Grand Tour of Italy. ROAD TRIPS.

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GRAND
TOUR OF

ITALY

ROAD
TRIPS

PDF ebook

Edition 1st Edition
Release Date Jun 2016
Pages 136

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IN THIS BOOK… 4 EASY-TO-USE SECTIONS

1 PLAN YOUR TRIPWe reveal the ultimate road trips list to visit the sights of the Grand Tour
PLUS the highlights you’ll discover on the way and practical advice to kick-start
your trip…
Trip Highlights The best
experiences and the road
trips to take you there.
Expert Advice Discover
even more with our city
and Need to Know guides.

2 ROAD TRIPS

Inspirational images, local knowledge, special detours, easy-to-read colour
maps, expert advice and ways to link different trips together.

Get around easily with
colour maps and route
directions in easy stages.

Pick the right route with
inspirational images and
key trip highlights.

3 DESTINATIONS

In-depth reviews, walking routes, detailed listings and insider tips on the
destinations you’ll visit on your road trip.

4 DRIVING IN ITALY

Expert advice, practical tips, road etiquette and more.

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

GRAND TOUR
OF ITALY

ROAD
TRIPS

This edition written and researched by

Cristian Bonetto, Duncan Garwood, Paula Hardy,
Donna Wheeler and Nicola Williams

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Symbols In This Book
Reviews
KTop Tips Food &
In the Destinations section: Drink
All reviews are ordered in our authors’ Link
preference, starting with their most Your Trips Outdoors
preferred option. Additionally: Tips from Essential
Sights are arranged in the geographic Locals Photo
order that we suggest you visit them and, Trip Walking
within this order, by author preference. Detour Tour
Eating and Sleeping reviews are ordered by
price range (budget, midrange, top end) and, History & 5 Eating
within these ranges, by author preference. Culture 4 Sleeping
Family

Map Legend

Routes Trips 1 Sights 4 Sleeping
Trip Route Trip Numbers r Beaches 5 Eating
Trip Detour Trip Stop 2 Activities 6 Drinking
Linked Trip Walking tour C Courses 3 Entertainment
Walk Route Trip Detour T Tours 7 Shopping
Tollway
Freeway Population z &F eEsvtievnatlss 8 I&nfTorarmnsaptioornt
Primary Capital (National)
Secondary Capital These symbols and abbreviations give
Tertiary (State/Province) vital information for each listing:
Lane City/Large Town
Unsealed Road Town/Village % Telephone # Pet-friendly
Plaza/Mall number g Bus
Steps Areas f Ferry
Tunnel Beach h Opening hours j Tram
Pedestrian Cemetery p Parking d Train
Overpass (Christian) n Nonsmoking apt apartments
Walk Track/Path Cemetery (Other) a Air-conditioning d double rooms
Park i Internet access d m dorm beds
Boundaries Forest W Wi-fi access q quad rooms
International Reservation s Swimming pool r rooms
State/Province Urban Area v Vegetarian selec- s single rooms
Cliff Sportsground ste suites
tion tr triple rooms
Hydrography Transport E E nglish-language tw twin rooms
River/Creek Airport
Intermittent River Cable Car/ menu
Swamp/Mangrove Funicular c Family-friendly
Canal Metro station
Water Parking
Dry/Salt/ Train/Railway
Intermittent Lake Tram
Glacier
Note: Not all symbols
Highway Markers displayed above appear on
Autostrada
State Highway the maps in this book
Regional Highway
Provincial Highway
Other Road

CONTENTS

CONTENTS Venice................................................. 77
Padua.................................................. 86
Welcome to Turin & Genoa....................................90
the Grand Tour of Italy...................... 5 Turin.................................................... 90
Grand Tour of Italy Map.................... 6 Genoa................................................. 98
Grand Tour of Italy Highlights.......... 8 Naples & Around............................104
Rome City Guide............................... 10 Naples...............................................104
Florence City Guide......................... 12 Mt Vesuvius & Pompeii.................. 112
Venice City Guide............................. 13
Need to Know................................... 14 ROAD TRIP
ESSENTIALS
ROAD TRIPS
Italy Driving Guide......................... 115
1 Grand Italy Travel Guide............................ 121
Tour....................12–14 days 19 Language......................................... 129

2 Roaming
Around Rome...........3 days 31

3 Piero della
Francesca Trail..........7 days 39

4 Italian
Riviera........................4 days 47

DESTINATIONS

Rome................................................... 56
Florence.............................................. 66
Venice & Padua................................. 77

View over Piazzo San Pietro, Rome (p56)

ALBERTO SO / EYEEM / GETTY IMAGES ©

3

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Palazzo Carignano (p91), Turin

4

PIERO M.BIANCHI / GETTY IMAGES ©

WELCOME TO

THE GRAND TOUR
OF ITALY

Italy, the bel paese (beautiful country), is one
of Europe’s great seducers.

Blessed with an unparalleled cultural heritage,
food that is imitated the world over and a
landscape that combines historic cities,

stunning coastlines and remote wildernesses,
Italy has been beguiling travellers for

centuries, and still casts a powerful spell
today.

Follow the trail of bohemians and intellectuals
as you wind your way between the country’s
star cities, enjoying a wealth of lesser-known
historic treasures and artistic masterpieces

along the way.

5

44444444#_ VADUZ
#_ BERN AUSTRIA

1 Grand Tour 44444444Bressanone
The classic cultural tour – part ]#
pilgrimage, part rite of
Parco Nazionale
dello Stelvio
GRANDTOUROFpassage.
12–14 DAYS R O(3r9t0le5sm) Bolzano

^#
44444444 4 ITALYMonte R Tarvisio \#
4444444444 4(B48ia1n0cmo)
4444444 44R FRIULI
VASNLdPLWaaePz^#ElraAIiaGorTDdconrZio'aassEnAolteR^#OaLTSAuTNAVrDienrcVMeelalrgibgL^#iaaoknrNee^#i^#aovVaa^#rraePsaeC^#vLC^#o^#aimoakMome L^#ioOlaCSLPMnearodBreVc^#necaAmcgodlBlRtoiReoreDOlei^#lnorgiYrngaio^#oebansiimeal^#eoBMrGeaLasnradkctaeuiaa^#TTRVrAE^#AeeDNLnrI^#TToGtIOonNEaOV-iPcae^#dnuzMVaa(a3EV^#Vr3Nmi4etEt3onomTlTearOd)rtioeoa^#Vv#]^#iesnoice VENEZIA SLOVENIA ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
#_ LJUBLJANA
GIULIA
Udine ^# ^#

Trieste ^# Rijeka
Golfo di CROATIA
Trieste
Piero della Francesca Trail
44 3R
Asti ^# ^# Po DPelota A Renaissance art tour through
medieval towns and dramatic
]# Piacenza Reggio
Emilia
Monte Viso Alessandria Parma ^# ^# ^#Modena ^# Ferrara
(3841m) EMILIA-ROMAGNA
PIEDMONT CoVmalaleccdhiio

#] Savona ^# Genoa Bologna^# ^# Ravenna mountain passes. 7 DAYS

Cuneo #] Parco
Regionale
GGoenlfoovdai delle Alpi ^#

FRANCE LIGURIA La SpeziaM#]assAaPpL^#uiusacnacRe^#aM(P1^#3oi1ns4ttmeoA)PCirrarnoa^#coteo^#F^#lorenSceAN Forlì ^# Rimini

#] Imperia MARINO_# ^# Pesaro

MONAC#]O_# #\ LigSueraian SAN

Ventimiglia
Nice MONACO MARINO
Ancona
^#
Livorno ^# LE MARCHE
Arezzo^# Lago
TUSCANY

Riserva ^# Trasimeno ^#

Capo Capraia Naturale Siena Perugia Adriatic
Grosso Alto Merse ^# Parco Nazionale Sea

dei Monti Sibillini

R

Elba R #^
Pianosa Monte Amiata
4 Italian Riviera #^ UMBRIA dPealrcGoraNnazSiaosnsaolee
Cruise through a perennially (1736m) Terni Monti della Laga
Grosseto
BLoalgsoendai #^
stylish collection of coastal R Corno Grande
towns. 4 DAYS Giglio (2912m)
Montecristo #^ Te #^ #^ #^
vere L'Aquila TrIesomleiti
Viterbo Rieti Chieti
LAZIO
Corsica R Monte Amaro
Civitavecchia #] BLraacgcoiadnio (2795m)
FRANCE ABRUZZO
#^
Ajaccio ROME _#

R Isernia MOLISE
Monte Cavo
#^Frosinone #^ #^ PUGLIA
(949m)

