The Best of Northern Italy · London’s British Museum. The his-tory between Italy and Egypt dates back to Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, though this collection of 30,000 pieces was

The Best of Northern Italy

Northern Italy’s riches are vast, varied, and yours to discover, from art-packed muse-ums and mosaic-filled cathedrals to Roman ruins and hill towns amid vineyards thatproduce some of Europe’s best wines. You can dine at refined restaurants that casuallyflaunt their Michelin star ratings, or chow down with the town priest and police chiefat osterie (small local eateries) that have spent generations perfecting traditionalrecipes. You can spend the night in a sumptuous Renaissance villa on Lake Como inthe Alpine foothills where Napoléon once stayed (the Villa d’Este), or in a converted17th-century Venetian palazzo where the room opens directly onto the Grand Canalbut costs a mere $140 (the Hotel Galleria). Here’s a short list of the best of whatnorthern Italy has to offer.

1 The Best Travel Experiences

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• Gondola Ride in Venice: Yes, it’shokey. Yes, it’s way overpriced. Butwhen it comes down to it, there’snothing quite so romantic after along Venetian dinner as a ride on oneof these long black skiffs, settlingback into the plush seats with thatspecial someone and a bottle of wine,sliding through the waters of Venice’sback canals guided by the expert oarof a gondolier. See p. 83.

• A Day Among the Islands of theVenetian Lagoon: Venice’s ferry sys-tem extends outside the city properto a series of other inhabited islandsin the lagoon. First stop, Murano, avillage where the famed local glass-blowing industry began and where itslargest factories and best artisans stillreside. Not only can you tour a glassfactory (complete with a hard sell inthe display room at the end), but you’lldiscover a pair of lovely churches,one hung with paintings by GiovanniBellini, Veronese, and Tintoretto,the other a Byzantine-Romanesque

masterpiece of decoration. The isle ofBurano is a colorful fishing village withan ancient lace-making tradition andhouses in a variety of supersaturatedhues. Nearby, lonely Torcello may havebeen one of the first lagoon islands set-tled, but it’s long been almost aban-doned, home to a straggly vineyard,reed-banked canals, the fine Ciprianirestaurant, and a stunning Byzantinecathedral swathed in mosaics (see “TheBest Churches,” below). Time it rightand you’ll be riding the last ferry backfrom Torcello into Venice proper as thesun sets and lights up the lagoonwaters. See p. 83.

• Cruising the Brenta Canal: The lazyBrenta Canal, lacing its way into theVeneto from Venice’s lagoon, has longbeen the Hamptons of Venice, wherethe city’s nobility and merchantprinces have kept summer villas. Fromthe massive, palatial Villa Pisani, withits elaborate gardens, to the Villa Fos-cari, designed by Palladio himself,most of these villas span the 16th to

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19th centuries and are open to visitors.In the past few years, a few have evenbeen opened as elegant hotels. Thereare two ways to tour the Brenta: on aleisurely full-day cruise between Paduaand Venice, stopping to tour severalvillas along the way with an optionalfish lunch; or by driving yourself alongthe banks, which allows you to popinto the villas you are most interestedin—plus you can pull over at anygrassy embankment for a picnic lunchon the canal. See p. 173.

• Driving the Great Dolomite Road:From the Adige Valley outside Bozen(Bolzano) across to the ski resort ofCortina d’Ampezzo runs 110km (68miles) of twisting, winding, switch-backed highway, called the GreatDolomite Road, which wends its wayaround some of the most dramaticmountain scenery in Italy. TheDolomiti are craggier and sheererthan the Alps, and as this road crawlsaround the peaks and climbs over thepasses, one breathtaking panoramaafter another opens before you,undulating to the distant Po plains tothe south and to the mighty SwissAlps to the north. See p. 234.

• Riding the Cable Cars over MontBlanc: There are not many more dra-matic trips in Europe than this one,where a series of cable cars and gondo-las rise from Courmayeur in the Valled’Aosta to the 3,300m (10,824-ft.)Punta Helbronner, from which the icyvistas spread over Mont Blanc’s flankin one direction and across to MonteCervina (the Matterhorn) in the other.It is here that the true thrill ride beginsas you clamber into a four-seatenclosed gondola that dangles from a

trio of stout cables some 2.4km (11⁄2miles) above the deep fissures of theVallée Blanche glacier. It takes half anhour to cross to Aiguille du Midi onFrench soil—the longest cable car ridein the world not supported by pylons.From here, you can take a jaunt downinto France’s charming Chamonix ifyou’d like, or turn around to headback into Italian territory, perhapsstopping at the Alpine Garden two-thirds of the way back to Courmayeurto sun yourself and admire the wild-flowers. See p. 366.

