It’s Italy

We knew the subject of our last essay contest would bring a flood of entries, and we were right. Lots of subscribers were inspired to write on the topic “It’s Italy,” and the submissions awere fun to read. In comparing the grades given the essays, it was amazing how the opinions of ITN staff members could vary so differently about certain entries. Sometimes it was over technical issues, but the results showed that everyone’s writing can move someone. 

In the end, one essay was the clear winner, that of HELEN HARPER of Mill Valley, California, who will be sent two 50-dollar gift certificates from Magellan’s Travel Supplies (800/962-4943, www.magellans.com). The second- and third-place winners, each to receive a 50-dollar gift certificate from Magellan’s, were, respectively, RICHARD FINERMAN of Palm Springs, California, and PATSY BUSH-KRUSE of Rancho Mirage, California. Finally, each to have her ITN subscription extended by one year are BARBARA DANZIG of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and JEANINE HEALEY of Naples, Florida.

So grab a cappuccino, sit back and see, below, what the simple statement “It’s Italy” evoked in a number of travelers.

The subject of the next essay contest, which is open to ITN subscribers, is “I’m Keen on Kenya.” If you have been there, in no more than 300 words (note: 300 words), write on Kenya and what you found interesting or alluring about it. Inspire us to want to visit that country. Email your essay to editor@intltravel news.com or mail it to ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818. Include the address at which you receive ITN. The deadline is August 31, 2014. At least one prize will be awarded for a winning essay, which will appear in the November 2014 issue of ITN.

As a college student, I first visited Italy to celebrate the Holy Year of 1950. After time spent in Paris and in Oberammergau (to see the Passion Play), we headed to Venice, Florence and Rome. We visited St. Peter’s and the other three major basilicas, had an audience with Pope Pius XII, attended the opera “Aida” at the Baths of Caracalla (no longer possible) and feasted endlessly on pasta. 

When we sailed into New York Harbor and saw the Statue of Liberty, most of my fellow travelers were shedding tears for their safe return while I was weeping because I had to come home.

Fast-forward some 25 years — graduation, job, marriage, children — before I could return. Rome beckoned first, followed by Florence and, soon after, Venice. The Amalfi Coast and the Italian lakes were next. Eventually, the Italian Riviera and the Cinque Terre became my destination. 

It was inevitable; after hotels, B&Bs and pensiones, we decided to rent a house. We chose a villa on the border of Tuscany/Umbria, where we would spend a month visiting small, walled medieval hill towns, including the wine towns of Montepulciano, Montalcino and Torgiano. We did that four times, usually in September, when the summer crowds had vanished and the heat was bearable, especially with a daily “gelato fix.” 

We ate tiramisu in a tiny ristorante in Mercatale, drove all our visitors to Cortona (“Under the Tuscan Sun”) and to Assisi. In Umbertide we attended a Mass where motorcycles were blessed, and we shopped every Wednesday market day, especially locating the porchetta truck.

Italy is a country of contradictions — elegant but sometimes gritty, captivating but disorganized, totally lovable but occasionally exasperating. But always Italy holds us in her arms, for she is surely a woman, to be eternally loved and cherished forever and ever. 

Jeanine Healey
Naples, FL

The soul of Italy for this lover of travel and history is Rome. When I’m not planning a return trip there, I’m wishing I were. 

My first visit was on a tour of Italy. We didn’t have time to enter the ancient ruins in Rome and walk around. I was disappointed but inspired, and the next year I went back. It was my first solo trip, as I went to Rome for a week to immerse myself in the history that lives in the ruins.

I walked everywhere and spent three days just hanging out in the ruins, soaking them in (and feeding the cats). My memories are still vivid, as I had only myself for company and knew I couldn’t depend on my photos back in the “darkroom ages.” 

My last day in the ruins was hot as I wandered Capitoline Hill. I was tired and hungry and headed to the Forum Hotel, hoping for lunch with a view. 

I arrived at the rooftop restaurant 40 minutes before it opened and thought I’d be turned away. Instead, the mâitre d’ invited me to select any table I wanted and served me the drink of my choice. I picked the table with the best vantage point to enjoy my wait for lunch service to begin. The hospitality, the shade and the view all were amazing. 

The spectacle of life when all roads led to Rome is still alive in the ruins if you sit on a random block of stone and open your imagination. I’ve never treasured my memories of my time in Rome alone more than I did that day.