#^ Latina Campobasso #^

Foggia

Capo CAMPANIA
Circeo
Golfo di #^Benevento
Gaeta Caserta#^

Olbia ]# Naples #^ #^ Avellino
#^ Sassari RM(12t8V1ems)uvius
Golfo di
2 Roaming Around Rome Ischia Napoli #^
Rome's hinterland is littered Capri
Nuoro with little-known historic sites. Salerno
GSaollfeorndoi
#^
3 DAYS Parco Nazionale
del Cilento e
Parco Nazionale Vallo di Diano
del Golfo di Orosei
Oristano R e del Gennargentu Golfo di
Policastro
#^ Punta TyrrSheeanian

La Marmora
(1834m)

San SARDINIA
Pietro Cagliari
Sant'Antioco #^

e# 0 200 km AIseloanliadns
0 100 miles

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

GRAND TOUR
OF ITALY

HIGHLIGHTS

ZM_PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BILL PERRY / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Alassio (above) This elegant DEA / G.DAGLI ORTI / GETTY IMAGES ©
beach town has been a
favourite holiday spot for
European expats for almost
300 years. See it on Trip 4
Ostia Antica (left) While
Rome abounds with historic
sites (and tourists), many
miss one of Italy’s most
compelling and under-
appreciated archaeological
treasures. See it on Trip 2
Sansepolcro (right)
Birthplace of Piero della
Francesca, this charming
town abounds in historic
palazzi and great works of
art. See it on Trip 3

GCUITIDYE ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

ROME

Even in a country of exquisite cities,
Rome (Roma) is special. Pulsating,
seductive and utterly disarming,
it’s a mesmerising mix of artistic
masterpieces and iconic monuments,
theatrical piazzas and haunting
ruins. If your road leads to Rome, give
yourself a couple of days to explore its
headline sights.

St Peter’s Basilica (p57)

10

RILINDH / GETTY IMAGES © Getting Around TOP EXPERIENCES

Driving is not the best way to get around ¨¨Get to the Heart of the
Rome. Traffic can be chaotic and much of Ancient City
the centro storico (historic centre) is closed
to nonauthorised traffic on weekdays and Thrill to the sight of the Colosseum,
weekend evenings. You’re better off using Roman Forum and Palatino, where
public transport; a day pass is €6. Romulus and Remus supposedly
founded the city in 753 BC.
Parking
¨¨Gaze Heavenwards in the
On-street parking, which is expensive and Sistine Chapel
scarce, is denoted by blue lines. There are
some car parks in the centre, which charge File past kilometres of priceless art at
about €15 to €20 per day. Some top-end the Vatican Museums to arrive at the
hotels offer parking, usually for an extra Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s
charge. fabled frescoes. (www.vatican.va)

Discover the Taste of Rome ¨¨Visit Villa Borghese’s Baroque
Treasures
For authentic nose-to-tail Roman cooking
check out the trattorias in Testaccio, and Head to the Museo e Galleria
for traditional Roman-Jewish cuisine head Borghese to marvel at a series of
to the atmospheric Jewish Ghetto. exhilarating sculptures by baroque
maestro Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Live Like a Local (www.galleriaborghese.it)

The most atmospheric, and expensive, place ¨¨Admire the Pantheon’s Dome
to stay is the centro storico, where you’ll
have everything on your doorstep. Night The Pantheon is the best preserved of
owls will enjoy Trastevere, while Tridente Rome’s ancient monuments; it’s only
offers refined accommodation and designer when you get inside that you get the
shopping. The Vatican is also popular. full measure of the place as its dome
soars above you.
Useful Websites
¨¨Pay Homage at St Peter’s
060608 (www.060608.it) Official tourist website. Basilica
Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/rome)
Destination low-down, hotels and traveller forum. Capped by Michelangelo’s landmark
dome, the Vatican’s showpiece church
Trips through Rome: 12 is a masterpiece of Renaissance
architecture and baroque decor.
Destination coverage: p56
¨¨Live the Trastevere Dolce Vita
For more, check out our
city and country guides. Join the evening crowds in Trastevere
www.lonelyplanet.com to eat earthy Roman food, drink in the
many bars and pubs, and parade up
and down the streets.

¨¨Hang Out on the Piazzas

Hanging out on Rome’s piazzas is
part and parcel of Roman life –
having an ice cream on Piazza
Navona, people-watching on Piazza
del Popolo and posing on Piazza di
Spagna.

11

CITY GABRIELE MALTINTI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
GUIDE

Via de’Tornabuoni, Florence (p66)

FLORENCE

An essential stop on every Italian itinerary, Florence (Firenze) is one of the world’s
great art cities, boasting Renaissance icons and a wonderfully intact centro storico.
Beyond the Michelangelo masterpieces and Medici palazzi (mansions), there’s a
buzzing bar scene and great shopping in artisan workshops and designer boutiques.

Getting Around Discover the Taste of Useful Websites
Florence
Nonresident traffic is Firenze Turismo (www.
banned from the centre Florence teems with firenzeturismo.it) Official tourist
of Florence for most of restaurants, trattorias, office site; comprehensive and
the week, and if you enter osterie (casual taverns) up to date.
the Limited Traffic Zone and wine bars catering The Florentine (www.
(ZTL) you risk a €150 fine. to all budgets. Top theflorentine.com) For
Rather than drive, walk or neighbourhoods include accommodation, sights
use the city buses; tickets Santa Croce, home to information and practical advice.
cost €1.20 or €2 on board. some of the city’s best Firenze Musei (www.
restaurants, and over-the- firenzemusei.it) Book tickets for
Parking river Oltrarno. the Uffizi and Accademia.

There is free street Live Like a Local Trips through
parking around Piazzale Florence: 13
Michelangelo (park within To be right in the heart
the blue lines). Pricey of it, go for the Duomo Destination coverage:
(around €20 per day) and Piazza della Signoria p66
underground parking areas, which have some
can be found around excellent budget options.
Fortezza da Basso and Near the train station,
in the Oltrarno beneath Santa Maria Novella has
Piazzale di Porta Romana. some good midrange
Otherwise, ask if your boutique/design hotels.
hotel can arrange parking.

12

IAKOV KALININ / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Grand Canal and Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (p81)

VENICE

A magnificent, unforgettable spectacle, Venice (Venezia) is a hauntingly beautiful
city. For 1000 years it was one of Europe’s great sea powers and its unique cityscape
reflects this, with golden Byzantine domes and great Gothic churches, noble palazzi
and busy waterways.

Getting Around Discover the Taste of Useful Websites
Venice
Venice is off-limits to cars, Turismo Venezia (www.
leaving you to walk or take Venice’s version of tapas, turismovenezia.it) The city’s
a boat. You’ll inevitably bar snacks called cicheti, official tourism site.
get lost at some point but are served in osterie A Guest in Venice (www.
directions to Piazza San across town at lunch and unospitedivenezia.it) Hotelier
Marco, the Rialto and between 6pm and 8pm. association that provides
Accademia are posted on information on upcoming
yellow signs. Vaporetti Live Like a Local exhibits, events and lectures.
(small ferries) ply the city’s Veneto Inside (www.
waterways; a one-way Many Venetians open venetoinside.com) Book entry to
ticket costs €7. their historic homes as the Basilica di San Marco, guided
B&Bs – check the Turismo visits and water taxis.
Parking Venezia website for lists.
Dorsoduro and San Polo Trips through Venice:
Once you’ve crossed the are charming areas to stay 1
Ponte della Libertà bridge in, near major museums
from Mestre, you’ll have and with plenty of bar Destination coverage:
to park at Piazzale Roma action. Cannaregio is p77
or Tronchetto car parks; another good option,
bank on up to €26 for 24 relatively untouristy and
hours. in parts very picturesque.

13

Know ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

NEED TO Climate
KNOW
Dry climate
CURRENCY
Warm to hot summer, mild winter
Euro (€)
Warm to hot summer, cold winter
LANGUAGE
Mild summer, cold winter
Italian
# Cold climate
VISAS
GO Dec–MMilaarn(skiing) #
Generally not required for & Sep
stays of up to 90 days (or GVSeeOpnF–iceNebo–vMar &
at all for EU nationals);
some nationalities need a JGuOl &RANporom–veM–Daey,c
Schengen visa (p128).
#
FUEL
Naples
You’ll find filling stations on GO May–Jun #
autostradas and all major
roads. The price of fuel can & Sep
be higher in Italy than in
neighbouring countries; be When to Go
sure to check before you go.
High Season (Jul–Aug)
RENTAL CARS »»Prices high on the coast; accommodation discounts available

Avis (www.avis.com) in some cities in August.
Europcar (www.europcar.
com) »»Prices rocket for Christmas, New Year and Easter.
Hertz (www.hertz.com) »»Late December to March is high season in the Alps and
Maggiore (www.maggiore.it)
Dolomites.
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
Shoulder Season (Apr–Jun & Sep–Oct)
Ambulance (%118) »»Good deals on accommodation, especially in the south.
Emergency (%112) »»Spring is best for festivals, flowers and local produce.
Police (%113) »»Autumn provides warm weather and the grape harvest.
Roadside Assistance
(%803 116; %800 116800 Low Season (Nov–Mar)
from a foreign mobile phone) »»Prices at their lowest – up to 30% less than in high season.
»»Many sights and hotels closed in coastal and mountainous

areas.