• Hiking the Cinque Terre: At thesouthern end of the Italian Riviera liesa string of former pirate coves calledthe Cinque Terre. These five fishingvillages are linked by a local train lineand a meandering trail that clambersover headlands, plunges amid olivegroves and vineyards, and skirts cliffedges above the glittering LigurianSea and hidden scraps of beach. Thevillages also share an excellent com-munal white wine. Though tourism isdiscovering this magical corner ofItaly, there are as yet no big resorthotels or overdevelopment; just trat-torie on the tiny harbors and housesand apartments converted into smallfamily hotels and short-term rentalunits. It takes a full, long day to hikefrom one end to the other, or you cansimply walk the stretches you prefer(conveniently, the trails get progres-sively easier from north to south) anduse the cheap train to connect to theother towns. Pause as you like in theosterie and bars of each town to sam-ple the dry Cinque Terre white wineand refresh yourself for the nextstretch. See p. 412.

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2 The Best Museums• Galleria dell’Accademia (Venice):

The single most important gallery ofVenetian painting and one of Italy’s

top museums was founded in 1750and gorgeously installed in this trio ofRenaissance buildings by Napoléon

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himself in 1807. (Napoléon swelled thecollections with altarpieces confiscatedfrom churches and monasteries he sup-pressed.) The works, spanning the 13ththrough 18th centuries, include mas-terpieces by all the local Northern Ital-ian greats—the Bellini clan, PaoloVeneziano, Carpaccio, Giorgione,Mantegna, Piero della Francesca,Lorenzo Lotto, Palma il Vecchio, PaoloVeronese, Titian, Tintoretto, Tiepolo,and Canaletto. See p. 135.

• Collezione Peggy Guggenheim(Venice): The Guggenheim familywas one of the 20th century’s greatestart patrons. Peggy not only amassed astunning collection of modern art, sheeven married Max Ernst. Her half-fin-ished 18th-century palazzo on theGrand Canal is now installed with hercollections, including works byPicasso, Pollock (an artist Peggy “dis-covered”), Magritte, Dalí, Miró,Brancusi, Kandinsky, and Marini. Seep. 136.

• Museo Archeologico dell’AltoAdige (Bozen): Bozen’s major sight isa high-tech, modern museum craftedaround one of the most importantarchaeological finds of the past 50years. When hikers first discoveredthe body of Ötzi high in the Alpsat the Austrian border, everyonethought he was a mountaineer whosuccumbed to the elements. Heturned out to be a 5,300-year-oldhunter whose body, clothing, andtools had been preserved intact bythe ice in which he was frozen. TheIce Man has done more to give usglimpses into daily life in the StoneAge than any other find, and themuseum does a great job of relaying

all that scientists are still learningfrom him. See p. 219.

• Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan): Oneof Italy’s finest collections of art,from medieval to modern, is housedin a 17th-century Milanese palazzo.Venice’s Accademia may have a richercollection of Venetian art, but the Brerahas a broader collection of masterpiecesfrom across northern and centralItaly. As with the Accademia, theBrera started as a warehouse for art-works Napoléon looted from churches,monasteries, and private collections.There are masterpieces from Man-tegna, Raphael, Piero della Francesca,the Bellinis, Signorelli, Titian, Tin-toretto, Reni, Caravaggio, Tiepolo, andCanaletto, and great works by 20th-century geniuses such as Umberto Boc-cioni, Gino Severini, Giorgio Morandi,and Giorgio de Chirico. They eventhrow in some works by Rembrandt,Goya, and Reynolds. See p. 267.

• Museo Egizio & Galleria Sabauda(Turin): The world’s first real museumof Egyptian artifacts remains one ofthe most important outside Cairo andLondon’s British Museum. The his-tory between Italy and Egypt datesback to Julius Caesar and Cleopatra,though this collection of 30,000pieces was largely amassed by thePiedmont Savoy kings. The exhibitsrange from a papyrus Book of theDead to a full 15th-century B.C. tem-ple to fascinating objects from every-day life. But Egypt isn’t all; upstairsthe Galleria Sabauda displays theSavoy’s amazing collection of Flemishand Dutch paintings by Van Dyck,Van Eyck, Rembrandt, Hans Mem-ling, and Van der Weyden. See p. 340.

