The national sport of Italy is soccer, and the country is crazy for it. If you’re there during the World Cup, you’ll find televisions everywhere tuned in, with crowds standing around watching.

That includes tourists!  Cafes post signs outside with the times different teams are playing, so that fans of the German, US, Korean, or any other team know when to show up to cheer on their favorites.

But the biggest crowds are for the Italians, and the excitement was never so high as it was in 2006 — a year when the Italian team went on to victory, claiming the World Cup in a thrilling finish.

Rome has long been recognized as one of the “culinary capitals” of the world. The city boasts too many restaurants to keep track of, and the majority of them are very good. Rome is a cosmopolitan city, with many different types of cuisine available. However, each region in Italy has its own distinctive style of cuisine, and Rome is no exception. No visit to Rome is truly complete without sampling some of the regional delicacies. So, instead of settling for generic “Italian” food, try some of these enticing local specialties!

Artichokes -- yumm!

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• Pasta amatriciana – There are several different regional variations on this dish, with each region claiming its own version is the “authentic” one. However, all pasta amatriciana dishes start with one key ingredient: guanciale, pig jowl that has been cured without smoke. American versions of this dish tend to substitute something else (bacon, ham, or pancetta) for the guanciale, as it is very difficult to obtain on this side of the pond. However, it’s the flavor of this particular cut of meat, with its rich, silky texture and succulent flavor, that makes the dish what it is. The “Roman” version of the dish includes tomatoes, pasta (usually spaghetti or bucatini), onions, and Pecorino cheese. The rich flavor of the pork combines with the tomatoes and the sharp, salty cheese to create a symphony of flavor.

• Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana – Roughly translated, the name of this classic Roman dish means “jumps in the mouth.” Try it, and you’ll see why!  Tender veal slices are topped with slices of salty prosciutto, a type of Italian ham, and pungent, earthy fresh sage. Then, the veal is sautéed in butter and served topped with wine sauce.  One of my personal favorites!

• Stracciatella - This Italian version of egg-drop soup is popular in other regions of Italy, but it usually referred to outside of Rome as Stracciatella alla Romana to indicate its Roman origins. Stracciatella is a light and refreshing soup that consists of eggs beaten to a golden froth with either parmesan or pecorino cheese, and seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. The eggs are poured into bubbling chicken broth and stirred, producing delicate swirls of cooked egg. The strands of egg resemble old rags floating in the broth. Since the Italian word for rags is straccetti (and the earlier root is from Italian stracciato, “torn apart”), this resemblence is what gives the dish its name.

• Pasta Carbonara – The type of pasta used in this dish can vary-sometimes spaghetti, sometimes linguini, sometimes bucatini. However, the sauce is always the same-a heavenly mixture of guanciale, eggs, an aged cheese such as pecorino or parmesan, butter, and garlic. This dish is relatively simple to make-the pork is fried first, and then it is tossed along with the other ingredients into piping hot pasta, melting the cheese and cooking the eggs so that they coat the noodles. Partially because of its simplicity, it is thought to have been created by foresters working in the Apennine Mountains — the recipe could be easily cooked over charcoal fires, or carbonara. Another local legend states that it was invented for American soldiers after World War II, who puzzled local chefs by ordering eggs, bacon and spaghetti. Still another theory is that it got its name because the specks of bacon and pepper look like bits of charcoal. Whatever its origins, it’s great! And it proves that food doesn’t have to be complicated to be good.  Another of my all-time favorites — I try variations wherever I go!

• Carciofi alla giudea – Romans love fresh artichokes, and this is one of the preferred ways of preparing them, a name that translates as “artichokes Jewish style”. The artichoke is first trimmed of all its spikes and tough outer leaves, then flattened between two bricks, battered and fried. The result? A tasty confection that resembles a deep-fried sunflower! The outer leaves are deliciously crispy, and the heart is soft, smooth, and flavorful.

Want to try these Roman dishes at home? Cooking the Roman Way: Authentic Recipes from the Home Cooks and Trattorias of Rome will have you cooking like a Roman in no time. (Of course, you still need to visit Rome, if only to make sure you’ve got those flavors exactly right!)

When you are traveling to Italy, time changes.  Of course, there’s a change of time zones, which is considerable if you’re coming from North America.  There are also subtle adjustments regarding the lifestyle of Italians and how they regard time on a daily basis. Italy conducts business in a different way than North America and it can take some time to get used to.