»»A good period for cultural events in large cities.

14

Daily Costs Sleeping (Naples)

Budget: Less than Hotels From luxury boutique Rental cars Agencies are
€100 palaces to modest family-run located in the main Arrivals hall.
»»Double room in a budget hotel: pensioni (small hotels). Airport shuttles Run every 20
minutes from 6.30am to 11.40pm.
€50–€100 B&Bs Rooms in restored Taxis Set fare €19 to €23; 30
farmhouses, city palazzi minutes.
»»Pizza or pasta: €6–€12 (mansions) or seaside bungalows.
»»Excellent markets and delis for Mobile Phones (Cell
Agriturismi Farmstays range Phones)
self-catering from working farms to luxury
rural retreats. Local SIM cards can be used
Midrange: €100– in European, Australian and
€200 Price indicators for a double unlocked, multiband US phones.
»»Double room in a midrange room with bathroom and Other phones must be set to
breakfast included: roaming.
hotel: €80–€180
€ less than €110 Internet Access
»»Lunch and dinner in local €€ €110–€200
€€€ more than €200 Wifi is available in many lodgings
restaurants: €25–€45 and city bars, often free. Internet
Arriving in Italy cafes are thin on the ground
»»Museum admission: €5–€15 and typically charge €2 to €6
Leonardo da Vinci per hour.
Top End: More than (Fiumicino) Airport
€200 (Rome) Money
»»Double room in a four- or five-
Rental cars Agencies are near ATMs at airports, most train
star hotel: €200–€450 the multilevel car park. Look for stations and in towns and cities.
signs in the Arrivals area. Credit cards accepted in most
»»Top-restaurant dinner: Trains & buses Run every 30 hotels and restaurants. Keep
minutes from 6.30am to 11.40pm. cash for immediate expenses.
€50–€150 Night buses Hourly departures
from 12.30am to 5am. Tipping
»»Opera tickets: €15–€150 Taxis Set fare €48; 45 minutes.
Not obligatory but round up the
Eating Malpensa Airport bill in pizzerias and trattorias;
(Milan) 10% is normal in upmarket
Restaurants (Ristoranti) restaurants.
Formal service and refined Rental cars In Terminal 1
dishes, with prices to match. agencies are on the 1st floor; in For more, see Road Trip
Terminal 2 in the Arrivals hall. Essentials (p115).
Trattorias Family-run places
with informal service and classic Malpensa Express &
regional cooking. Shuttle Runs every 30 minutes
from 5am to 11pm.
Vegetarians Most places offer Night buses Limited services
good vegetable starters and side from 12.15am to 5am.
dishes. Taxis Set fare €90; 50 minutes.

Price indicators for a meal with Capodichino Airport
primo (first course), secondo
(second course), a glass of house
wine and coperto (cover charge):

€ less than €25
€€ €25–€45
€€€ more than €45

15



Road Trips

1 Grand Tour, 12–14 days
The classic cultural tour – part pilgrimage,
part rite of passage. (p19)

2 Roaming Around Rome, 3 days
Rome’s hinterland is littered with little-
known historic sites. (p31)

3 Piero della Francesca Trail, 7 days
A Renaissance art tour through medieval
towns and dramatic mountain passes. (p39)

4 Italian Riviera, 4 days
Cruise through a perennially stylish
collection of coastal towns. (p47)

San Remo (p51)

JULIUS FEKETE / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

ROBERT NAGY PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES © 1Grand Tour

The gap-year journey of its day, the Grand Tour is a search for art
and enlightenment, adventure and debauchery.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 12–14 DAYS
1295KM / 804 MILES
lL ## #4 555 km
Venice GREAT FOR…
Turin Padua Marvel at
marble palaces BH
# and gold mosaics
BEST TIME TO GO
# ##6 710 km
Florence Spring (March–May)
Genoa Viterbo # Enjoy the is perfect for urban
world’s greatest sightseeing.
Rome ##8 Renaissance hits
Catch up on I ESSENTIAL
2000 years of mK##9 PHOTO
Western history
1070 km Naples Florence’s
Ponder the fallen in multicoloured, marble
Pompeii and the Duomo (Cathedral).
treasures they left behind
1295 km KBEST FOR
HISTORY
Left Duomo (p26), Florence
Rome, the repository
of over 2500 years of
European history.

19

Aosta Varese ^#
^#
VALLE 0¸A26 Milan
lL 0¸D' AOSTA
A4 ^# #^

H# Novara
Turin p22
¸0#^#1 PIEDMONT
0¸AleA2s1sandria^# A2

Tortona

]#

1 Grand Tour ¸0 0¸E74 A7
¸0A26
From the Savoy palaces of Turin and
Leonardo’s Last Supper to the dubious ]# ¸0 #] ##^2
drinking dens of Genoa and the pleasure
palaces of Rome, the Grand Tour is part Cuneo Savona Genoa
scholar’s pilgrimage and part rite of FRANCE LIGURIA Golfo di
passage. Offering a chance to view some of Genova
the world’s greatest masterpieces and hear MONACO A8
Vivaldi played on 18th-century cellos, it is a
rollicking trip filled with the sights, sounds #] Imperia
and tastes that have shaped European
society for centuries. LigSueraian

Golfe de
St-Florent

Parc Naturel
Régional
de la Corse
Corsica

MEDITERRANEAN
SEA FRANCE

1 Turin (p90) First they travelled Mare di GAoslifonadreall' SA
through France before Sardegna Sassari
In his travel guide, crossing the Alps at Mt ^#
Voyage through Italy Cenis and heading to
(1670), travel writer and Turin (Torino), where Like the Medicis
tutor Richard Lassels letters of introduction in Florence (Firenze)
advocated a grand admitted them to the and the Borghese in
cultural tour of Europe, city’s agreeable Parisian- Rome (Roma), Turin’s
and in particular Italy, style social whirl. Savoy princes had a
for young English Today Turin’s tree-lined penchant for extravagant
aristocrats, during boulevards retain their architecture and interior
which the study of elegant, French feel decor. You suspect
classical antiquity and and many turn-of-the they also pined for
the High Renaissance century cafes, such as their hunting lodges in
would ready them for Caffè San Carlo (Piazza Chambéry, France, from
future influential roles San Carlo 156; h8am-1am), where they originated,
shaping the political, still serve Torinese hot
economic and social chocolate beneath their
realities of the day. gilded chandeliers.

20

LOMBARDY VENETO Treviso Laguna SLOVENIA
di Grado ^# Trieste
¸0n
0¸ # #^#
#^Bergamo Lake Vicenza ^#
Garda A4
Brescia #^ A4 #^ #^
#^3 ^#4 Venice
Verona Brenta CROATIA
Padua Riviera
¸00¸ ¸0a
A1 #^ #^ Mantua
A21 #^
Cremona A13
Piacenza
0¸A22 #^ Ferrara Po Delta
EMILIA- Modena
ROMAGNA
#^

¸0#^#5 Bologna #^ Ravenna
A14
0¸A1 ^#
La Spezia Forlì ^# Rimini GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 1 Grand Tour

]#

#^ Lucca 0¸#Florence E45 SAN MARINO
#^
#^6
Pisa FGGreve in 3 ^# Ancona Adriatic
Sea
Livorno ^# #\Chianti #^ Arezzo LE MARCHE

Siena #^ Perugia

TUSCANY #^ Ascoli
0¸ 0¸ ¸0e
Golfo di E78 E45 Piceno
nt Baratti
Golfo di UMBRIA ^#
#0¸ ¸0 0¸el Follonica Orvieto SS4
Elba #^ GrosLsaegotodi
Bolsena #\ A24
dePllr'Aomrgoennttoarriioo Viterbo ABRUZZO ^# Pescara
A1
^# Isole
^#7 Tremiti

