italy is the recent favorable movement in exchange rates. The 2015 edition of this guide listed the U.S. dollar/euro exchange rate at $1.37. At time of writing, it’s hovering around $1.06. That change makes everything in Italy instantly 20% cheaper for U.S. visitors. (Canadians have been less fortunate, their dollar moving less dramatically from $1.51 to $1.39 in the same period.) If the dollar is your currency, congratulations: You picked a good time to visit.

Many Italians have not been so lucky. One reason for the euro’s plunge is a stubbornly slow European recovery from the global financial crisis, known here as the crisi. It had a disastrous effect on Italy’s economy, causing the deepest recession since World War II. Public debt had grown to alarming levels—as high as €1,900 trillion. As a result, 2011 and 2012 saw Italy at the center of a European banking crisis that almost brought about the collapse of the euro currency, and concerns about major Italian banks rumbled on through 2017. In 2015, many Italians were beginning to see light at the end of their dark economic tunnel—a little, at least—only to face a return to stagnation in 2017. Italy has, in effect, experienced no GDP growth in well over a decade.

Populism has become a feature of national politics. A party led by activist comedian Beppe Grillo—the MoVimento 5 Stelle (Five Star Movement, or M5S)—polled around a quarter of the vote in 2013 elections. By early 2014, in the post-electoral shakedown, former Florence mayor Matteo Renzi became Italy’s youngest prime minister—at 39 years of age—heading a coalition of the center-left led by his Democratic Party (PD). He resigned in late 2016, after defeat in a referendum on wide-ranging electoral reform. The PD remained in power, however, with Paolo Gentiloni taking over as prime minister.

It has not been easy sailing for M5S, either: Their candidate, Virginia Raggi, was elected Rome’s first female mayor, but her administration has encountered multiple problems since she took office in 2016. Opinion polling through early 2017 showed Italians still favoring the PD government’s reformism over rivals’ policies, but with a slim lead over M5S. The next general election is scheduled for 2018.

Italy’s population is aging, and a youth vacuum is being filled by immigrants, especially those from Eastern Europe, notably Romania (whose language is similar to Italian) and Albania, as well as from North Africa. Italy has had scant colonial experience, nor does it have the melting pot history of the New World. Tensions were inevitable, and discrimination is a daily fact of life for many minorities. Change is coming—in 2013, Cécile Kyenge became Italy’s first black government minister, and black footballer Mario Balotelli has been one of the country’s biggest sports stars. But it is coming too slowly for many. The plight of migrant refugees arriving from North Africa and Syria through 2016 added yet another layer of complexity to Italy’s relationship with immigration, and left the country’s temporary immigration centers bursting at the seams. Further recent signs of a changing society include the 2016 legalization of same-sex civil unions.

While others arrive, a brain drain continues to push young Italians to seek opportunities abroad. The problem is especially ingrained in rural communities and on the islands, where the old maxim, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, applies more strongly than ever in these straitened times. Prospects for everyone will improve if and when Italy puts the worst of its economic turmoil behind it. From top to toe, highlands to islands, fingers are firmly crossed that the good times are coming around again.

The Making of Italy

Prehistory to the Rise of Rome

Of all the early inhabitants of Italy, the most extensive legacy was left by the Etruscans. Archaeologists continue to debate exactly where they came from, and the inscriptions they left behind (often on graves in necropoli) are of little help: The Etruscan language has never been fully deciphered by scholars. Whatever their origins, within 2 centuries of appearing on the peninsula around 800

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, they had subjugated the lands now known as Tuscany (to which they left their name) and Campania, along with the Villanovan tribes that lived there.

From their base at Rome, the Latins remained free until they too were conquered by the Etruscans around 600

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The new overlords introduced gold tableware and jewelry, bronze urns and terracotta statuary, and the art and culture of Greece and Asia Minor. They also made Rome the government seat of Latium. Roma is an Etruscan name, and the early, perhaps mythical kings of Rome had Etruscan names: Numa, Ancus, even Romulus.

Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli Street in Florence.

The Etruscans ruled until the Roman Revolt around 510

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, and by 250

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the Romans and their allies had vanquished or assimilated the Etruscans, wiping out their language and religion. However, many of the former rulers’ manners and beliefs remained and became integral to what we now understand as Roman culture.

Meanwhile, the Greeks—who predated both the Etruscans and the Romans—had built powerful colonial outposts in the south, notably in Naples, founded as Greek Neapolis. Remains of the Àgora, or market square, survive below San Lorenzo Maggiore (p. 592), in the old center of the city. The Greeks left behind stone monuments above ground too, including at the Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily (p. 777).

If you want to see remnants of Etruscan civilization, Rome’s Museo Nazionale Etrusco (p. 110) and the Etruscan collection in Rome’s Vatican Museums (p. 78) are a logical starting point. Florence’s Museo Archeologico (p. 190) houses one of the greatest Etruscan bronzes yet unearthed, the Arezzo Chimera. There are also fine Etruscan collections in Volterra, Tuscany (p. 277) and Orvieto, Umbria (p. 333). Mary Beard’s excellent book SPQR is packed with insight on the rise of Ancient Rome.

The Roman Republic: ca. 510–27

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After the Roman Republic was established around 510

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—it’s impossible to be precise—the Romans continued to increase their power by conquering neighboring communities in the highlands and forming alliances with other Latins in the lowlands. They began to give to their allies, and then to conquered peoples, partial or complete Roman citizenship, with a corresponding obligation of military service. This further increased Rome’s power and reach. Citizen colonies were set up as settlements of Roman farmers or military veterans, including both Florence and Siena.

The stern culture of the Roman Republic was characterized by belief in the gods, the necessity of learning from the past, the strength of the family, education through reading and performing public service, and most importantly, obedience. The all-powerful Senate presided as Rome defeated rival powers one after another and came to rule the Mediterranean. The Punic Wars with Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia) in the 3rd century

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were a temporary stumbling block, as Carthaginian general Hannibal (247–182