Historic clock on a beautiful evening

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Daily:

Italy runs on a 24-hour clock. To calculate, you add 12 hours to anything after noon.  Similar to military time, 5:00pm thus reads as 1700 hours. It’s good to get comfortable with this, since you’ll see or hear this everywhere – train schedules, shop closing times, restaurant reservations, or conversing with locals.

Hours of operation will vary by the business, but here are some fairly typical guidelines.  Offices and banks open for the day at 8:30am, while most stores open about 9:00am. Many businesses will close for a late lunch/siesta break about 1pm (1300), or 130pm (1330), and then reopen around 3-4pm.  Offices and banks are open Monday to Friday, while stores are open Monday through Saturday.

Weekly:

Except for holidays and typical festivals, Sundays are the only day that most shops are closed. The Italian week begins with Monday unlike in North America where it is Sunday. Learning the days of the week in Italian are helpful when talking to residents, or reading signs in the window of a shop or restaurant. The days of the week are not capitalized in Italian and are as follows:

• lunedi – Monday
• martedi – Tuesday
• mercoledi – Wednesday
• giovedi – Thursday
• venerdi – Friday
• sabato – Saturday
• domenica – Sunday

Months & Seasons:

The weather in Italy is quite diverse depending on the season and where you are in the country. If you are visiting during the winter season (l’inverno), you can experience ice storms and below freezing weather mostly in the southern region. Many tourists and residents alike will go to the Alps for their winter vacations. Spring (la primavera) in Italy is remarkably beautiful and there is even an Italian pasta dish that carries the name of spring due to its seasonal fresh vegetables (pasta primavera).

Summer (l’estate) in Italy can be remarkably hot no matter where you are in the country. Many residents will take the entire month of August off in order to try and find cooler places to be such as the local beaches or mountains.Autumn (l’autunno) is a fantastic time to visit Italy when the harvesting season is in full swing for the grapes and olives. Autumn is a low tourist season and yet, one of the most beautiful times to visit.

The months of the year are not capitalized in Italian either. Close to standardized English, it is very easy for a tourist to learn the names in Italian and is listed as follows:

• gennaio – January
• febbraio – February
• marzo – March
• aprile – April
• maggio – May
• giugno – June
• luglio – July
• agosto – August
• settembre – September
• ottobre – October
• novembre – November
• dicembre – December

November, December and January are low tourist seasons due to the cooler temperatures and the rainy season in many areas. January can bring freezing cold temperatures that are not desirable for traveling around Italy and sightseeing as you would during the spring or autumn months. If you are traveling on a budget, these times would be the cheapest for travel, except during the week before and after the Christmas holidays.

No matter what time of the year that you decide to travel to Italy, you will want to check out the festivals, holidays and local events of the region where you are going, so you know what to expect when you arrive. Most major cities are focused around tourism and you won’t have many problems finding places to shop or eat in major centers, even on major holidays.  But if you plan on venturing off the beaten track, then an unexpected holiday during your stay could impact your ability to see or do what you want.

For a great translation reference, either English to Italian or vice versa, check out WordReference.

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Rome has endured for thousands of years-since 625 BC or perhaps even earlier. Today it’s the capital of Italy, but Rome was around long before Italy came to be! For many of these centuries, Rome and its inhabitants played a crucial role in world history.

Today, Rome is a cosmopolitan city, where modern life coexists next to ancient relics. No trip to Italy would be complete without spending some time here. There is so much to see and do here that if you have time, it’s great to devote at least a week to the city.  Even then, you won’t have time to see everything that this amazing city has to offer! Here are some of my favorite things about Rome.

View over the rooftops of Rome

• History - Where else in the world do cars drive past the ruins of timeless monuments such as the Colosseum and the Forum? Over the centuries, so many new buildings have gone up on top of the old buildings that the city resembles an onion, with layers upon layers of history stacked on top of each other. To live, even temporarily, among such a lively and interesting mix of the ancient and the modern is a thrilling experience.

• Vatican City - This stronghold of the Catholic Church contains St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. Vatican City contains so many treasures that you should plan on spending an entire day looking around. Of course, Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel, is one of the highlights of the tour, especially since its restoration uncovered the dazzling colors that had been hiding under centuries of grime. Also, the Vatican City has its own postal service, which is much more reliable than the regular Italian post. Mail your postcards here!

• People-watching – This is the unofficial Italian sport. Many Italians are very fashion and image-conscious. Of course, the whole point of getting dressed up and going out is to see and be seen. The best places for people-watching are the little sidewalk caffes that dot the streets. To get a better view, choose a seat that faces into an open piazza.