L'Aquila A14

e LAZIO

a Rome #8
FG2 Frosinone
E MOLISE Foggia #^
^# ^#
Îles Isernia
Lavezzi Latina
Tyrrhenian 0¸#^
Golfo di Sea A1 Benevento
Olbia
0¸GGoalfeotadi Caserta^#
SARDINIA Km #Naples ^#9 Pompeii ^# A16
CAMPANIA

e# 0 100 km \# #^ Salerno
0 50 miles

as they invited André LINK
le Nôtre, Versailles YOUR
landscaper, to design the TRIP
gardens of Palazzo Reale
(Piazza Castello; adult/reduced 2 Roaming 3 Piero della
€12/6; h8.30am-7.30pm Tue- Around Rome Francesca Trail
Sun) in 1697.
If the Eternal City From Florence, jump on
The Drive » The two-hour becomes too exhausting, to this art-based trail and
escape to some lesser- take in masterpieces,
(170km) drive to Genoa is all on known sights in the medieval towns and
the autostrada, the final stretch Roman hinterland (p31). striking scenery (p39).
twisting through the mountains.
Leave Turin following signs for

21

GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 1 Grand Tour the A55 (towards Alessandria), families earned them a Superiore di Pellicceria 1; adult/
which quickly merges with the reputation, according to reduced €4/2; h8.30am-8pm
A21 passing through the pretty author Thomas Nugent, Tue-Sat, from 1.30pm Sun)
Piedmontese countryside. Just as ‘a treacherous and and the Palazzo Reale
before Alessandria turn south over-reaching set of (www.palazzorealegenova.
onto the A26 for Genoa/Livorno. people’. beniculturali.it; Via Balbi 10;
adult/child €4/2; h9am-7pm
2 Genoa (p98) And yet with tourists Thu-Sun, to 1.30pm Tue &
and businesspeople Wed). Afterwards stop
Some travellers, shy of arriving from around the for sweets at Pietro
crossing the Alps, might world, Genoa was, and Romanengo fu Stefano
arrive by boat in Genoa still is, a cosmopolitan (www.romanengo.com; Via
(Genova). Despite its place. The Rolli Palaces, Soziglia 74r).
superb location, mild a collection of grand
microclimate and lush mansions originally The Drive » This 365km drive
flora, the city had a meant to host visiting
dubious reputation. popes, dignitaries and takes most of the day, so stop
Its historic centre royalty, made Via Balbi for lunch in Cremona. Although
was a warren of dark, and Strada Nuova (now the drive is on the autostrada,
insalubrious caruggi Via Giuseppe Garibaldi) endless fields of corn line the
(alleys), stalked by two of the most famous route. Take the A7 north out
prostitutes and beggars, streets in Europe. Visit of Genoa and at Tortona exit
while the excessive the finest of them, the onto the A21 around industrial
shrewdness of the Palazzo Spinola (Galleria Piacenza to Brescia. At Brescia,
Genovese banking Nazionale; www.palazzospinola. change again onto the A4 direct
to Padua.
beniculturali.it; Piazza
3 Padua (p86)
DETOUR:
MILAN Bound for Venice
(Venezia), Grand Tourists
Start: 1 Turin could hardly avoid
visiting Padua (Padova),
No Grand Tour would be complete without a detour although by the 18th
up the A4 to Milan (Milano) to eyeball Leonardo century international
da Vinci’s iconic Il Cenacolo (The Last Supper; www. students no longer
cenacolovinciano.net; Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie 2; adult/ flocked to Palazzo del
reduced €6.50/3.25; h8.15am-7pm Mon-Sat). Advance Bò (%049 827 30 47; Via
booking is essential (booking fee €1.50). VIII Febbraio; adult/reduced
€5/2; htours 9.15am,
From his Portrait of a Young Man (c 1486), 10.15am & 11.15pm Tue,
to portraits of Duke Ludovico Sforza’s beautiful Thu & Sat, 3.15pm, 4.15pm
mistresses, The Lady with the Ermine (c 1489) and & 5.15pm Mon, Wed & Fri),
La Belle Ferronière (c 1490), da Vinci transformed the Venetian Republic’s
the rigid conventions of portraiture to depict highly radical university where
individual images imbued with naturalism. Then Copernicus and Galileo
he evolved concepts of idealised proportions and taught class.
the depiction of internal emotional states through
physical dynamism (St Jerome), all of which cohere You can visit
in the masterly Il Cenacolo. the university’s
claustrophobic, wooden
anatomy theatre (the
first in the world),

22

although it’s no longer landscape captured at court and much GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 1 Grand Tour
de rigueur to witness the imagination of time was devoted to
dissections on the travellers. At Carnevale frequenting casinos and
average tourist itinerary. (www.carnevale.venezia.it) coffeehouses. Historic
Afterwards don’t forget in February numbers Caffè Florian (www.
to pay your respects swelled to 30,000; now caffeflorian.com; Piazza
to the skulls of noble they number in the
professors who donated hundreds of thousands. San Marco 56/59; drinks
themselves for dissection You cannot take your
because of the difficulty car onto the lagoon €10-25; h9am-midnight)
involved in acquiring islands so leave it in a still adheres to rules
fresh corpses. Their secure garage in Mestre, established in the 1700s.
skulls are lined up in the such as Garage Europa
graduation hall. (www.garageeuropamestre. So do as the Venetians
com; per day €14), and hop would do, glide down the
Beyond the university on the train to Venice Grand Canal on the No 1
the melancholy air Santa Lucia where water vaporetto (small passenger
of the city did little taxis connect to all the ferry; ticket €6.50) for an
to detain foreign islands. architectural tour of
visitors. Even Giotto’s 50 palazzi (mansions),
spectacular frescoes in Aside from the mind- gossip in the balconies
the Scrovegni Chapel improving art in the of the Teatro La Fenice
(www.cappelladegliscrovegni. (%reservations 041 24 24;
it; Piazza Eremitani 8; adult/ Gallerie dell’Accademia
reduced €13/6; night ticket (www.gallerieaccademia. www.teatrolafenice.it; Campo
€8/6; h9am-7pm), where
advance reservations org; Campo della Carità San Fantin 1965; theatre
are essential, were of visits adult/reduced €9/6),
limited interest given 1050; adult/reduced €11/8; or listen for summer
medieval art was out of thunderstorms in
fashion, and only devout plus exhibition supplement; Vivaldi’s Four Seasons,
Catholics ventured to played by Interpreti
revere the strange relics h8.15am-2pm Mon, to 7.15pm Veneziani (www.
of St Anthony in the Tue-Sun), extraordinary interpretiveneziani.com; Chiesa
Basilica di Sant’Antonio architectural follies
(www.basilicadelsanto.org; such as the Palazzo San Vidal; adult/reduced
Piazza del Santo; h6.30am- Ducale, the Campanile
7.45pm, to 6.45pm Nov-Mar). and Longhena’s €27/22; h8.30pm).
For more earthly
The Drive » Barely 50km, Basilica di Santa Maria
della Salute, and the pleasures visit the
the drive from Padua to Venice glittering Eastern produce-piled Campo
is through featureless areas of domes of Basilica Rialto Mercato (San Polo,
light industry along the A4 and di San Marco (www. Campo de la Pescaria, h7am-
then the A57. basilicasanmarco.it; Piazza 2pm Mon-Sat) and the
covered seafood market,
TRIP San Marco; basilica entry free; Pescaria (Rialto, h7am-2pm
h9.45am-5pm Mon-Sat, Tue-Sun).
4 Venice (p77) 2-5pm Sun), Venice was
considered, according to The Drive » Retrace your
Top of the itinerary, author Bruce Redford,
Venice at last! the ‘locus of decadent steps to Padua on the A57 and
Then, as now, La Italianate allure’. A4 and navigate around the ring
Serenissima’s watery Venetian wives were road in the direction of Bologna
notorious for keeping to pick up the A13 southwest for
handsome escorts this short 1½-hour drive. After
(cicisbeo), courtesans Padua the dual carriageway
held powerful positions dashes through wide-open
farmland and crosses the Po
river which forms the southern
border of the Veneto.

23

BRUNO MORANDI / GETTY IMAGES © VIACHESLAV LOPATIN / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 1 Grand Tour5 Bologna

CANADASTOCK / SHUTTERSTOCK © Home to Europe’s oldest
university (established
in 1088) and once the
stamping ground of
Dante, Boccaccio and
Petrarch, Bologna had an
enviable reputation for
courtesy and culture. Its
historic centre, complete
with 20 soaring towers, is
one of the best-preserved
and largest medieval
cities in the world.
In its Basilica di San
Petronio (Piazza Maggiore;
admission free; h7.45am-2pm
& 3-6.30pm), originally
intended to dwarf St
Peter’s in Rome, Giovanni
Cassini’s sundial (1655)
proved the problems
with the Julian calendar,
giving us the leap year,
while Bolognesi students
advanced human
knowledge in obstetrics,
natural science, zoology
and anthropology. You
can peer at their strange
model waxworks and
studiously labelled
collections in the
Palazzo Poggi (www.
museopalazzopoggi.unibo.it;

Via Zamboni 33; adult/reduced

€5/3; h10am-4pm Tue-Fri,

10.30am-5.30pm Sat & Sun;
shorter hrs winter).