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3 The Best Churches• Basilica di San Marco (Venice):

No church in Europe is more lav-ishly decorated, more exquisitely

mosaic-covered, more glitteringwith gold than Venice’s San Marco.Built in the 11th century, the

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church has as its guiding architec-tural and decorative principlesByzantine style, but more than 7centuries of expansion and decora-tion have left behind Romanesqueand Gothic touches as well. Theinterior is encrusted with morethan 3,700 sq. m (40,000 sq. ft.)of gold-backed mosaics craftedbetween the 12th and 17th cen-turies, some based on cartoons byTintoretto, Veronese, and Titian.The uneven floor is a mosaic ofmarble chips in swirling patterns,the Pala d’Oro altarpiece a gem-studded golden trophy from Con-stantinople. Stairs lead up to a viewover the piazza from atop theatrium, where visitors get to seeup close both the mosaics and theoriginal Triumphal Quadriga, fourmassive bronze horses probably castin the 2nd century A.D. See p. 128.

• Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari(Venice): “I Frari” is named for theFranciscan “brothers” who foundedthis Gothic giant in 1250. It wasrebuilt between 1330 and 1453,which made it one of the most art-bedecked churches in Venice, filledwith works of art by Donatello, Tit-ian, Giovanni Bellini, and Canova.See p. 142.

• Cattedrale di Torcello (Torcello,Venice): Venice’s oldest church ispretty much all that remains of one ofthe lagoon’s earliest settlements onthe now all-but-abandoned island ofTorcello, north of what is now thecity of Venice. Santa Maria Assuntawas begun in the 7th century, its inte-rior slathered with glittering gold-backed Byzantine mosaics in the 11thand 12th centuries, precursors tothose that would later decorateVenice’s San Marco. The inside of theentrance wall is filled with a massiveLast Judgment. This was a commondevice in medieval churches: placing

a scene depicting the heavenly rewardsthat await the faithful and the horriblyinventive, gruesome punishments forthe damned in hell above the doorfrom which parishioners would exit—sort of a final sermon at the end of theservice to remind everyone of whatwas at stake and keep them holy untilthe next Sunday. The bell tower offersa pretty panorama over the sparselypopulated island and surroundinglagoon. See p. 158.

• Basilica di Sant’Antonio (Padua):Think of all the people of Italiandescent you know or have heard ofnamed Tony. You’re starting to get anidea of how popular the 13th-cen-tury, Portuguese-born St. Anthony isamong Italians. The patron of the lostlived in Padua, and when he died in1231, the citizenry quickly canonizedthe man and began building thishuge church to honor his remains,and finished it in a remarkably short76 years. The style in 13th-centuryVeneto was still largely Byzantine, sothe brick basilica is topped by anoctet of domes and twin minaret-style bell towers. Donatello, whoseGattamelata (the first large equestrianbronze cast since ancient Romantimes) sits out front, even crafted thehigh altar, but that is virtuallyignored by the flocks of faithful infavor of a chapel off the left aisle. Thisis where a constant stream of suppli-cants files past the saint’s tomb topress their palms against it and leaveflowers, small gifts, pictures, andwritten prayers asking for him to helpthem find everything from lost healthto lost love to lost children (someeven pray for material objects, butrarely). Il Santo’s robes are also pre-served here, as are the silver-tonguedpreacher’s miraculously preservedjawbone, vocal chords, and tongue,all kept in a chapel behind the highaltar. See p. 167.

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• Basilica San Zeno Maggiore(Verona): Verona is home to perhapsthe greatest Romanesque basilica inall of northern Italy, a stunningexample of the early medieval sculp-tor’s art. Between the 9th and 12thcenturies, architects raised thechurch, created the massive rose win-dow Wheel of Fortune in the facade,and hired artists who revived theancient art of casting in bronze to cre-ate magnificent doors set with 48wonderfully minimalist panels tellingstories from the Bible as well as thelife of St. Zeno. The stone reliefsflanking them date to the 12th cen-tury. The 12th- to 14th-century fres-coes inside lead up to AndreaMantegna’s 15th-century altarpiece.See p. 200.

