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[bigletter]For many un-fun reasons this won’t be a big summer of travel for me so I am doing what I tend to do best, wanderlust from afar!
And the ladies over at Bond and Grace, a female owned publishing house and art shop, seem to have the same idea here given their great love for traveling back in time in the very best of ways, transporting us through that of a classic story. And while many of us #GrandMillennials embrace the lovely artifacts, ideas and prose of the past we also are more than capable of looking to our bright and bold future. One that aligns well with my own vision of progress, creating for the now with inspiration from then, moving forward in a thoughtful and purposeful way. Just as Jane Austen did in her time, these ladies are doing now with the launch of the Art Novel featuring the stories we know and love with updated annotations and modern art to help us consider them in current context. Truly a way to cherish what we consider classic without sacrificing what we’ve since learned. The Art Novel is available for pre-order in about three weeks, follow @bondandgrace for updates.
So in the spirit of revisiting past travels and planning future ones I am sharing my top ten #GrandMillennial escapes in Italy that I’m currently craving. Continue to follow me here and on Instagram for more Italy inspired content this week![/bigletter]
Top 10 Italy Escapes
Photo credits // @italia_vivi @nicolecalogiuri @andiamoconnoi_ @bsvalentinaC
No. 1 Verona
Where I fell in love with Italy. Verona felt like a well kept Italian secret during my four months studying abroad. A small but important city for art and architecture, most famous for the balcony of “casa de Juliet” as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was set here. A train ride between Venice and Milan, Verona is much less touristy and maintains small town charm while also being a sophisticated city. L’arena is a much more beautiful and well preserved amphitheater than the colosseum in Rome made of light pink stone, where my friends and I belted out the words of every Alicia Keys song in concert. The same pink sand marble paves the main high fashion street, via Mazzini, a more idyllic Rodeo Drive with no cars allowed! And of the many cute cafes and restaurants my most memorable bites always came from the tartuffo pizza at San Matteo’s, a church turned trattoria that still stands today! I fantasize about heading back now with my little family in tow, reminiscing about those easy breezy days sipping spritz all afternoon on piazza delle Erbe after “school.” Despite having been back to Italy since, my greatest shame is not having yet revisited this special place in my heart!
Photo credits // @curly.beard @villafeltrinelli @sonchicc @enry.ph @theoutdoorplanet_
No. 2 Lago di Garda
While everyone assumes all the lake glamour happens on Lake Como, Lago di Garda has a special place in my heart given how close it was to my beloved Verona and thus a spot we’d come often on day trips. I’ve been obsessing over the Grand Hotel Villa Feltrinelli, a property rich in Italian history also decorated with all the bells and whistles you’d expect. I imagine myself a 1950s movie star looking for a more private place to sip my aperitivo after a day on the lake. There are so many idyllic places to stay ranging from the lakeside villa resorts to many quaint seaside towns, a perfect place to enjoy family time and avoid the crowds of tourists flooding the coasts!
Photo credits // Slim Aarons @eyeswoon @elieyobeid @aarondelesie
No. 3 Capri
The summer place of all summer places. It’s no longer a well kept secret but it’s still worth visiting again if only for a dip off the rocks at La Fontellina beach club and spoon full of tagliolini al limone under the lemon trees and twinkling lights at Da Paolino. But no matter where you beach, eat or shop on this island it will be worth it. When I came here a few years back we stayed in Positano and only made the day trip, but next time I’m headstrong on doing the exact opposite! I would most likely stay longer on the island at the hotel Slim Aarons made famous, La Minerva or J.K. Place Capri or quite frankly any place on this special little island! After reading Kevin Kwan’s novel set here I’m beyond ready for a frozen lemon delight and some custom made leather sandals following a long day soaking up that Italian sun.
