RFI: Italy

i'll be getting into milan on june 18th/19th and playing music in some small towns for a week, then in southern switzerland for a couple of weeks.

?
Take the train if you want to meet Italians.

Also flying in Italy this summer will suck. Alitalia is going to go bust or be strike ridden and that will have knock on effects with the other carriers. Besides, FFS, it is only 700km between Rome and Venice with lots of beautiful countryside in between.

xpost
the question mark was a expression of bemusement at Surmounter's post.

Ed is right, the train's the best thing to travel on in Italy.

REMEMBER TO STAMP YOUR TICKET AT THE SMALL MACHINE BEFORE GETTING ON! This is not made clear enough to foreigners. Also slow train from Florence means that you pass near Siena and things.

Assisi is a must. Cannot emphasize it enough!

i assume you mean me, ed?

you both didnt meet any italians driving through italy?

I'm flying because I would only have one night in Venice otherwise - schedule is tight. Also it was revoltingly cheap (£15 RyanAir).

Why do you want to meet Italians on a train? What makes you think Italians get on trains thinking "oh, I hope some tourist bothers me today"?

But thirded, the trains aren't bad. Personally I'd rather have a car for freedom and stuff but the trains are probably cheaper.

I never bother anyone on the train, but plenty have struck up conversations with me. (including one who took pity on me as I was living in turin at the time)

What's the WIFI situation in Italy right now? Is it hard to get a free connection in Rome? Are there hotspots?

We're heading to a campsite by Lake Garda this summer. I've just received the 'parc guide' and am a bit alarmed by these two bits:
Swimming caps must be worn in the pool
and
In order to use the pool facilities, many require their male guests to wear fitted lycra swimming shorts, and not the 'boxer' or 'surf' style. Please check with the parc for their restrictions on this.

I lived in Italy for three years, but I never went to a swimming pool in that time. The thing about swimming caps does ring a bell, though - I'm pretty sure a female (British) colleague of mine was moaning about it. Would they seriously expect me to wear one? (I am a man with hair shaved to just a few millimetres length). What about my three-year-old daughter?

As for the trunks thing, this just seems mental. From experience, I know hypochondria is par for the course in Italy - the terror of the 'colpo d'aria' which is unknown in the rest of the world, for example, or the number of people I met who genuinely feared a shower soon after eating could cause them serious harm - and in this context the hair / swimming cap thing makes some sense on a hygiene level. But I can't even begin to see what the thinking is behind the clamping down on 'boxer/surf' style swimming costumes. It doesn't seem to make sense on any level: I can't see any health issue (real or imagined) and if the issue was one of, er, 'modesty' then surely the speedos would be outlawed and the baggy trunks encouraged?

Caps are definitely a hygiene thing and they are required in almost every Italian swimming pool.
As for the shorts, this is completely news for me too - never heard about any "restriction" about it and its patently a crazy idea.

a lot of american pools forbid cut-offs, t-shirts and other "non-standard" forms of swimwear. perhaps an absurdly uptight extension of the same idea?

i guess "a lot" there really = "some." i really mean that it's not unheard of.

I don't even get the hygiene thing with swimming caps? Is it something to do with hair, because of the several Italians I know, the majority are pretty hairy all over.

What all sensible Italians are wearing to the pool this year...
http://racked.com/uploads/2011-04-Nigella-Lawson-Burkini.jpg

Thanks, Marco. I've scanned the campsite's website and there are several photos of people in and around the pool with their brazenly uncovered heads and their outrageously non-skintight swimwear, so hopefully this is just an overzealous tip for travellers that bears little relation to reality.

Ned - yeah this was puzzling me, too. For the sake of consistency you'd think they would have to insist that bearded men wore special beard covers and that anyone with a remotely hairy body would have to wrap themselves in cling film.

Ah, the colpo d'aria thing made me laugh hard - blame hyperprotective Italian moms!

Re...vive?

Milan, Venice, Sicily (mainly Palermo and Catania) and Rome.

Really keen on getting the train from Venice to Sicily but it's a hell of a long ride so thinking Florence and Naples on the way.

Would recommendations on bars, venues, and how to find gigs. Non-obvious tourist stuff? The sort of stuff that should be really easy now compared to fifteen years ago, but sorta isn't?

I thought this was going to be about the anti-vaxxer health minister firing all the scientists from the board that supervises health policy in Italy.

My advice. Go in the autumn. There’s a lot more between Venice and Sicily and if you want gigs places like Bologna and Verona get a lot of touring acts.

more antipasto less anti-vaxxers ffs. As if you didn't already need more proof that the 5 star lot are complete scum of the earth morons.

Fuck Florence if you want non touristy things - it's possible but it's so bloody crowded. It's a shame because obviously it's awesome in many ways. My sister in law is there now and seems to be enjoying it but it's still busy (obviously).Avoid the summer.

I've been to Naples in October/November and had good weather and the streets are a bit quieter. I don't find Naples terribly touristy, a lot of people en route to Capri, etc in the summer/autumn, but I loved the place, they've done a lot of pedestrianising over the last ten years which has improved yr ability to walk around without being run over.

Already vaccinated, already going midway through December until February.

Ed you had an impressive list upthread, anything you'd add/remove/change?

Florence is great in the winter / out of season. Even some of the big attractions are fine if you go at the right time (Palazzo Pitti first thing in the morning,etc).