• Ancient Ruins - Reminders of ancient Rome are everywhere, and one thing that becomes clear when you visit them is how much the ancient Romans seem to resemble us. For example, it’s easy to imagine watching a football game inside the Colosseum – although the ancient Romans enjoyed far bloodier sports than that! The Forum was the political center of ancient Rome, where the rich and powerful congregated.  Then there’s the Circus Maximus, site of great Roman chariot races.

• Piazza di Spagna - This butterfly-shaped piazza is another great place to people-watch, and is a popular gathering place for tourists.. Of course, the main attraction is the imposing and majestic Spanish steps, that rise to connect the square to the elegant church above.

• Il Tridente – This incredible, free open-air museum contains a treasure chest of paintings, architecture and sculpture. Many different eras are represented.  The museum contains everything from artifacts taken from Egypt by the Empire to art from notable Renaissance and Baroque artists, including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bernini. Did I mention it’s free?

• Shopping - If you have spending money, Rome is a great place to shop. You can get everything from high-fashion designer goods to flea market bargains, depending on where you go and what you are looking for. If you are looking for high-end goods, drop by some of the designer stores along the Spanish Steps. More of a wandering hippie? Travestere’s winding streets and outdoor markets are perfect. On Sundays, an eclectic mix of trash and treasure can be found at the Porta Portese, the Roman flea market.
• The Food - What’s Rome without some marvelous Italian food?  Fortunately you’ll find restaurants and trattorias everywhere, happy to ply you with pasta and wine.  And after all that walking around the city, you don’t even have to feel guilty about that plate of rich Spaghetti Carbonara.  See more about Eating in Rome – Local food specialties.

• Fountains of Rome – Rome’s many piazzas are decorated with fanciful fountains, each unique and beautiful, and each with its own colorful story. For example, if you toss a coin over your shoulder and it lands in the Trevi fountain, people say that you are guaranteed to return to Rome someday. At the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Bernini’s animated sculptures appear to be shielding their eyes from the façade of a church designed by his arch-nemesis Borromini.

• The Crypt of the Capuchin Monks – The Capuchin crypt is the resting place of over 4,000 members of the Capuchin religious order. These monks believed that it was good for the soul to contemplate the body’s mortality.  So, instead of burying their deceased brethren, they arranged their bodies in tableaus meant to remind viewers of how fragile life is. They also used bones and other mummified body parts to create intricate decorations and cozy domestic crafts.  Imagine if Morticia Adams took over the Martha Stewart show, and you’ll get the idea.

• Galleria Borghese – This jewel of a museum contains masterpieces by Bernini, Caravaggio, Giorgione, Botticelli and Rubens, other treasures by lesser known artists, and ancient Roman statuary. They won’t let you in unless you make reservations ahead of time.

There’s a lot more to Rome than this, but these will give you a great start on exploring this amazing city.  To explore a bit online and get the lay of the land, check out the Google Maps of Rome.  So much to see and do!

Your trip to Italy will go a lot easier if you’ve got your travel plans figured out ahead of time.  Unplanned travel in a foreign country can end up being difficult, and could provide unfavorable results if you are not able to experience things as you would have liked.  Here are some tips on Italy travel – getting there, and getting around once you’re in Italy.

Getting To Italy:

There are a few ways to reach Italy, so it will depend on where you live. For those who live overseas, you have the option to fly by a commercial airline or arrive by cruise ship. Visitors who live in Europe can reach Italy by train that can be another option besides flying.

• Flying into Italy is by far the most common way to reach the destination of your choice. In order to book your flight into Italy you can use a travel agent or search for flights online through a trip planning website such as www.kayak.com. Not only can you search for flights one-way or return, but you can also coordinate hotel availability for the duration of your stay. Most overseas flights into Italy are overnight trips; so planning ahead is essential if you need to arrive into Italy on a designated day.
• Another way to reach Italy from North America is by cruise ship. Although this takes a lot of time that you could otherwise spend touring Italy, it is a glorious trip with stops to some major ports for the tourist attractions.
• For those who are already in Europe, traveling to Italy by train is a great way to experience the countryside. This is an extremely flexible option for those who want to visit some major destinations within a set amount of time and want to avoid all that goes along with driving in another country such as renting a car, paying gas and mileage, as well as parking when you reach the cities you want to visit. You can purchase 1st or 2nd class tickets on most lines.  Information on tickets, lines, and times, is available at the Trenitalia web site.

Getting Around Italy:

Once you have reached Italy, there will be much to explore and experience. In order to make good use of your time while there, take some time beforehand to plan how you’ll get around in Italy.