No. 4 Positano
A picture perfect place that is as beautiful, if not more, in person than online. So charming that everyone and their entire family wants to visit too, but still worth the trip if you come prepared. Le Sirenuse is everything and more of a hotel, worth the splurge if you can, even if just for a sunset appertivo at the champagne and seafood bar. If you are hell bent on visiting Positano in high summer then do just that, but be open to visiting some of the other charming towns along the Amalfi Coast like Ravello or Vietri Sul Mare, particularly for some one of a kind ceramics. We loved our stay at Conca d’Oro, a quaint boutique hotel a bit removed from the crowded city centre, but if I were to do it again I’d charter a little boat to move about the whole Amalfi Coast and Capri! More from my time there, here.
Photo credits // Under the Tuscan Sun @villadipiazzano @villapienza @victorsfitz @katiaerokhina @kerrywheeler
No. 5 Tuscany
The idea of renting a villa Under the Tuscan Sun with family or friends with no other plan but to sunbathe by the pool and take the occasional countryside stroll all while consuming endless amounts of the local olives and all the delectable things they make with them. This would be the place to really live out my ultimate summer situation; a month in a villa, anywhere in Italy, not far from the sea but far enough into the countryside to feel apart of the community for just a brief moment in time!
Photo credits // Slim Aarons Hotel Il Pellicano @paulinawilltravel @trufflehouseliving @chiara.tirelli @skatetheworldtravel
No. 6 Hotel Il Pellicano
Thanks to Slim Aarons’ iconic capture of boating life on the Italian coast, the cliffside hotel that used to be the private home of a fabulous American couple is now Hotel Il Pellicano. Nestled into the coastline of Tuscany, I imagine it would be the ideal spot to recharge at the end of any site seeing packed trip to the crowded streets of Rome, Florence or Milan. A place so memorable that Slim Aarons not only captured it on film for the world like so many gracious gems along the med but also published an entire book documenting his time there, further cementing it’s icon status!
Photo credits // @belmondgrandhoteltimeo @ananewyork @wunderbarcaffe @miketamasco_ph @tischitoschitaormina
No. 7 Taormina, Sicily
After seeing Stephanie, of A Life Well Saved‘s, visit here on Instagram I immediately added it to my Italia list and started browsing all the beautiful spots in this charming Sicilian city! Given how many Italians I met in Chicago with roots in Sicily it would be a shame not to visit the southern region and this picturesque place on the coast is where I’d like to start. With views of the Ionian Sea, an original Greek theater and endless cafes with sea views I can’t imagine a more perfect beachside enclave less well known than the Amalfi Coast.
Photo credits // @osteriadeltempopersostuni @franci.travels @ilariamarchese @sara_malvaso @bellavita.italia @markomorciano
No. 8 Puglia
Puglia has recently blown up, at least on my Instagram feed, as another amazing alternative to the typical Italian beaches Americans flock to. Facing Greece, the main city of Lecce has all the architecture and history I’d want for a day before making my way to Gargano for the excellent beach culture, a dip in the fiordo del ciolo and hopefully see the storied olive trees the region boasts before they die!
Photo credits // @jivanda_@francesstefanie @livialozi @ariviere @alexpreview @varnastudios
No. 9 Portofino
Portofino offers everything you’d want from a picturesque town by the sea with delicious trattorias serving fresh fish and a beach scene prime for sipping spritz and diving deep into all the books I can’t seem to find time to read at home. It’s a place I’d like to land for a day or two whether by boat or on route to Corsica. And best of all it’s only 45 minute from cinque Terre, the birthplace of my beloved pesto!
Photo credits // @agipsyinthekitchen @faloriamountainsparesort @venetosecrets @adventure_us_everyday @floradallevacche @cristallohotelcortina @weekenduae @extreme_786
No. 10 Cortina d’ampezzo
When we think of Italy we tend to forget about wintertime and the magic of the Italian alps! In fact my first ski lesson was at a ski resort in Trentino-Alto Adige, another region nearby to Cortina d’Ampezzo, considered the “pearl of the dolomites.” Most people are familiar with the chic chalets serving hot fondue at aprés hour on the Swiss alps, but the Italian alps serve big bowls of warm pasta after an arduous run, enough said!
I hope you enjoyed my #GrandMillennial Italian escapes, be sure to follow @bondandgrace for updates on the release of the Art Novel!