Leading in art as in
science, the School of
Bologna gave birth to
the Carracci cousins
Ludovico, Agostino and
Annibale, who were
among the founding
fathers of Italian
baroque and were

Top left Statue, Piazza Maggiore, 25
Bologna
Far left Pompeii (p28)
Left Venice (p23)

GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 1 Grand Tour deeply influenced by the in the Galleria 7 Viterbo
Counter-Reformation. dell’Accademia (%055
See their emotionally 294 883; Via Ricasoli 60; adult/ From Florence the road
charged blockbusters reduced €8/4; h8.15am- to Rome crossed the
in the Pinacoteca 6.50pm Tue-Sun) and the dreaded and pestilential
Nazionale (Via delle Belle Galleria degli Uffizi (www. campagna (countryside),
Arti 56; admission €4; h9am- uffizi.firenze.it; Piazza degli a swampy, mosquito-
7pm Tue-Sun). Uffizi 6; adult/reduced €8/4; infested low-lying area.
h8.15am-6.50pm Tue-Sun), Unlike now, inns en route
The Drive » Bologna sits Florence, according to were uncomfortable and
Unesco, contains ‘the hazardous, so travellers
at the intersection of the A1, greatest concentration hurried through Siena
A13 and A14. From the centre of universally renowned stocking up on wine for
navigate west out of the city, works of art in the world’. the rough road ahead.
across the river Reno, onto the They also stopped briefly
A1. From here it’s a straight shot Whereas Rome in medieval Viterbo for
into Florence for 110km, leaving and Milan have torn a quick douse in the
the Po plains behind you and themselves down and thermal springs at the
entering the low hills of Emilia- been rebuilt many times, Terme dei Papi (%07 61 35
Romagna and the forested incorporating a multitude 01; www.termedeipapi.it; Strada
valleys of Tuscany. of architectural whims, Bagni 12; pool €12, Sun €25;
central Florence looks h9am-7pm Wed-Mon, plus
TRIP much as it did in 1550, 9.30pm-1am Sat), and a tour
with stone towers and of the High Renaissance
6 Florence (p66) cypress-lined gardens. spectacle that is the Villa
Lante (%07 6128 8008;
From Filippo The Drive » The next 210km, admission €2; h8.30am-1hr
Brunelleschi’s red-tiled before sunset Tue-Sun).
dome atop Florence’s continuing south along the
Duomo (www.operaduomo. A1, travels through some of The Drive » Rejoin the A1
firenze.it; Piazza del Duomo; Italy’s most lovely scenery.
admission €10; h10am-5pm Just southwest of Florence the after a 28km drive along the
Mon-Wed & Fri, to 4.30pm Thu, vineyards of Greve in Chianti rural SS675. For the next 40km
to 4.45pm Sat, 1.30-4.45pm harbour some great farmstays, the A1 descends slowly into
Sun) to Michelangelo’s while Arezzo is to the east. At Lazio, criss-crossing the river
and Botticelli’s greatest Orvieto exit onto the SS71 and Tevere and keeping the ridge of
hits, David and The Birth skirt Lago di Bolsena for the the Apennines to the left as it
of Venus respectively, final 50km into Viterbo. darts through tunnels. At Fiano
Romano exit for Roma Nord
TOP TIP: onto the A1dir for the final 20km
JUMP THE QUEUE IN descent into the capital.
FLORENCE

In July, August and other busy periods such as TRIP

Easter, long queues are a fact of life at Florence’s key 8 Rome (p56)

museums. For a fee of €4 each, tickets to the Uffizi In the 18th century Rome,
even in ruins, was still
and Galleria dell’Accademia (where David lives) can thought of as the august
capital of the world. Here
be booked in advance. To organise your ticket, go to more than anywhere
the Grand Tourist was
www.firenzemusei.it or call Firenze Musei (Florence awakened to an interest
Museums; %055 29 48 83; hbooking line 8.30am-6.30pm in art and architecture,

Mon-Fri, to 12.30pm Sat), which also has ticketing
desks (h8.30am-7pm Tue-Sun) at the Uffizi and
Palazzo Pitti.

26

AG PHOTOGRAPHE / GETTY IMAGES ©

Colosseum

although the Colosseum San Pietro; audioguides preferred to socialise
(Piazza del Colosseo; www. €5; h7am-7pm) before in the grounds of the
clattering along the Borghese Palace (www.
coopculture.it; adult/reduced corso to the customs galleriaborghese.it; Piazzale
house. Once done, del Museo Borghese 5; adult/
incl Roman Forum & Palatino they headed to Piazza reduced €11/6.50; h9am-
di Spagna, the city’s 7pm Tue-Sun, prebooking
€12/7.50; h8.30am-1hr before principal meeting place, necessary).
sunset) was still filled with where Keats penned his
debris and the Palatino love poems and died of Follow their example
was covered in gardens, consumption. and mix the choicest
its excavated treasures sights with more venal
slowly accumulating in Although the pleasures such as fine
the world’s oldest national Pantheon (Piazza della dining at Open Colonna
museum, the Capitoline Rotonda; admission free; (%06 4782 2641; Via Milano
Museums (Musei Capitolini; 9a; meals €20-80; h12.30-
www.museicapitolini.org; h8.30am-7.30pm Mon- midnight Tue-Sat, lunch Sun)
Sat, 9am-6pm Sun) and and souvenir shopping
Piazza del Campidoglio 1; Vatican Museums (http:// at antique perfumery
mv.vatican.va; Viale Vaticano;
adult/reduced €11.50/9.50; Officina Profumo
adult/reduced €16/8; h9am-
h9.30am-7.30pm, last Farmaceutica di Santa
admission 6.30pm;). 4pm Mon-Sat, 9am-12.30pm Maria Novella (Corso
last Sun of month) were a Rinascimento 47).
Arriving through must, most travellers
the Porta del Popolo,
visitors first espied the
dome of St Peter’s (Piazza

27

GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 1 Grand Tour TOP TIP: guided tours 081 553 45 65;
ROME INFORMATION LINE www.teatrosancarlo.it; Via San
Carlo 98; tours €6; h10am-
The Comune di Roma (city council) runs a 4.30pm Mon-Sat, prebooking
free multilingual information line (%06 06 08; necessary) were obligatory.
www.060608.it; h9am-9pm), providing information
on culture, shows, hotels, transport etc. You can Then there were the
also book theatre, concert, exhibition and museum myths of Virgil and
tickets on this number. The call centre, open 24 Dante to explore at Lago
hours, has staff who speak English, French, Arabic, d’Averno and Campi
German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese available from Flegrei (the Phlegrean
4pm to 7pm. Fields). And, after the
discovery of Pompeii
The Drive » Past Rome the At the time Vesuvius (%081 857 53 47; www.
(www.epnv.it; crater tours €8; pompeiisites.org; entrances
landscape is hotter and drier, at Porta Marina, Piazza
trees give way to Mediterranean h9am-6pm Jul & Aug, to 5pm Esedra & Piazza Anfiteatro;
shrubbery and the grass starts adult/reduced €11/5.50;
to yellow. Beyond the vineyards Apr-Jun & Sep, to 4pm Mar & h8.30am-7.30pm summer,
of Frascati, just 20km south of Oct, to 3pm Nov-Feb) glowed to 5pm winter) in 1748, the
Rome, the A1 heads straight to menacingly on the bay, unfolding drama of a
Naples (Napoli) for 225km, a erupting no less than six Roman town in its death
two-hour drive that often takes times during the 18th throes drew throngs of
much longer due to heavy traffic. century and eight times mawkish voyeurs. Then,
in the 19th century. But as now, it was the most
TRIP Naples was the home popular tourist sight in
of opera and commedia Italy and its priceless
9 Naples (p104) dell’arte (improvised mosaics, pornographic
comedic drama satirising frescoes and colossal
Only the more stock social stereotypes), sculptures filled the
adventurous Grand and singing lessons and
Tourists continued seats at Teatro San Carlo Museo Archeologico
south to the salacious (%box office 081 797 23 31, Nazionale (%081 442 21
southern city of Naples. 49; Piazza Museo Nazionale 19;
admission adult/reduced €8/4;
h9am-7.30pm Wed-Mon).

Piazza di Spagna & the Spanish Steps (p27), Rome THOMAS STANKIEWICZ / LOOK-FOTO / GETTY IMAGES ©

28



©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

1
2
3
4
5
6

PAOLO CIPRIANI / GETTY IMAGES © Roaming Around

2Rome

Rome’s little-explored hinterland is a real eye-opener, with verdant
scenery and thrilling cultural treasures – haunting ancient ruins,
hilltop villas and landscaped Renaissance gardens.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 101 km 3 DAYS
101KM / 62 MILES
97 km Tivoli
Fountains, frescoes GREAT FOR…
Villa Adriana and landscaped
Explore the remnants Renaissance gardens BH
of Hadrian’s lavish
country residence

Km##5# #6 BEST TIME TO GO

lL##1 ##3 # Palestrina Spring’s good for the
ancient sites, early
Grottaferrata # 45 km summer for romantic
views.
# Marino Frascati
Food, wine, I ESSENTIAL
# great views and PHOTO
ancient artefacts
Castel Fountains at Tivoli’s
Gandolfo Villa d’Este.