• Renting a car is a popular way to visit destinations that are off the beaten track and are not as popular to most tourists. Since major flights and trains do not reach the remote towns a car is a perfect solution to experience the countryside and explore parts of Italy that have not been commercialized with tourism.
• If you plan on touring the major centers of Italy, renting a vehicle may not be the best choice for you since parking can be a problem in some places and it can be difficult to drive in an unfamiliar city while making your way around Italy. For popular centers such as Naples, Rome, and Venice, renting a vehicle is discouraged.
• Traveling by train while in Italy is a cost-effective way to travel across the country without spending too much time (and missing out on attractions!) For some, a trip to Italy is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you would not want to miss anything By purchasing a rail pass you can go right from Naples up to Rome and onto Venice without having to rent a vehicle and plan a trip by car.
• Of course the easiest thing to do is to take an organized group trip to Italy!  There are many options, including culinary trips, walking trips, and trips for women.  The group will have all your travel plans pre-arranged, so all you need to do is show up on time.

No matter how you travel to Italy, or get around once you’re there, be sure to do some research and prepare yourself for the difference in culture and lifestyle. Real Italy cuisine is quite different from the North American Italian eateries that we’re used to, and that’s just one of the differences in lifestyle.

First of all, don’t make the mistake of assuming that all of Italy enjoys the same Mediterranean climate. Sure, Italy does lie in the Mediterranean but the country is big enough that Italy weather varies based on three distinct climatic regions:

• The Alpine area in northern Italy;
• The great plain of the valley of the River Po, which stretches from Turin to Venice;
• The rest of Italy – the long, mountainous peninsula which goes all the way down to southern Italy.

Alpine Italy is the wettest part of the country by far, with summer being, surprisingly perhaps, the season with the most rainfall. The summers can still be hot, though, and obviously the winters will find lots of snow and ice, especially in the highest areas.

The Po valley, sometimes known as the North Italian Plain, is the agricultural heartland of the country. The summers can be just as hot and sunny as those further south but the winters can be surprisingly cold – with frequent fog, frost, rain and snow. This area is usually colder in winter than either Paris or London.

The rest of Italy has the more classical Mediterranean climate – mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers, although again the higher areas can often be cold and snowy during the winter months. The intensity, and length, of the hot, dry summer will increase the further south you go. Sea temperatures around Italy generally make the waters warm enough for bathing from the end of May until October.

But enough of that!  As a potential tourist, you’re wondering when to take your trip to Italy, so let’s look at what Italy weather you might find visiting at various times of the year.

The most tourists arrive in the summer months, especially during July and August. Temperatures will daily reach 86/30 and often jump to 100/38 during the afternoons. This is when the queues for the museums and galleries are at their longest, the prices for rooms at their highest and the afternoons are too hot for sensible sightseeing. For me, the best places in Italy at this time of the year are around the lakes or in the mountains, avoiding the largest tourist areas.

So what about other times? Well, January can be cold and wet or snowy but, after the Christmas holidays, which finish on January 6th, you’ll get real bargains in hotel rooms and the tourist sites will be empty. Expect daily temperatures around 46/8 in Rome; a little lower in Milan, Venice and Florence.  Sure it’s chilly, and some places will be closed, but you’ll have a lot more space to yourself.  It’s wonderful to walk the streets of Venice without the crowds!

February is similar but, if you’re around on the 3rd, then have a drink on Saint Biago day – the patron saint of the throat! I’m reliably informed that the best firework display in Italy every year is on Saint Biago’s Day in Mugano di Napoli, just outside Naples.

And, of course, 40 days before Easter marks the beginning of Carnevale for many Italian cities and towns, with the highlight of these being the Viareggio in Venice. Venetians claim that their carnival is best because it appeals to all 6 senses – that’s the usual 5, plus the sixth: the imagination.

Italians say that March is ‘the crazy month’ because you just don’t know what weather to expect but visitors can still be surprised by the coldness. March 8th is the wonderful Festa della Donne – the festival of women, where the flower of choice is the yellow mimosa and around the 21st there are many festivals welcoming spring (primavera).

In spring the Easter celebrations are always a highlight of the year – especially in Rome but also in Florence, with the Scoppio del Carro. Needless to say, it involves another firework display; this one where a priest puts a rocket into a cart that has been dragged through the streets. I’m sure there’s a logical reason behind it. (?)

April is a little warmer, often reaching 65/18 or even higher. Watch out for festivals such as that in Verona celebrating the delicious white asparagus. Also, Rome and Venice have big ‘birthday’ parties on 21st and 25th respectively this month.

