This fantastic picture of traffic in Rome shows what it means to drive in Italy and battle the streets of its capital city. The picture comes with news that Italian actor Max Giusti has joined forces with the “Coordinamento dei Motociclisti” association of Rome to get special lanes dedicated to motorcycle and scooter traffic. The aim is to provide a safer environment for scooter riders in Rome - and seeing this image, it’s probably something that needs to be done.

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Famous across the globe for the beauty of its landscape, the picturesque village of Sant’Agata sui due golfi enjoys a breathtaking view over the Galli island and the two gulfs which separate Positano from Sorrento. Located in the heart of this old village, there’s a luxury hotel called Relais Don Alfonso 1890 which is a true corner of paradise; with its 8 suites beautifully decorated (the colour palette ranging from pink and yellow to white and orange) and elegantly furnished with antiques underpinning the aristocratic origin of the palace in which the hotel is set, the Relais Don Alfonso has plenty to offer; from the restaurant –best known for its Mediterranean cuisine and the huge picture windows that allow the tables to be bathed in warm southern light- to the Poet’s house, a lodge named after poet Salvatore Di Giacomo who used to spend his long summer holidays there, enjoying, like a true poet, the delights of the surrounding gardens.

Luxury Hotels near Amalfi and Sorrento: Relais Don Alfonso 1890

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Situated in one of Venice’s oldest districts, just steps from the beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute and the famous Peggy Guggenheim Museum, the Centurion Palace hotel offers guests breathtaking views over the Grand Canal and Piazza San Marco. With 50 rooms and fabulous suites, the five star hotel which is located in a 19th century palace restored by architect Guido Ciompi combines old home design with modern house design; here the international and sophisticated guests can appreciate the relaxed atmosphere of the elegant lobby bar or enjoy the superb cuisine of the hotel’s restaurant (sumptuously decorated in white). For more information click here.

Luxury hotels in Venice: Centurion palace hotel, near Santa Maria della Salute

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After my recent trip to Relais Borgo Scopeto as part of the Florence wine tourism awards, I was curious to know more about what they call “vinoterapia” or wine therapy (also known as vinotherapy). The four-star Relais finished renovating their Italian health spa last year and along with the standard sauna and spa access, guests can also enjoy a new range of beauty products based on the health properties of grapes.

Borgo Scopeto calls its vinotherapy treatment “nectar of the gods” although as with any wine therapy, the process has less to do with wine and more to do with the grapes themselves. Grape seed extract and skins are high in antioxidants and polyphenols which are said to have positive effects for the skin, especially with anti-ageing potential.

Borgo Scopeto describes its vinotherapy treatment thus: “Using the potential of the grapes, through the fruit’s polyphenol ,vitamin and acid, this treatment nourishes, smoothes and newly elasticizes the body skin. In total relax, it gives new beauty to all the body.” With its range of grape-based beauty products, the hotel offers a new trend in the sector.

Continue reading: Italian health spas with vinotherapy: what is vinoterapia and where can I get it?

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Summer in Italy spoils us for choice over the best Italian beaches from the north to the south, including some beautiful secluded spots on Italy’s islands. While August often seems like a bum’s rush to get your spot on the sand, nothing bad can be said about azure waters, sun or snorkelling opportunities.

TripAdvisor has put together a list of Italy’s top ten seaside locations for 2011 starting with San Vito Lo Capo and passing through some more famous names, too. Here is the list:

1. San Vito lo Capo, Sicily - a quiet spot on the North Coast of Sicily, not far from Trapani
2. Villasimius, Sardinia - on the south point of Sardinia, not far from Cagliari in an area famous for its VIP locations and night clubs
3. Lampedusa Island (although we recommend avoiding this right now given the boatloads of African immigrants arriving and the presence of the Italian military)
4. Vieste, Puglia - in the middle of the Gargano national park, this is one for nature lovers who want private spots for swimming
5. Alghero, Sardinia - another spot on Italy’s famous island of Sardinia, Alghero has an old town and a few beaches to offer on the west coast

Continue reading: Italy's best beaches: top ten for 2011 summer in Italy

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More Turin luxury accommodation after the Villa Matilde Relais is available at the Bella Rosina Relais near Venaria Reale, in the Mandria national park. It might not have the same grand setting as other Italian villas, but it has some lovely views and is utterly private.

In a romantic atmosphere, the Bella Rosina Relais offers access to a golf course, Italian health spa, and excellent cuisine offering organic products. In the Bella Rosina gallery you can see the mix of modern and country-style furnishings, and the romance of the surrounding national park.

See the Bella Rosina Relais website for luxury accommodation packages including spring wellness stays, resurgence-themed menus, celebrations for the 150-year anniversary of Italian unification and golf packages.

Continue reading: Luxury Turin accommodation: Villa Matilde Relais

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The grand finale for me of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards was our Chianti wine tasting at the Villa Petriolo, Cerreto Guidi, not far from Florence. I realise that “beautiful” is in no way a technical term to describe wine, but the Maestrelli sisters and their wine maker produce exactly that - beautiful Italian wines.