Ostia Antica KBEST FOR
The beautifully preserved ruins WINE BUFFS
of ancient Rome’s seaport
Frascati’s traditional
0 km cellars.

Left Ostia Antica (p32) 31

2 Roaming TRIP
Around Rome
1 Ostia Antica
While Rome (Roma) hogs the limelight,
the area around the capital makes for The remarkably well-
an absorbing drive with its wealth of preserved ruins of Ostia
historic sights. Headline acts include Antica, ancient Rome’s
the remarkably well-preserved ruins of main seaport, form one
ancient Rome’s port at Ostia Antica, and of Italy’s most compelling
Emperor Hadrian’s vast palace complex and underappreciated
at Tivoli. Tivoli is one of several hilltop archaeological sites.
towns that feature on this trip, along The city was founded
with the wine town of Frascati and the in the 4th century BC
at the mouth of the
Tiber and developed
into a major port with
a population of around
100,000. Decline came
in the 5th century when
barbarian invasions and

BLraacgcoiadni o GF /·A1
1

Saxa 0¸SS5
Rubra #\
0¸ mKVilla
*²A90 *² # #A90 6#\
LAZIO Adriana #\5 Tivoli
CITTÀ DEL
VATICANO SS5

#_ ¸0A24
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0¸SP51a

Gallicano

/·A1 \#

0¸A12 Colonna #\ /·SS6 #Palestrina 4\#

/·A1 0¸\#San SS155
Cesareo
#Frascati #\3 Molara
*²A90 \#
Tevere Grottaferrata #\
·/SS8 ·/SS7 Marino Rocca
#\ di Papa

#\

Fi\#umicino Ll#\#1 Ostia Antica #Castel Gandolfo#\2 ALlbaagnoo R Monte Cavo
(949m)

#\ ·/Albano#\ #\Nemi
SS7
Lido di Ostia LazialeGenza#\no
di Roma
\# Velletri

Tyrrhenian
Sea

an outbreak of malaria such as the Terme 2 Castel Gandolfo GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 2 Roaming Around Rome
led to its abandonment di Nettuno (Baths of
and slow burial in river Neptune), whose floor One of the prettiest towns
silt, thanks to which it features a famous mosaic in the Castelli Romani, an
has survived so well. of Neptune driving his area of wooded wine-rich
seahorse chariot. Next hills just south of Rome,
The Scavi Archeologici door, the steeply stacked Castel Gandolfo makes
di Ostia Antica (Ruins of amphitheatre was built for a memorable stop. It’s
Ostia Antica; www.ostiaantica. by Agrippa and later not a big place but what
enlarged to hold 3000 it lacks in size it makes
beniculturali.it; Viale dei people. Behind the up for in atmosphere,
theatre, the Piazzale delle and on a warm summer’s
Romagnoli 717; adult/reduced Corporazioni (Forum evening there’s no better
of the Corporations) place for a romantic
€10/6; h8.30am-6.15pm housed Ostia’s merchant tête-à-tête. Action is
guilds and is decorated centred on Piazza della
Tue-Sun summer, earlier closing with well-preserved Libertà, a refined baroque
winter) are spread out and mosaics. Further square overlooked by
you’ll need a few hours towards Porta Marina, the Palazzo Pontificio
to do them justice. The the Thermopolium is an (closed to visitors), the
main thoroughfare, the ancient cafe complete pope’s impressive summer
Decumanus Maximus, with a bar and fresco residence. But a stop here
leads from the city’s advertising the bill of is not so much about
entrance (the Porta fare. sightseeing as lapping up
Romana) to highlights the gorgeous views over
The Drive » Head back Lago Albano and enjoying
ABRUZZO a leisurely al fresco meal.
towards Rome and take the
¸0A24 Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA) The Drive » To Frascati
for Naples. Exit at the Ciampino
H# Airport turn-off and continue up it’s a pretty straightforward
Via Appia (SS7), until you come 20-minute drive. From Castel
p36 to traffic lights halfway up a long Gandolfo follow the road for
climb. Make a left turn to Lago Marino, enjoying glimpses of
Subiaco Albano and follow this road up the lake off to your right, and
\# under the towering umbrella then Grottaferrata. Here you’ll
pines to Castel Gandolfo at the come to a roundabout. Take the
top. All told, it takes about 35 third exit and Frascati is 4km
minutes. further on.

#4\# LINK TRIP
YOUR
·/A1 TRIP 3 Frascati

FG1 1 Grand Tour Best known for its crisp
Use this trip to white wine, Frascati
\# Segni extend the classic Grand is a popular day-trip
Tour of Italy, which destination. On hot
sweeps from Naples summer weekends
through Rome and on Romans pile into town to
to Florence and Venice hang out in the elegant
(p19). historic centre and fill
up on porchetta (herb-
roasted pork) and local

e# 0 10 km 33
0 5 miles

PAVEL068 / GETTY IMAGESS ©wine. You can follow suit
by filling up from the
GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 2 Roaming Around Rome food stalls on Piazza del
Mercato or searching out
the traditional cantinas Apennines. In ancient Nowadays, the town’s
(originally wine and times Praeneste, as it main act is the fantastic
olive-oil cellars, now was then known, was a
informal restaurants) favourite summer retreat Museo Archeologico
that pepper the centre’s for wealthy Romans
narrow lanes. Once and the site of a much- Nazionale di Palestrina
you’ve explored the revered temple dedicated (Piazza della Cortina;
town and admired the to the goddess of fortune. admission €5; h9am-8pm),
sweeping views from Little remains intact housed in the 17th-
the tree-lined avenue of the 2nd-century-BC century Palazzo Colonna
at the bottom of Piazza Santuario della Fortuna Barberini. Highlights of
Marconi, head up to Primigenia, but much of the museum’s collection
Villa Aldobrandini. what is now the historic include the wonderful
Designed by Giacomo centre was built over ‘Capitoline Triad’,
della Porta and built by its six giant terraces. a marble sculpture
Carlo Maderno, this regal of Jupiter, Juno
16th-century villa sits and Minerva; and a
haughtily above town
in a stunning hillside
position. The villa itself
is closed to the public
but you can visit the
impressive early baroque
gardens (Via Cardinal
Massai 18; admission free;
hdawn-dusk) dramatically
landscaped into the
wooded hill.

The Drive » Take Viale Catone

from the top of Piazza Marconi,
following the green signs for
the autostrada. Continue,
passing through Colonna, until
soon afterwards you hit the
fast-flowing SS6 (Via Casilina).
Turn right onto the Casilina and
after San Cesareo, left onto the
SS155 for a twisting climb up to
Palestrina. Plan on about half an
hour from Frascati.

4 Palestrina

The pretty town of
Palestrina stands on the
slopes of Monte Ginestro,
one of the foothills of the

34

Gardens of Villa Aldobrandini

spectacular 2nd-century- TRIP personally designed
BC mosaic showing the much of the complex,
flooding of the Nile, an 5 Villa Adriana taking inspiration
incredibly rich depiction from buildings he’d
of daily life in ancient Emperor Hadrian’s seen around the world.
Egypt. sprawling 1st-century The pecile, a large
summer residence, Villa porticoed pool, was
The Drive » It takes just Adriana (%0774 38 27 33; a reproduction of a
adult/reduced €8/4; h9am- building in Athens, and
over half an hour to get to 1hr before sunset) was one of the canopo is a copy of
Villa Adriana. Exit Palestrina ancient Rome’s grandest the sanctuary of Serapis
and head northwest towards properties, designed to near Alexandria – its
Gallicano. Here, follow the be lavish even by the long canal of water was
signs to Tivoli, continuing past decadent standards originally surrounded
the shrubbery and under the of the day. Hadrian
Castello di Passerano until you
see Villa Adriana signposted a
few kilometres short of Tivoli.

