Advantages: ideal place to stay in Italy
Disadvantages: car required

...A hot tip for all travellers to Italy's Tuscany region. We spent one week of our summer vacation this year in Tuscany / Italy, in the small village of Colleoli. After checking the Internet site in early June, we were lucky that there was still an apartment available for the first week in August (which is the high season). BOOKING You will find a lot of information (in English, Italian and Japanese) on the Internet at their homepage www.colleoli.it. Enquires and bookings can be made via the link at the homepage, by e-mail to info@colleoli.it or by telephone +39 0587 622010 (Matilda speaks English very well). We have booked by e-mail, and we received answers within 24 hours. HOW TO GET THERE It is only possible to get there by car. Via Florence or Pisa you have to take the SGC FI-PI-LI. This is not a secret code... Read review

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Advantages: Good writing, amusing comment and invaluable advice
Disadvantages: Sometimes out of date?

....99 but discounted. See Amazon £9.87 plus delivery. I like the Cadogan Guides and as I am planning a trip to Italy and/or Rome this was my first choice book. I have to tell you that it makes a cracking good read and has certainly helped me to decide what and where I want to go. This guide is bursting with practical information and gives some clear and what can only be described as local in-depth knowledge. I think I would like their job researching, traveling and then writing all about it. This is Cadogans first complete guide to central Italy and covers an area what is sometimes described as the new Tuscany. Dana and Michael, our Italy expert guides, well they feel like your personal guide, lead you through Rome's famous attractions, Lazio's lake district, the isolated mountains of Abruzzo, and the natural parks of Molise. This has... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful,hot,plenty to do.
Disadvantages: none.

...ITALY Area Covered: 116,333sq miles Population: 56,778,031 Population Density: 188.4 per sq km Northern ITALY Piemonte and Val d’Aosta have some of the highest mountains in Europe, and are very good for winter sports such as Snow boarding and Skiing. There many rivers in Northern Italy and they stretch for many a mile. You can pick up a guided tour of these rivers from nearly all of the jeti points along these rivers. It tends to be a little colder in this part of Italy as it further away from the Mediterranean than the south. It is still very popular though and it would visit it again. CENTRAL ITALY Tuscany in Central Italy has many snow-capped mountains, luscious countryside’s, hills and sandy coast lines and 1 or 2 off-shore islands. Rome is in Southern Central Italy and is the largest... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderful cuisine;Great Wines; Great Cheese;
Disadvantages: Can be expensive

.... If you should visit the city of Bari in Puglia, try the Neapriata which is puree of broad beans and chicory or cicery e tria, strips of durum wheat pasta with chick peas , both are authentic and well loved dishes in this region of Italy. Seafood dishes although expensive, are a good choice for the bay of Taranto has long been famous for its large, succulent oysters and mussels.You can expect to find a wealth of fresh food here as well. Tuscany is a delightful region of unique and tasty meat, fish, poultry, cured meats and cheese, all waiting to be explored. A standard dinner at a ristorante in the beautiful city of Florence might comprise a panzanella , a Tuscan bread and vegetable salad or zuppa Pavese , a clear soup with a raw egg placed in it just long enough to coagulate... Read review

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Advantages: jFantastic Ambiance, Medieval City with Modern Feeling. Food and wine are excellent.
Disadvantages: None at all.

...I was lucky enough to be chosen, by the Colchester Town Council, to put together a Judo Team to represent the town at the Twin Town Games in the Magical City of Sienna in Tuscany, Italy. I was also fortunate enough to be working for the Local Newspapers at the time and they requested that I prepare a write-up of the event. I thought it would be churlish not to include a "Travelogue", of Sienna whilst I was there, so here it is. I found it hard to understand why the magical city of Siena is not on any of the tours offered by Travel Agents. Not that I am personally disappointed, for the very selfish reason that I was able to enjoy this Italian delight in comparative isolation from everything that smacks of "Holidays Abroad". Just 35 miles south of Florence, Siena is a jewel of medieval splendour. It invites the visitor... Read review

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Advantages: A real Italian city, without many tourists
Disadvantages: Lots of students (but then that also adds to the charms of the city)

...I've visited Bologna in excess of 20 times in the last 7 or 8 years, and every visit I discover something new and exciting about the place. As a single young female that travels alone, I actually feel safer in the city of Bologna than I do in my small home town in England!! It's such a warm and welcoming place, and due to the relative lack of tourists - although it does have a high student population (compared to the likes of Venice, Florence, or Milan etc) it exudes that feel of being a "real" Italian city. It is a real gem, and so ideally suited in location for visiting other major Italian cities! Bologna is located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, just north of Tuscany - about an hour by train from Florence and the beaches of Rimini and Riccione, and a couple of hours by train from Venice and Milan. The climate... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning scenery, great food, wine, German beers!
Disadvantages: Chaotic timetables, unexpected closing times, but that's Italy!

...of the holiday and had a very unpleasant lunch at a place by the jetty called something like Buffalo Bills or something – avoid as it was indeed run by cowboys! (dodgy chicken and a bit of a scam with their desserts) – the town itself was VERY quiet and we couldn’t wait to get back to Torbole. We will definitely go back to Lake Garda at some point, but will probably stay in either Riva or Malcesine as they are bigger and livelier. We love Italy though and are currently planning our big holiday for September, hopefully fitting in Rome, Florence, Tuscany before going up to Milan for the Monza GP and finishing off in Venice – yikes! - that’ll be a review and a half!... Read review

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Advantages: timeless, peaceful, historic & beautiful
Disadvantages: you really need a car to get the best out of the region

...A timeless, peaceful wonderful countryside where rural life continues largely unchanged and where old fashioned values of friendship, family and mutual support still hold sway -this is the Umbria I know & love. Deep in this heartland lies Lago Trasimeno the fourth largest lake in Italy. This beautiful lake, dotted with wonderful medieval towns and fishing villages has many faces -from the mirror stillness of deep blue to aquamarine waves rushing on to the shore. It is a shallow lake, very child friendly with man made beaches dotted around it, all with play areas, cafes and other facilities. In summer the local towns are lively but never overcrowded, with lakeside restaurants, music in the Piazzas and many events ,like the summer Jazz festival and the village Festas. I particularly love to visit Panicale or Castiglione del Lago... Read review

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...On the opposite side opens up the Orecchiella Park, which lies completely within the Apennines' area. Comparatively limited in size (approximately 52 square kilometres), it is located at a level of 1,200 to 2,000 metres on the Apennines' ridge belonging to Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, where it borders on the Parco del Gigante in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Together with the latter, it forms a protected area of invaluable naturalistic value. On the opposite side opens up the Orecchi