The Villa Petriolo received the Best of Wine Tourism award for “sustainable wine tourism practices” and while Villa Petriolo has no official organic status, there is a care for the land here that you won’t always find on a more industrial scale of wine production. In addition, the old villa has been preserved in its rough state, with the sisters keeping many of their father’s artifacts and collection items. The roof beams have been added to over the years to keep the structure sturdy, and there has been no primping of the house to provide fancy tasting rooms or appealing tourist wine shops.

The Maestrelli sisters provide a simple and sincere welcome, and we had the opportunity to taste a range of Villa Petriolo wines, guided by Silvia Maestrelli, who also fed us with hearty Tuscan antipasti, salads and salumi. Silvia says it’s her aim to make refined, elegant wines with no pretensions to full-bodied, new world tastes or commercial stunts (like the sparkling sangiovese we tasted at another wine producer). They have achieved beyond that with wines difficult to describe, but that stay with you - forming a kind of benchmark for future wine tasting as well as giving you an experience further than just describing a perfume or structure.

Chianti wine tasting and tours: Villa Petriolo

Continue reading: Chianti wine: Villa Petriolo wine tasting in Tuscany

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A Chianti wine tour will overwhelm you with its history, multiple examples of very good Chianti and beautiful landscapes, but not always in an area which is by now a guaranteed tourism success can you always find many examples of innovation. The Fattoria Torre a Cona won its Best of Wine Tourism award for exactly that.

The commanding but beautiful Italian villa provides a series of historically interesting buildings as a setting for a bed and breakfast and some Chianti wine tasting, that the company decided to turn its old granary store into a tasting room and wine shop. On entering the wine shop, the setting of a wine tasting along the length of the old building has a great impact. The restoration, designed by architect Miranda Ferrera, has preserved the alcoves of the original grain storage purpose, that now house the wine bottles and olive oil products of the farm.

A tour and wine tasting takes in the old cellars and the grounds of the estate, with a short walk around the Villa Torre a Cona gardens. Each wine tasting includes local dishes and bruschetta dressed with olive oil, while in terms of winemaking the Fattoria Torre a Cona has kept things simple but elegant, making three wines.

Chianti wine tasting and tours: Fattoria Torre a Cona

Continue reading: Chianti wine: Fattoria Torre a Cona wine tasting in Tuscany

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The Villa Vignamaggio in the heart of the Chianti Classico region was the setting for the Much Ado About Nothing Kenneth Branagh film made there years ago. With an authentic restoration of the villa and gardens, Villa Vignamaggio recently won the Best of Wine Tourism international award for architecture, parks and gardens. And to be honest, when you hear the words “this is a Renaissance staircase”, they do have a certain effect.

The Villa Vignamaggio is an “agriturismo” and wine estate known for its Renaissance villa and gardens… and the Mona Lisa. It is said that Monna Lisa Gherardino lived here and documentation has been found that Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint her portrait. The mystery as to whether it is the same portrait that hangs in the Louvre in Paris starts here.

The Villa Vignamaggio offers a main villa setting with rooms, and more apartments and rooms in surrounding farmhouses linked by terraces and gardens. Recreational facilities include swimming pools, tennis courts, a billiard room and barbecue areas. Vignamaggio has a restaurant service on some days and evenings and organises barbecues where staff and guests go shopping for traditional fiorentina steaks together, as part of supporting local business and serving excellent Tuscan food.

Tuscan villa accommodation in Chianti: Villa Vignamaggio

Continue reading: Villa stays in Tuscany: Villa Vignamaggio in Chianti

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The Cantine di Leonardo wine cellars are located in Vinci, in Tuscany, in a part of the Chianti region not as famous as Chianti Classico or other areas, but with a beautiful countryside where you know you’re getting closer to the coast. For a “cantina sociale” (or cooperative wine cellars and producers), the Cantine di Leonardo produce some excellent quality wine with a touch of classic Chianti style while also experimenting with some more modern expressions, and is worth a stop on any Chianti wine tour.

Despite receiving a special jury mention in the Best of Wine Tourism awards from Florence recently in the category of architecture, parks and gardens, the Cantine di Leonardo and its wine shop “Enoteca dalle Vigne” is worth a stop just for the wine itself. While calling the cooperative wine producers the “cellars of Leonardo” might seem a cynical marketing gesture today, it’s an old name that was given in light of the fact that the town of Vinci is closely linked to the man the Italians call “the genius”.

The cooperative cellars were founded 50 years ago and now have about 500 hectares of vines cared for by various growers who have access to the advice of specialists through their participation in the society. The cellars have created an innovative system of payment to encourage the production of quality grapes, with five categories of grape quality each carrying a different price. If a grower reaches the first category, he is paid 130 percent of the value of the grapes. If his grapes reach only the fifth category, he is paid 50 percent of the value.

Chianti wine tasting: Cantine di Leonardo, Vinci

Continue reading: Chianti wine: Cantine di Leonardo, Vinci wine tasting in Tuscany

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