May is traditionally the month of roses in Italy and the weather is now beginning to get pleasantly warm throughout most of the country. At the end of May, and the beginning of June, there are a vast number of infiorata – flower festivals, which will captivate your senses of smell and sight.

See video of the infiorata:
Pienza Infiorata: Streets paved with flowers

May, June and September are, for many, the perfect months for visits to Italy – when the weather is usually dry, not so hot that you’re miserable, and there are fewer tourists. September is also the time of the Venice Film festival and its fantastic Regatta Storica – a day of races in all kinds of craft. The real romantics might want to go to Verona on 12th September – it’s Juliet’s birthday!

October is a beautiful month – the colors of fall, the cooler temperatures and the abundance of food-related activities make it a culinary dream. There are all kinds of food festivals celebrating mushrooms, chestnuts, truffles and chocolates – especially in the Umbria and Piedmont regions. You might even, towards the end of the month, get the first of the vino novella – the year’s new wine. Many people find Rome at its best in October – the sunny days here are known as the ‘ottobrate romane’ and, although the evenings are by now a little chilly, the air is often crisp and clear.

In November and December, the days are short and often rainy but the real attraction is the build up to the Christmas season, with the elaborate traditional celebrations accompanying it. If you’re around at this time, try to get to see a living nativity scene; most towns and villages have them and they are a spectacle to behold.

A great resource to look at average temperatures in different areas is
Weatherbase: Historical weather.  You can search for the cities you’re thinking of visiting and find out what’s typical.

To summarize the weather in Italy, and help you decide when to take your trip to Italy, just remember this:  There’s no such thing as bad weather there – only the wrong clothes!

Fountain in Piazza Navona, Rome

I found a fun post today over on Adventure is the Spice of Life. They have some antique photographs of Rome, which look at least 100 years old.

Yet considering their age, they also look remarkably like the same scenes would today. Given that many of the sights in Rome are well over a hundred years old, perhaps that shouldn’t be all that surprising. As long as you don’t get any cars or iPods in the picture, this scene in Piazza Navona probably hasn’t changed much in the past century.

But there’s more… a hidden side to it that you can actually make use of yourself!
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Catch the surprising conclusion, and news you can use, at:
Adventure is the Spice of Life — Rome: Eternal city 100 years ago = deja vu!

If you’re heading to Italy over the summer – any summer – consider checking out some special events or celebrations while you’re there. You can get a different view of Italy through its festivals. Besides, who doesn’t love a party?

June

Pisa, Luminar di Saint Ranieri: June 16th every year the city of Pisa celebrates the Luminara di Saint Ranieri, the Patron Saint of Italy, who died as a Saint in 1161, and who has been celebrated since the late 17th century. Along the river Arno, more than 70,000 candles are lit, which light up the river, the buildings, the bridges and the whole city. Several of the wax candles are also sent floating down the river. The only thing not lit by candles is the Leaning Tower, which is adorned by oil lamps, instead. The celebration also includes a fireworks celebration at the “Cittadella Vecchia” after dark, around 11 at night.

The next day, there’s a regatta on the 17th, which has four boats rowed by men from each of Pisa’s four competing districts. At the finish line, the winner climbs a rope to claim the Victory Flag.

Florence, San Giovanni Feast Day: On the Sunday following June 24th every year in Florence, San Giovanni Feast Day, the celebration of John the Baptist, is celebrated. This celebration includes a medieval tournament that dates back to when the festival started, followed by music, drinking and feasting.
There is also a fireworks celebration preceded by rowboats carrying lit candles paddling down the Arno River.

July

Genoa, Festa del Cristo degli Abissi: On July 29th, off the Ligurian coast, there is a procession that leads to the underwater statue of Christ. The statue is dedicated to those who lost their lives at sea, and a mass is held on the beach.

Rome, Castel Sant’Angelo: From July 1 through August 15, Rome celebrates Castel Sant’Angelo beside the Vatican. There are all kinds of concerts, shows, and plays performed in the evenings, until after midnight. There are also events for the children, so they enjoy the celebration too.

August

National, Ferragosto: Assumption Day, celebrated August 15th, is a national holiday, celebrated with music, food and fireworks. Since it is a national holiday, it’s not a good day to go shopping, but there are plenty of other things to do. Food is sold inexpensively, and you can enjoy it while listening to music, watching concerts and admiring the fireworks.

These are just a few of the many, many options. No matter where you’re going in Italy, there’s a good chance you’ll find a celebration!