Published on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 by Kathy McCabe The Italy Mix is a post about the most interesting Italy and Italy travel news and human interest stories around the Web each week. Here are our top picks for this week: Will World Nutella Day Go On?: Italian chocolate maker issues cease and desist to fan's yearly celebration. But have they now come to a compromise?  (The Huffington Post) Farmacia Santa Maria N...

Published on Friday, March 22, 2013 by Steve If you're taking your first trip to Italy and you're looking for an independent itinerary, I have just the one for you. I'm thrilled to announce a fabulous new travel package called Three Crowns of Italy.  Experience Italy's 3 major cities in style, with 4-star, centrally located hotels and all of your land transportation! Here's what's included: 3 nights in a...

Published on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 by Kathy McCabe Expert in all things European travel, Rick Steves has put together his list what to look out for in Italy in 2013. If you're planning to travel to Italy this year, it is worth a read. Here's what Steves says is new and interesting in Italy for 2013: More rooms at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence have been opened to the public, including  the Caravaggio Rooms and t...

Published on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by Kathy McCabe So you're planning a trip to Italy - probably your first - and can't decide exactly where to go. You're not alone, this is a problem most visitors to Italy have. There's simply too much to see! You need to start with the realization that there is no way you are going to see everything so don't even try.  The key is to prioritize. If it is your first trip to Italy, s...

Published on Friday, October 5, 2012 by Steve For me to pick a favorite tour is like choosing a favorite child, but the 10-Day Vesuvius Tour is in the running for one of my top picks. Why?  It's Affordable! Starting at $2890 per person, Vesuvius packs in a lot for the price including first clas deluxe hotels, many delicious meals, experienced guides and transportation via our state-of-the-art motorcoaches. ...

Published on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 by Steve If Italy is calling you in the near future and you enjoy the convenience of an escorted tour but the adventure of dining on your own, I recommend our 14-Day North Continental Tour. This is the same itinerary as our best-selling Italy tour in history (14-Day North Classic) with the freedom to choice your own dining experiences. Imagine seeing the sites and then explor...

Published on Friday, May 25, 2012 by Kathy McCabe After nine years, The Tuscan Sun Festival is moving from Cortona to Florence where it will hold its 10th edition, June 11 to 18, 2012. The festival brings together music, art and film, and this year in new venues including Teatro della Pergola, Palazzo Strozzi and Nuovo Teatro dell' Opera. The Tuscan Sun Festival has been described by The Independent (U.K.) as one o...

Published on Friday, February 3, 2012 by Kathy McCabe If you're traveling to Italy in 2012, you don't want to miss the following special museum exhibitions in Rome, Florence and Venice: Rome:  Lux in Arcana: The Vatican Secret Archives Revealed  is the must-see exhibition in Rome this year. Over 100 original documents -- spanning 400 years of Papal history -- will leave the confines of Vatican City for the first tim...

Published on Monday, December 19, 2011 by Kathy McCabe One of the great joys of eating in Italy is munching on fresh Italian bread. Yet when you bite into your first piece of while visiting Tuscany (and also much of Umbria), you might be surprised at what is missing. It might take a moment to realize that there's no salt! This type of bread is called pane toscano.  So how did the Tuscans miss this key ingredient that y...

Published on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 by Kathy McCabe Italy is home to thousands of museums (this list of museums features the most famous ones) and those numbers are in the increase with the opening of the new Gucci Museum in Florence and a new museum opening in Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (also known as Fiumicino). The  new Gucci Museum in the 14th-century Palazzo della Mercanzia, in Florence's Piazza Signor...