35

GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 2 Roaming Around Rome by Egyptian statues, The Drive » Pick up Via that Lucrezia Borgia’s
representing the Nile. son, Cardinal Ippolito
Tiburtina (SS5), the main d’Este, transformed into
To the east of the Rome–Tivoli road, and head a pleasure palace in 1550.
pecile is Hadrian’s up to Tivoli centro. It’s a short, From 1865 to 1886 it was
private retreat, the steep, twisting climb up to the home to Franz Liszt and
Teatro Marittimo. Built town centre, which should take inspired his compositions
on an island in an about 15 minutes. To the Cypresses of the
artificial pool, it was Villa d’Este and The
originally a mini-villa TRIP Fountains of the Villa
accessible only by d’Este.
‘bascule bridges’, which 6 Tivoli
the emperor would have The villa’s rich
raised when he felt like Tivoli’s elevated historic mannerist frescoes
a dip. There are also centre is an attractive, if merit a glance, but
a nymphae, temples often busy, spot. Its main it’s the garden that
and barracks, and a attraction is the Unesco- you’re here for: water-
museum (often closed) protected Villa d’Este spouting gargoyles
which contains the latest (www.villadestetivoli.info; and elaborate avenues
discoveries from ongoing Piazza Trento; adult/reduced lined with deep-green,
excavations. €8/4; h8.30am-1hr before knotty cypresses and
sunset Tue-Sun), a one-time extravagant fountains.
Benedictine convent Highlights include
the Fountain of the
DETOUR: Organ, an extravagant
SUBIACO baroque ensemble that
uses water pressure to
Start: 6 Tivoli play music through a
concealed organ, and
Remote-feeling and dramatic, Subiaco is well worth the 130m-long Avenue of
the trip to see its two breathtaking Benedictine the Hundred Fountains,
monasteries. The Monastery of St Benedict which joins the Fountain
(admission free; h9am-12.15pm & 3.30-6.15pm) is carved of Tivoli to the Fountain
into the rock over the cave where St Benedict holed of Rome.
up for three years to meditate and pray. Apart from
its stunning setting, described by Petrarch as ‘the
edge of Paradise’, it’s adorned with rich 13th- to 15th-
century frescoes.

Halfway down the hill from St Benedict is the
Monastery of St Scholastica (h9.30am-12.15pm
& 3.30-6.15pm), the only one of the 13 monasteries
built by St Benedict still standing in the Valley of the
Aniene. If you decide to stay, its Foresteria (%07 748
55 69; www.benedettini-subiaco.org; per person B&B €58)
is a great place to spend a contemplative night. But
book ahead, as Benedictine clergy from around the
world often make the pilgrimage here to work in the
monastery’s famous library and archive. There’s also
a restaurant offering set menus for €19 and €27.

Neptune Fountain, Villa d’Este ALESSANDRO0770 / GETTY IMAGES ©

36



1
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SOUTHERN STOCK / GETTY IMAGES © Piero della

3Francesca Trail

Follow in the footsteps of the Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca
as you wind your way from the medieval centre of Urbino to Florence,
stopping en route to admire his greatest works.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 7 DAYS
172KM / 107 MILES
72 km 0 km
GREAT FOR…
Sansepolcro Urbino
Piero della Francesca’s A charming B
birthplace, a real Renaissance hill town
hidden gem surrounded by BEST TIME TO GO
green peaks
Km # Poppi June to September for
lL##1 summer pageantry.
##6 Passo della #
Consuma ## I ESSENTIAL
#3 Passo di Bocca PHOTO
##5 Trabaria (1049m)
Views from the Passo
# della Consuma.

Monterchi KBEST FOR
FILM BUFFS
Florence 90 km
Home to the world’s Arezzo’s Piazza
greatest collection of Arezzo Grande, a location
Renaissance art Revel in sublime for scenes in La vita
frescoes in the art-rich è bella.
172 km
historic centre

Left Festival, Arezzo (p42) 39

3 Piero della TRIP
Francesca Trail
1 Urbino
The Piero della Francesca trail was first
advocated by the British author Aldous Hidden away in hilly Le
Huxley in The Best Picture, a 1925 essay Marche, the charming
he wrote in praise of della Francesca’s town of Urbino was
Resurrezione (Resurrection). The roads a key player in the
have improved since Huxley’s day but Renaissance art world.
the trail remains a labour of love for Its ruler, the Duca
art fans as it leads through dramatic Federico da Montefeltro,
was a major patron and
Apapsesnensiannedscoennteoryb,uosvtelirnmg mouendtiaeivna0¸SSl67 many of the top artists
and intellectuals of the
day spent time here at
his behest. Piero della
Francesca arrived in
1469 and, along with a
crack team of artists

Km 0¸Pontassieve Parco Nazionale EMILIA-
¸0SS67 SS70 Arno delle Foreste ROMAGNA
Florence c
\# Passo della FalCtearsoennatieneCsai,mMpoignntae ¸0E45
#^#6 Riserva Consuma
Poppi \#
Naturale
Vallombrosa \#

¸0A1 Bibbiena

FG1 ¸0SS71 #Sansepolcro \#3

Arno TUSCANY 0¸SS73 #\

#Arezzo ^#5 Sa
Gi

#\#4

Monterchi

¸0SS73

¸0A1

Riserva
ANltaotuMrearlese

and architects, worked Urbino’s greatest son 2 Passo di Bocca
on the duke’s palatial at the Casa Natale di Trabaria
residence, the Palazzo Raffaello (Via Raffaello 57;
Ducale (%199 151123; www. adult/reduced €3.50/2.50; The Bocca Trabaria
palazzoducaleurbino.it; Piazza h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am- mountain pass (1049m)
Duca Federico; adult/reduced 1pm & 3-6pm Sun), the house divides the Valtiberina
€12/9.50; h8.30am-2pm where superstar painter (Tiber Valley), on the
Mon, to 7.15pm Tue-Sun). Raphael was born in Urbino side, from the
This magnificent palace 1483. upper Valle del Metauro
now houses the Galleria (Metauro Valley). It’s a
The Drive » The 50km (1½- spectacular spot, well
Nazionale delle Marche worth a quick pause,
and its rich collection of hour) drive up to the Passo with sweeping views
Renaissance paintings, di Bocca Trabaria involves over the Apennines
including Piero della hundreds of hairpin bends and several hiking
Francesca’s great and tortuous climbing as it trails heading into the
Flagellazione di Cristo traverses a magnificent swathe surrounding mountains.
(Flagellation of Christ). of Apennine mountains. From
Urbino pick up the SS73bis and The Drive » Allow about
A short walk away, head through Montesoffio and
you can pay homage to Urbania before climbing up to half an hour for the 20km
GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 3 Piero della Francesca Trailthe pass.descent from Bocca Trabaria to
Sansepolcro. For the first 15km
Tevere EMILIA- or so the winding road plunges
ROMAGNA down the valley slopes to San
Giustino, from where it’s an easy
hop northwest to Sansepolcro
on the SS3bis.

Montesoffio#\ lL#1\# Urbino TRIP

8ÀSS73bis À8SS73bis \# 3 Sansepolcro
Urbania
#c2 Passo di Birthplace of Piero della
#\#3 Bocca Trabaria LE Metauro Francesca and home
MARCHE to three of his great
#\ works, Sansepolcro is an
authentic hidden gem. Its
San unspoiled historic centre
Giustino
LINK
chi UMBRIA YOUR
TRIP
Parco
Regionale del 1 Grand Tour
Monte Cucco Turn this trip
into a detour from
¸0E45 Florence as you follow
in the footsteps of 18th-
e# 0 20 km century intellectuals
0 10 miles travelling from Turin to
Naples (p19).

41

CREDIT/LONELY PLANET IMAGES ©is littered with palazzi
DEA / G.DAGLI ORTI / GETTY IMAGES © (mansions) and churches
harbouring great works
GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 3 Piero della Francesca Trail of art, including the 14th-
century Cattedrale di simple blue gown and has a distinguished
San Giovanni Evangelista standing in a tent, cultural history. Petrarch
(Via Giacomo Matteotti 4; flanked by two angels and art historian Giorgio
h10am-noon & 4-7pm), who hold back the tent’s Vasari were both born
which contains an curtains as a framing here, and, between 1452
Ascension by Perugino. device. In a nice touch, and 1466, Piero della
The highlight, though, is pregnant women get free Francesca painted one
the Museo Civico (www. entry to the museum. of his greatest works,
museocivicosansepolcro. the Leggenda della Vera
it; Via Aggiunti 65; adult/ The Drive » Double back the Croce (Legend of the
reduced €8/5; h10am- True Cross) fresco cycle
1.30pm & 2.30-7pm, shorter way you came and turn left onto in the Basilica di San
hrs winter), whose small the quick-running SS73. The
but top-notch collection road, which opens to four lanes Francesco’s Cappella
boasts three Piero della in certain tracts, snakes its way Bacci (Piazza San Francesco;
Francesca masterpieces: through thickly wooded hills up adult/reduced €8/5; h9am-
Resurrezione to Arezzo. 6.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm
(Resurrection; c 1460), Sat, 1pm-5.30pm Sun).
the Madonna della TRIP
Misericordia (c 1455–60) Once you’ve seen that,
and Saint Julian 5 Arezzo take time to admire the
(1455–58). magnificent Romanesque
The biggest town in facade of the Pieve di
The Drive » Head southwest eastern Tuscany, Arezzo

from Sansepolcro along the SS73
following signs for Arezzo. After
roughly 12km of easy driving
through pleasant countryside,
turn left onto the SP221 and
continue for 3km to Monterchi. It
takes about 25 minutes.

