Whatever anyone will tell you, Rainer Maria Rilke is the greatest poet in the German language. If you do not speak German well enough to read Rilke in the original (or if you think, with Mark Twain, that life is too short to learn it), try – for flavour – a painting of Rilke’s near-contemporary…
There are three good reasons to visit the Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno in Genoa, one of Italy’s (and Europe’s) most famous and important “cities of the dead”. (Hemingway called the Staglieno “one of the wonders of the world”, and writers as different as Friedrich Nietzsche and Mark Twain were among its admirers.) First, architectural history. Archaeologists…
In Tuscany, landscape and urbanity are so closely interwoven that they create one large tapestry of culture which is governed by consistent aesthetic, economic and historical principles. While the Renaissance town palazzi reflect the pride and the wealth of the landowning families (it is said that Florentine rulers never ate or served anything in their…
One of the best, perhaps the single best feature of the Cinque Terre’s signature trail – the Blue Path – is its variety of views: you see the villages from different angles, sometimes in isolation and sometimes several at a time, sometimes from the front and sometimes from behind, sometimes from far away and sometimes…
One of the most reliably surprising experiences of any trip to the Riviera usually happens right at the start, even before you have fully arrived. When you come by plane from northern Europe, you will be flying over the snow-capped peaks of the High Alps one moment, then you blink, and the next time you…
Today, we are off to Menton, the easternmost resort on the French Riviera, for a walk that takes in all the best things about this blessed little spot: its history, its scenic location and its vicinity to la bella Italia. The walk allows you to experience Menton’s picturesque historic town centre, provides you with splendid views…
The Riviera is famous for … well, many things in fact – speed boats, card sharps, minor royals – so it never ceases to surprise me how many of the visitors we meet have explicitly come to see one of the gardens of the Riviera. I am – to be honest – not a natural…
Finally, to wrap up our short winter holiday to Campania, a few words about Naples. Naples, after all, is not only the regional capital, but also, with its international airport, the “Gateway to the South” and the obligatory first destination for many international visitors of Italy’s mezzogiorno. But even for those who travel around by…
… and even squeeze a walk into your schedule The Amalfi Coast is one of Europe’s most scenic and famous. It is certainly more dramatic than the Riviera, perhaps its only serious rival in the Champions League of European coastlines, but suffers in comparison by its relative lack of “grand names” and famous resorts. This…
The island of Capri – just off the Italian coast near the southern city of Naples – is a truly dazzling spectacle. You could be forgiven for thinking that a theme park operator had carefully assembled all the familiar Mediterranean motives – azure skies and the turquoise sea, rocks, trees, hills, a marina, caves –…