Let's sum up the things that are a
must-do if you visit Italy, from North to South.
1-Visit Trieste
Trieste is the last Italian city just
before the border with Slovenia, former Yugoslavia.
This city was annexed to Italy just
after the Second World War, so it is easy to find people speaking
Yugoslavian, and also, since it is pretty close to Austria, you will
hear people speaking Italian with kind of a “German” accent.
This proximity has also influences on
the food, you will eat bratwurst and Sacher and strudel as if you
were in Vienna, but also on the temper and behaviour of people, who
are less messy than the average Italian.
Trieste is our Chicago, our “windy
city”, it is indeed one of the main ports of the country, along
with Civitavecchia, Naples and Genua, and so it sits straight on the
sea, the City hall has a great view on the bay just in front of it.
This makes winter really windy, with
wind speeds that reach even more than 100 km per hour. sometimes This
is what we call the “bora”.
Trieste is a mixture of Italian and
Austro-Ungarian elegance, it is small and easy to walk through and a
good starting point to go to the east or to go towards the Dolomiti.
2-Have aperitivo on the Navigli, Milan
Milan is the city where the aperitivo
is at its best. Most people have dinner on it, as it is so abundant.
But, if you want a kick of also a certain counterculture while you
are in the Italian city of fashion and business, head towards the
Navigli, you will discover a sort of little Venice right outside the
business centre of Milan, where, on the two sides of the docks along
the river, you can choose many hip places and trendy restaurants to
sooth your desire of Negroni or Spritz and eat something.
3-Go to the Carnival in Poggio Mirteto,
close to Rieti, central Italy
As you might know, Italy is where the
Pope resides. I mean, in the centre of Rome, there is another
country, the Vatican, which also happens to be right in the centre of
our country.
Centuries ago the Pope was not just an
old man that greeted people outside a window on Sundays, once the
Vatican had an active army and fought wars.
So, to make Italy united, Garibaldi and
his soldiers had to fight also against the Pope, fisically and
bureaucratically.
They did both, but, before that, there
is the story of this small village in the mountains 100km away from
Rome, Poggio Mirteto, that fought against the army of the Pope and
won.
Since then, the Carnevalone Liberato
(Freed Carnival) takes place on the first Sunday of the Quaresima
(Lent), starting from the morning to around 20pm, when a straw
representation of the Pope is burnt.
It is a crazy day on which people dress
up as devils, sexy nuns, Popes or whatever and drink and laugh as
much as they can.
4-Have a walk in Garbatella
neighborhood, Roma
Roma, despite being a big city almost
impossible to cross on foot, is one of the nicest places to walk
through if you focus on one neighborhood at a time.
Garbatella is one of them. Once the
centre of vernacular Rome, here is where the people who worked at the
Central Markets lived, now it is renewed and growing as a cultural
centre where thatres, such as Palladium, where the important
RomaEuropa Festival takes place, and also it is the place where the
love for the main football team of the city, AS Roma, is felt.
If you wander around the beautiful 40's
houses you will find many graffitis recalling the victory of the
League by AS Roma in 2001, with portraits of the heroes of that time,
among whom there is the much beloved and iconic Francesco Totti.
5-Go to the Egadi, islands in front of
Trapani, Sicily
Just after having bought some panelle
in front of the docks, you can jump on a ferry to Favignana, the
bigger of the three Egadi islands. Once there, rent a bike and decide
where to go to have a bath and get your suntan. Keep in mind that if
the sea is rough on one side, you can easily go to the other side,
where the water should be calm.
Levanzo and above all Marettimo are
really worth a visit, you can get there by boat, try to ask for a
lift from one of the fishermen or purchase a one day trip at the port
in Favignana.
Marettimo has the cleanest and bluest
water I have ever seen. Though, beware of some jellyfish which happen
to wander around!