4 Monterchi

This unassuming
village boasts one of
Piero della Francesca’s
best-loved works, the
Madonna del Parto
(Pregnant Madonna, c
1460). Housed in its own
museum, the Museo della
Madonna del Parto (Via
della Reglia 1; adult/reduced
€6.50/5; h9am-1pm &
2-5pm Wed-Mon), it depicts
a heavily pregnant
Madonna wearing a

42

Della Francesca’s Flagellazione di Cristo (p41), Urbino

Santa Maria (Corso Italia 7; The Drive » The quickest town of Poppi. At Poppi pick up
h8am-12.30pm & the SS70 to tackle the heavily
3-6.30pm) en route to the route to Florence is via the A1 forested Passo della Consuma
autostrada, but you’ll enjoy the (1050m) and descend to
Cattedrale di San Donato scenery more if you follow the Pontassieve and the SS67 into
(Piazza Duomo; h7am- SS71 up the Casentino valley Florence. Allow about 2¾ hours.
12.30pm & 3-6.30pm) and yet and on to the medieval castle
another della Francesca
fresco – the exquisite PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA
Mary Magdalene (c 1460).
Though many details about his life are hazy, it’s
Film buffs should also believed that Piero della Francesca was born around
stop by Piazza Grande, 1420 in Sansepolcro and died in 1492. Trained as a
where scenes were filmed painter from 15, his distinctive use of perspective,
for Roberto Benigni’s mastery of light and skilful synthesis of form and
La vita è bella (Life is colour set him apart from his artistic contemporaries.
Beautiful), and where His most famous works are the Leggenda della Vera
the city celebrates its Croce (Legend of the True Cross) in Arezzo, and
big annual festival, the Resurrezione (Resurrection) in Sansepolcro, but he is
Joust of the Saracino, most fondly remembered for his luminous Madonna
on the third Saturday in del Parto (Pregnant Madonna) in Monterchi.
June and first Sunday in
September.

43

GRAND TOUR OF ITALY 3 Piero della Francesca Trail THE RENAISSANCE

Bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and the modern world, the Renaissance
(il Rinascimento) emerged in 14th-century Florence and quickly spread
throughout Italy.

The Early Days

Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337) is generally considered the first great Renaissance
artist, and with his exploration of perspective and a new interest in realistic
portraiture, he inspired artists such as Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378–1455) and Donatello
(c 1382–1466). In architectural terms, the key man was Filippo Brunelleschi
(1377–1446), whose dome on Florence’s Duomo was one of the era’s blockbuster
achievements. Of the following generation, Sandro Botticelli (c 1444–1510) was
a major player and his Birth of Venus (c 1485) was one of the most successful
attempts to resolve the great conundrum of the age – how to give a painting both a
realistic perspective and a harmonious composition.

The High Renaissance

By the early 16th century, the focus had shifted to Rome and Venice. Leading the
way in Rome was Donato Bramante (1444–1514), whose classical architectural
style greatly influenced the Veneto-born Andrea Palladio (1508–80). One of
Bramante’s great rivals was Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475–1564), whose
legendary genius was behind the Sistine Chapel frescoes, the dome over St Peter’s
Basilica, and the David sculpture. Other headline acts included Leonardo da Vinci
(1452–1519), who developed a painting technique (sfumato) enabling him to
modulate his contours using colour; and Raphael (1483–1520), who more than any
other painter mastered the art of depicting large groups of people in a realistic and
harmonious way.

TRIP incl temporary exhibition Museo di San Marco
(Piazza San Marco 1; adult/
6 Florence €12.50/6.25; h8.15am-
6.50pm Tue-Sun). Here reduced €4/2; h8.15am-
The last port of call is you can admire Piero
Florence, the city where della Francesca’s famous 1.50pm Mon-Fri, to 4.50pm Sat
the Renaissance kicked portrait of the red-robed
off in the late 14th Duke and Duchess of & Sun, closed 1st, 3rd, 5th Sun
century. Paying the way Urbino (1465–1472) & 2nd & 4th Mon of month),
was the Medici family, alongside works by and superb frescoes by
who sponsored the great Renaissance giants, from Masaccio, Masolino da
artists of the day and Giotto and Cimabue Panicale and Filippino
whose collection today to Botticelli, Leonardo Lippi at the Cappella
graces the Galleria degli da Vinci, Raphael and Brancacci (%055 276
Uffizi (Uffizi Gallery; www. Titian. 82 24; Piazza del Carmine
uffizi.firenze.it; Piazza degli
Uffizi 6; adult/reduced €8/4, Elsewhere in town, 14; admission adult/reduced
you’ll find spiritually
uplifting works by Fra’ €6/4.50; h10am-5pm Wed-Sat
Angelico in the wonderful
& Mon, 1-5pm Sun, booking
necessary), over the river
in the Basilica di Santa
Maria del Carmine.

Cappella Brancacci PHOTOGOLFER / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

44



©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

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ANILAH / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

4Italian Riviera

Curving west in a broad arc, backed by the Maritime Alps, the Italian
Riviera sweeps down from Genoa through ancient hamlets and terraced
olive groves to the French border at Ventimiglia.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS 4 DAYS
182KM / 113 MILES
107 km 0 km
GREAT FOR…
Alassio Genoa
The preferred holiday For big-city grit HG
spot of presidents and glamour
and artists BEST TIME TO GO

# Savona Ll##1 April, May and June
for flowers and hiking;
##3 October for harvest.

##4 I ESSENTIAL
PHOTO
#
Cascading terraces
Andora of exotic flowers at
Giardini Botanici
Taggia Hanbury.

# KBEST FINE
DINING
Km ##6
# Purple San Remo
prawns on the terrace
Ventimiglia of San Giorgio.

San Remo Finale Ligure
Italy’s wannabe Provides a sandy
Monte Carlo shore nestled
between two rivers
165 km
74 km

Left San Remo (p51) 47

4 Italian Riviera TRIP

The contrast between sun-washed, 1 Genoa (p98)
sophisticated coastal towns and a
deeply rural, mountainous hinterland, Like Dr Jekyll and Mr
full of heritage farms, olive oil producers Hyde, Genoa (Genova)
and wineries, gave rise to the Riviera’s is a city with a split
19th-century fame, when European personality. At its centre,
expatriates outnumbered locals. They medieval caruggi (alleys)
amused themselves in lavish botanical untangle outwards to the
gardens, gambled in the casino of San Porto Antico and teem
Remo and dined in style in fine art- with hawkers, merchants
and office workers. Along
Via Garibaldi and Via
XXV Aprile is another
Genoa, one of Unesco-
sponsored palaces,
smart shops and grand
architectural gestures
like Piazza de Ferrari

#] Cuneo \# Mondovi ·/A6 Tanaro \#
Bormida
Millesimo Altare #\
\# #\
Varazze

0¸SS20 PIEDMONT #2#] Savona
²*E80 \# Porto Vado
LIGURIA

Parco Naturale Monte ²*A10
dell'Alta Valle (C13a8r9mmo)
Pésio e Tanaro Garessio \# #\ Spotorno
Limon#\e Monte R \# Noli
PiemocnteColle di R Punta Marguareis Bello
(2651m) (1316m) #3 #\ Varigotti
/·SS1 Finale Ligure
Tende R Balestrino
¸0(1871m) #\ #\ Loano

SS20 Nava #\

Tende #\ ²* \# Ceriale
Gorges de Bergue
R Monte E80
Saccarello
FRANCE (2200m) Lavina ²*ArrosciaA10 #\ Albenga

#\ Riviera Di Ponente

Passo di
#Monte R

¸0Pietravecchia
Triora #\ Argec Teglia #\4 Alassio
SS548 (1387m)
#\ Laigueglia
H#(2040m) Monte ntina
Bignone \#Andora
Pigna \# p52 (1299m) \# Montalto SS1 #\Cervo
]#5
Ligure Imperia Ligurian Sea
¸0 /·ApricaBleai\#arSdPo63#\
0¸ *² #SP64 Ceriana #\ E80 20 km
10 miles
*²#\ Dolceacqua
Taggia
\# A10
0¸SS20
E80 #]6 #\ Bussana
*² /·²*#Mortola Vecchia
#\# #\7
A10 SS1 San Remo
mK eVentimiglia Bordighera#] 0
# 0