I’m completely out of the loop on bars / venues but Nottingham Forest in Milan is great for cocktails.

Trains are superb. I think I did Milan-Napoli earlier this year and it’s painless.

napoli is an excellent city for walking about, lots of spectacular views. we stumbled upon a rad little bar/bookshop/record shop called perditempo which offered some agreeably experimental/eclectic DJing as we sipped our beers

Thanks ShariVari. Been to Florence before, beautiful place. Although can't remember if I did Palazzo Pitti. Spent a day at the Uffizi and alsop the Duomo. Also had the best panino in my life.

The trains are indeed excellent, last time I went Venice - Bolzano - Florence. Though I hear it gets progressively less excellent the further south you go?

Will check out Nottingham Forest. Enjoying the owners' salty replies to reviews on google.

Added Perditempo, thanks ogmor.

So far

Milan 18-24 December, then Venice. Seems like some good suggestions here?

https://www.modalitademode.com/rubrica-milano-en/36-hours-in-milan-not-ordinary-itinerary/

Florence being touristy- I still bring up how A Room With A View (1908) talks about Florence being touristy.

You still do, Carey

I bumped the other thread, but hey since we're here does anyone have suggestions/cool tips for Genoa, Elba, Sapri, or Cosenza?

bump

we def wanna go off the tourist track and into the south as far as time allows

it's one of my hits! wait who is S-?

I think the most south in Italy I have been is driving around from Naples to Amalfi, 2-3 years ago. I really like the white wine from Liguria/Genoa. Just remember "pigato" very crisp and easy.

excellent, tyvm

yeah we wanna head down to Calabria, where my wife's family (and like 90% of US Italian immigrants) are from. We're looking at a night in one of the smaller Amalfi towns on the way.

Have you already been down there? We have a local friend from Sicily that we want to visit with and we keep putting it off because we can't make seasons work out.

nope, first time in Europe for either of us

Bumping thread again with a non-standard RFI...

Before leaving for (but after booking flights to) Italy I've injured my knee.

Pretty much the worst thing I can do for it is stand for long periods, which really sucks for a place so rich in galleries and sites of antiquities. Walking long distances to is Not Good. At least sitting and gorging myself is still in (and er, worry about the resultant weight gain once the knee's better).

I'm in Bologna at the moment, no definite plans except need to get to Palermo by the 26th of January (though maybe go on the 18th to see Palermo vs. Salernitana).

Anyway, excited about the train from Napoli to Palermo - perfect sedentary sightseeing. Any other recommendations like this?

Bologna is excellent for just eating. I've been twice and don't have any memory besides eating and walking. But that is almost everywhere I go, I guess. Are you wearing a knee brace or anything?

It really is. More places I want to try than time I have to try them. Also been invited to a couple of people's houses for food which has been great.

Nah no brace, perhaps I should have looked into one. The physio said to take it easy, which I thought I was. Obviously not enough. Venice clearly not the best place if you want to avoid walking and stairs (also pretty much anyone's house in European cities).

Ugh Venice, city of people with rolling luggage. I have knee problems a lot. You should just go to the pharmacy and get a compression sleeve, or even an ace wrap to at least keep it stable and keep it from swelling when you do walk.

revised tentative itinerary:

fly to Amsterdam, stay a day, then plane to Nyons area in France for a few days

Nyons to Genoa, 1 -2 nights there

Genoa to Salerno and then bus to Minori (Amalfi coast) for a night

Salerno to Paola on the west cost of Calabria (the fast train goes this way)

Paola to Cosenza inland by bus, 3-4 nights total in Calabria

back to Naples for flight out to Amsterdam

has anyone here spent time in Calabria?

I only went to Genoa once, to change trains coming from the Cinque Terre, but there was a problem with our train and we got stuck there for several hours. The food in the Genoa train station cafeteria was ghoulish: I felt sorry that chickens died only to be prepared so miserably. I don't know what there is to do there besides eat, but that would be good enough for me.

Why are you going to Nyons?

to stay with friends for free! 3-4 days

I had not heard of Nyons, but I see that it's close to Montélimar, famous for its nougat which got it a mention in "Savoy Truffle".

haha noted!

I had not heard of it either but it's super, super close to vacqueyras/gigondas where I did a grape harvest.I've gone in and out of the Orange and Avignon train station a lot.

we would consider alternatives to Genoa anywhere on the Ligurian coast if anyone has recommendations, just stopping for a night or two because it's on the way to Florence

well the Cinque Terre is lovely! I haven't been for twenty years though. when we went we just showed up in Vernazza, asked at a bar if he knew of any rooms in town, ended up staying with the bartender's sister's family for a couple of days. a kind of proto airb&b I guess.

thank you, will investigate.

Genoa is worth it - a bit gritty with a real port atmosphere. The old town is dark, sinewy and interesting. Also it's a perfect base for some nice day trips, eg Cinque Terre but also Porto Fino, which off season is truly lovely.

Sestri Levante is a very nice medium-sized town that you can use as a base to visit the Cinque Terre, etc. It is pricy, but Hotel Vis a Vis is awesome with wonderful views of two bays.

I just booked for a trip to hike in the Dolomites in the first week of September. Does anyone have any recommendations on hiking (especially overnight stays in a Refugio), where to stay, restaurants, etc.?