• Basilica (Aquileia): Tiny Aquileiawas a major town in Roman times,and wasted no time in building achurch in A.D. 313 just as soon asConstantine the Great declared thereligion legal in the empire. The townwas a hotbed of early Christianity,hosting a theological conference in381 attended by the likes of Jeromeand Ambrose. Though the churchwas rebuilt and frescoed in the 11thand 12th centuries, the original floor-ing has been uncovered and is nowon display, a marvelous and preciousmosaic of complicated paleo-Christ-ian and pagan iconography. A cryptretains more mosaics from the 4thcentury, plus even earlier ones from apagan house dating to the early 1stcentury A.D. See p. 250.

• Tempietto Longobardo (Cividale):This fantastic, 8th-century churchhollowed out of the cliff face overCividale’s mighty gorge gives us aprecious glimpse into true Lombardstyle, before the High Middle Agesbegan to mix and mingle the culturalgroups of northern Italy. Flanking the

entranceway are statues and decora-tions carved directly out of the nativelimestone in an early LombardRomanesque style. See p. 255.

• Duomo (Milan): The greatest Gothiccathedral south of the Alps, a massivepile of pinnacles and buttresses, wasbegun in the 14th century and took500 years to complete—but itremained true to its original, Gothicstyling. It’s the fourth-largest churchin the world, its cavernous interiorpeppered with statues and monu-ments. The highlight, though, is thechance to climb up onto the eaves,weave your way through the statue-peaked buttresses, and clamber uponto the very rooftop to gaze outacross the hazy city and beyond to theAlps rising from the lakes north ofthe Lombard plain. See p. 266.

• Certosa (Pavia, outside Milan):Though Milan’s Sforza family com-pleted this Carthusian monastery,called a charterhouse, it’s really thelate–14th-century brainchild of theVisconti clan. The massive building,rich with Lombardesque decorationsand sculptures, was commissioned byGian Galeazzo in 1396 as thanks thathis second wife was delivered fromillness and bore him heirs. It becamethe repository of funerary monu-ments to Milan’s greatest rulers anddespots. Though Ludovico il Moroand his wife Beatrice d’Este boast thefinest monument, neither are buriedhere. Indeed, the repository was nevermeant to be in Pavia in the first place;cash-poor Santa Maria della Grazie inMilan—the one with Leonardo’s TheLast Supper and the home of Beat-rice’s remains—sold it to the charter-house. This is still a workingmonastery, now hosting a Cisterciancommunity, and you can tour anexample of the little houses theyoccupy (a far cry from the cramped

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cells one pictures monks enduring)and purchase their own beauty prod-ucts and liqueurs. See p. 291.

• Cappella Colleoni (Bergamo): Themercenary commander BartolomeoColleoni, a son of Bergamo, foughtso gloriously on behalf of Venicethat he was actually given the gener-alship over the entire Venetianarmy (unheard of in such a suspi-cious republic formed of interlock-ing check-and-balance branches ofpower). They commissioned Verroc-chio to erect a statue in his honor inVenice, and gave Colleoni control ofhis hometown. He was foresightedenough to commission his owntomb, which was created in the late15th century as a separate chapelin Bergamo’s cathedral. Colleoniinvited one of the great sculptorsdecorating the magnificent charter-house at Pavia to carve on his tomb acomplex series of panels and statueswhose symbolisms interweave inmedieval style grafted onto Renais-sance architecture. In the 18th cen-tury, Tiepolo was brought in tofresco the ceiling. See p. 296.

• Basilica di Superga (Turin): Turingot a taste of the extravagant south-ern Italian baroque in the early 18thcentury when Sicilian architectJuvarra set up shop in town. After theVirgin saved the city from French

troops, the Savoys dutifully erected achurch in her honor, and hiredJuvarra for the job. He married earlyneoclassical ideals of proportion withthe theatricality of the baroque tobuild this magnificent balcony over-looking the Alps in the hills aboveTurin. Vittorio Amadeo II liked hisresults so much he decided to turnit into the Royal Tomb, wedgingmonuments to various Savoys intothe chapels and the undergroundCrypt of Kings. See p. 342.