Barbara Danzig
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Talk about art in public places! Italy takes the prize. It is everywhere. Be sure to check out the churches for great works of art at no charge. If history is your thing, Italy’s goes back several centuries BC. You don’t have to look for it, you are surrounded by it. 

If you love great architecture, Italy has it in abundance. Take time to look at the detailing on the buildings. Often you will find works of art which serve as hinges or locks on doors. The Pantheon in Rome has huge bronze doors that are approximately 1,800 years old. They still have a functioning lock on them.

One chilly fall day I was walking around Florence when it started pouring rain. Hurrying back to my hotel, I walked through the courtyard of the Uffizi and started to cross the huge Piazza della Signoria, then stopped dead in my tracks. I suddenly realized that I was one of only about a dozen or so people in the entire piazza. Everyone else had ducked inside to get out of the rain. 

What a joy to be able to stand in that beautiful space surrounded by magnificent architecture and fabulous artwork and to have it almost all to myself. I didn’t mind the rain at all.

For breathtaking scenery, drive down a winding country road in Tuscany in fall, where you may not see another car for miles. Or visit in the spring and enjoy the spectacular fields of wild poppies. Or travel down the Amalfi Coast and enjoy the spectacular view anytime of year. 

If all of this is not enough, consider the friendly people, the delicious food and the wonderful wine. Oh, yes, and don’t forget the gelato!

Patsy Bush-Kruse
Rancho Mirage, CA

In 1980 we bought a VW camper, picked it up in Luxembourg and traveled around Europe for three months. Instead of interacting with the locals in their official capacities as waiter, shopkeeper, hotel clerk, etc., we met them in the campgrounds, where we all were tourists on holiday! Our 6-year-old daughter was our official ambassador. When we set up camp, she was out the door looking for kids to play with — no matter what the language! Eventually, we’d meet the parents.

Camping near Florence, Italy, we met an Italian family from Milan. The husband, Amleto (Hamlet!), remembered some of his high school English, and we knew a little Italian. No matter! We became immediate friends while our daughter played with their children. After sharing the sights of Florence together, we got a sincere invitation to visit and stay with them a month later. Cool!

Staying with this family, we learned so much that’s Italian, like how to make coffee with a macchinetta on the stove; the drinking of grappa; the difference between Northern and Southern cooking (what, no spaghetti?), and Italian hospitality, meaning we slept in the master bedroom and they on the couch! 

We played cards, drank grappa, smoked cigarettes and talked politics and cultural differences late into the night. They took us to see the main sites of Milan: the Duomo, La Scala, “The Last Supper” (you could just walk right in then) and their favorite gelato place.

For us, Italy had become a lot more than its art, monuments and food. It was friends, too!

Richard Finerman
Palm Springs, CA

What lured me back to Italy 16 times in the past 16 years?

Birds singing cheerful Italian arias, the bustle on the street, and the mouthwatering aromas from the corner bakery rouse me to venture forth and enjoy the day. 

Church bells chime and fountains splash. Delivery carts rattle through narrow alleys. Vespas roar past honking cars stuck in morning traffic. 

Neighbors chat over espressos at the local bar. Women trim artichokes in the market. Vendors arrange chestnuts in concentric circles over braziers. Artisans repair antique furniture in cluttered workshops. 

Rain patters on glistening cobblestones, producing umbrella hawkers out of thin air. The emerging sun warms the ocher-hued buildings. Cats sprawl over ancient ruins. Laundry flutters in the breeze. At dusk, all generations, from babies to grandparents, greet each other during the evening stroll, the passeggiata.

Life is relaxed in this country where rules are often ignored and schedules are flexible. Boys play soccer by the sign forbidding ball in the Aventine orange park. The gallery guide tells me to snap a prohibited photo while the guard is distracted. Museum employees advise me to claim UK citizenship to qualify for the EU senior discount. 

My query at the ticket window about the departure time for the bus to Frascati elicits a shrug. The ubiquitous transportation strikes avoid commute hours, presenting me with a delightful, unplanned day of exploration in beautiful Cividale di Friuli while awaiting the evening train back to Udine. 

 Scrumptious meals, lovingly created from local produce may be savored for hours. Convents offer friendly, affordable lodging. Passing strangers readily provide directions to the art treasures abounding in even the tiniest towns, pausing for a friendly chat and kind praise for my less-than-praiseworthy Italian.

What’s not to like?

Helen Harper
Mill Valley, CA