• Sacra di San Michele (outsideTurin): Its stony bulk, elaborate carv-ings, and endless staircases, all tower-ing over the valley from a MontePirchiriano perch, give this abbey amovie-set air more appropriate to aTibetan monastery than a Christianabbey. The gravity-defying way ithangs halfway off the cliff face is allthe more remarkable when you con-sider that the engineering is purelymedieval—started in 983 and rebuiltin the 1100s. Before the Savoys werethe bigwig kings they became, theirearly members were buried here, inrock-carved chapels under the partlyfrescoed main church interior, andwhere, today, free concerts are heldApril through September, with arange of offerings from Gregorianchants and Celtic music to classicalpieces and gospel hymns. See p. 348.

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4 The Best Artistic Masterpieces• Tintoretto’s Scuola Grande di San

Rocco (Venice): When the Scuola diSan Rocco (a sort of gentlemen’sclub/lay fraternity) held an art com-petition in 1564, the Renaissancemaster Tintoretto pulled a fast one onhis rivals. Instead of preparing asketch for the judges like everyoneelse, he went ahead and finished apainting, secretly installing it in the

ceiling of the Sala dell’Albergo off thesecond-floor hall. The judges weresuitably impressed, and Tintorettogot the job. Over the next 23 years,the artist filled the scuola’s two floorswith dozens of works. The Rest on theFlight into Egypt on the ground flooris superb, but his masterpiece hangsin that tiny Sala dell’Albergo, a hugeCrucifixion that wraps around the

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walls and ranks among the greatest andmost moving works in the history ofVenetian art. The San Rocco baroqueorchestra holds excellent regular cham-ber concerts in this fantastic setting;for info, contact & 041-962-999 orwww.musicinvenice.com. See p. 136.

• Veronese’s Feast in the House ofLevi, Accademia (Venice): PaoloVeronese was a master of humandetail, often peopling his large can-vases with a rogues’ gallery of charac-ters. When Veronese unveiled his LastSupper, puritanical church bigwigsnearly had a conniption. They threat-ened him with charges of blasphemyfor portraying this holiest of momentsas a rousing, drunken banquet thatmore resembled paintings of Romanorgies than the Last Supper. Veronesequickly retitled the work Feast in theHouse of Levi, a rather less holy sub-ject at which Jesus and Apostles werealso present, and the mollified censorslet it pass. See p. 136.

• Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel (Padua):Padua’s biggest sight by far is one ofthe two towering fresco cycles createdby Giotto (the other one is in Assisi),the artist who did more than anyother to lift painting from its staticByzantine stupor and set it on the nat-uralistic, expressive, dynamic Gothicroad toward the Renaissance. From1303 to 1306, Giotto covered thewalls of this private chapel with arange of emotion, using foreshorten-ing, modeled figures, and saturatedcolors, revolutionizing the concept ofart and kicking off the modern era inpainting. The chapel, as a whole, isbreathtaking, depicting scenes fromthe life of Mary and Jesus in 38 pan-els, and has recently emerged from a3-year cleaning. See p. 168.

• Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper,Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan):This tempera fresco looks somehowmore like a snapshot of a real dinner

table than the staged holy event thatLast Suppers usually appear to be—instead of a hovering halo, Jesus’ holynimbus is suggested by the windowbehind his head. Leonardo was asmuch a scientist and inventor as hewas painter, and unfortunately for us,he was wont to try new painting tech-niques directly on his major commis-sions rather than testing them fullyfirst. When painting one fresco inFlorence, he used wax in the pig-ments, but when it was drying tooslowly he put heaters along the wall,and the whole thing simply melted.Whatever chemistry he was experi-menting with in Milan whenLudovico Il Moro hired him to deco-rate the refectory (dining hall) ofSanta Maria della Grazie with a LastSupper, it didn’t work properly. Thefresco began deteriorating almost assoon as he finished painting it, and ithad to be touched up and paintedover several times in the succeedingcenturies. It also didn’t help whenNapoléon’s troops moved in and usedthe wall for target practice, or whenAllied World War II bombs tore theroof off the building, miraculouslynot damaging the fresco but stillleaving it open to the elements for3 years. A lengthy restoration hasstripped away the centuries of grimeand overpainting, so what we see nowis more or less pure Leonardo, even ifthe result is extremely patchy andlooks rather faded. See p. 268.

• Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà,Castello Sforzesco (Milan): During alifetime in which he became the fore-most artist of his age, acknowledgedas a genius in painting, fresco, archi-tecture, and engineering, Michelan-gelo never lost his love for marble andchisel. At age 89, he was working yetagain on one of his favorite subjects,this Pietà. It may be unfinished—infact, Michelangelo was in the midst

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of changing it wholesale, reorderingthe figures and twisting the composi-tion around—but this tall, languidrepresentation of Mary and Nicode-mus bearing the body of Christremains one of Michelangelo’s mostremarkable works. At the end of hislife, Michelangelo had grown soadvanced in his thinking and artisticaesthetics that this remarkable, mini-malist work (the sculptor had earlyon developed a rough style dubbednonfinito, or “unfinished”) lookseerily as if it were chiseled in the1950s rather than 1560s. Michelan-gelo was in his Roman studio chisel-ing away on the statue when, onFebruary 12, 1564, he was struckwith a fever and took to bed. He died6 days later. See p. 269.

• Mantegna’s Dead Christ, Pina-coteca di Brera (Milan): This mas-terpiece of the Brera’s collectiondisplays not only Mantegna’s skill atmodeling and keen eye for textureand tone, but also his utter mastery of

perspective and how he used it tocreate the illusion of depth. In thiscase, we look at Jesus laid out on aslab from his feet end, the entirebody foreshortened to squeeze into arelatively narrow strip of canvas. Likemany great geniuses in the arts,Mantegna actually warped realityand used his tools (in this case, per-spective and foreshortening) in anodd way to create his image. Most artteachers would tell you that the rulesof perspective would call for the bitsat the “near end” (in this case thefeet) to be large and those at the farend (that is to say, the head) to besmall to achieve the proper effect,but Mantegna turned it around. Atfirst glance, the work seems wonder-fully wrought and perfectly fore-shortened. But after staring a fewmoments, you realize the head isgrotesquely large and the feet tiny.Mantegna has given us perfect fore-shortening by turning perspective onits end. See p. 267.

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5 The Best Castles• Museo Castelvecchio (Verona): Most

people do the Romeo-and-Juliet trailand peak at the ancient Arena, thencall it a day in Verona. Unfortunately,few make it to the stunning castle onthe river. This 14th-century strong-hold, complete with its own fortifiedbridge across the river, was built by“Big Dog” Cangrande II Scaligeri. Itwas so mighty that it survived the cen-turies intact until the Nazis bombed itin World War II. Though there arecollections of local wood sculpturesand canvases by Tintoretto, Tiepolo,Veronese, Bellini, and local boyPisanello, the true treat here is justwandering the maze of halls, passage-ways, stony staircases, and ramparts torelive the bad old days of the MiddleAges. See p. 198.

• Castello Sabbionara (Avio): This belli-cose castle was a true fortress and makesno bones about it. Built in the 11thcentury and enlarged in the 13th cen-tury, it helped define and hold the linebetween the constantly warring neigh-boring powers of Venice and Austria. Itswitched hands several times, and inthe 13th century the Guard’s Roomwas frescoed with marvelous scenes ofbattles fought here. See p. 215.

• Castello di Buonconsiglio (Trent):Serious history went down in Trent’sCastle of Good Council. The namemight not be apt, however, because thefamous Council of Trent (p. 210)—many sessions of which were heldhere—effectively put up the wallbetween the Vatican and the burgeon-ing Protestant movement that ended

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up being the cause (or at least excuse)for many European wars and numerousunjust politico-social systems, from the16th century all the way to today’sunrest in Northern Ireland. Much later,leaders of the Irrendentisti (a World WarI–era movement to return the then-Austrian South Tirol region to Italy)were imprisoned here, including thepopular Cesare Battisti, who was exe-cuted in the yard. The castle is vast,built around the core 13th-centuryCastelvecchio and 15th-century palaceof Trent’s bishop-prince. The highlightis the Cycle of the Months fresco paintedaround 1400 and laden with latemedieval symbolism. See p. 211.

• Castel Roncolo (Bozen): This 13th-century castle sits atop a small cliffupriver from the town, and looks likethe most livable medieval castle youcan imagine; cozy, with views of thevineyards. The central courtyard ishung with staircases and open woodbalconies running along the upperstories, while many rooms retain allsorts of wonderfully crude medievalfrescoes, including a lovely set thattells the story of Tristan and Isolde, apopular romantic tale from the Mid-dle Ages. See p. 220.

• Castel Tirolo (outside Merano): Theentire Tirol, covering this region ofItaly and much of western Austria, wasonce ruled from this medieval fortressperched dramatically on an outcrop-ping 4.8km (3 miles) outside Merano.You must walk a long and narrow pathto get here, where there’s a gorgeouslyfrescoed Romanesque chapel and anew museum on Tirolean history andculture. See p. 227.

• Castello di San Giusto (Trieste):Built between 1470 and 1630 andpleasingly castlelike, this gem hasmighty ramparts to walk for city vis-tas, modest collections of armor andfurnishings to peruse, and outdoor

concerts and films presented in thehuge courtyard in summer. See p. 244.

• Castello di Miramare (near Trieste):The “Castle Admiring the Sea” rises ingleaming white fairy-tale splendoralong the coastline. Built in the 1850s,it was doomed to host ill-fated poten-tates ever since. Its original owner, Aus-trian Archduke Maximilian, was sentto Mexico to be emperor and ended upshot. Archduke Ferdinand spent thenight here before going off to Sarajevoto be shot (which kicked off WorldWar I). Other dukes and ladies havemet bitter ends after sojourning here,which is perhaps why it is now publicproperty and no longer a royal guest-house. They do nice concerts here, plussound-and-light shows telling the sadtale of the castle’s builder, Maximilian.See p. 246.

• Castello Scaligero (Sirmione): ThisA mighty midget is not spectacular asfar as castles go, but—if you canapply this term to a fortress—cute asa button. Unimportant in mostrespects, it is darn picturesque, guard-ing the entrance to town with somber13th-century stone turrets and sur-rounded by its little moat completewith drawbridges. See p. 307.

• Castello di Fenis (Castle of Fenis)(outside Aosta): The Challant vis-counts controlled the Aosta Valleyfrom this stronghold throughout theMiddle Ages. The frescoed figuresstrolling about the balconies of itscentral courtyard spout cartoon bal-loon–like scrolls of speech that are atreasure trove for linguists unlockingthe origins of the local dialect, whichis founded largely in a medievalvariant on French. The furnishings,though all genuine castle antiques,were culled from sources throughoutthis area, Switzerland, and France togive the place that medieval lived-inlook. See p. 361.

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• Palazzo Ducale (Venice): TheGothic palazzo from which theVenetian Republic was ruled for cen-turies offers two incredible experi-ences. One is simply to wander thegorgeous rooms and halls, which aredecorated with frescoes and paintings(including the world’s largest oil can-vas) by all the Venetian School greats,from Titian, Tintoretto and Veroneseon down. The placards in each roomare marvelously informative, not onlyabout the art but also about the func-tion of each room and its role in gov-ernment or daily Venetian life. But todiscover what really made the Byzan-tine Venetian political machine tick,take the Secret Itineraries tour, whichlets you slip behind the camouflageddoors and enter the hidden world ofthe palace-within-the-palace, thechambers in which the real governingtook place, all wedged into the mas-sive space between the inner andouter walls of the palazzo. See thechamber where the powerful Councilof Ten met, the tiny office where thedoge’s secretary kept track of all themachinations going on in high soci-ety, the tribunal where three judgescondemned the guilty and hangedthem from the rafters, and thecramped “leads” cells under the rooffrom which Casanova famouslyescaped. Then saunter across the sto-ried Bridge of Sighs to explore thedank, dungeonlike prisons across thecanal where lesser criminals servedout their miserable terms—lagoonfloods and all. See p. 132.

• Ca’ d’Oro (Venice): Though nolonger graced with the decorativefacade that earned Venice’s mostbeautiful palazzo its name House ofGold, the 15th-century Ca d’Ororemains one of the most gorgeous

palaces in Venice, outside (see themain facade from the Grand Canal)and in. The gallery of art, donated—along with the palace—to the state byBaron Giorgio Franchetti in 1916,includes paintings by Van Dyck,Giorgione, Titian, and Mantegna.There’s also a small ceramics museumand fantastic canal views. See p. 143.

• Ca’ Rezzonico (Venice): Even thoughVenice was in fact well past its heydayin the 18th century and technically indecline, this is nonetheless the era inwhich the city expressed its ownunique character fully, the age ofCasanova and costume balls, all thethings we picture when we think ofVenice. To this end, the Rezzonico,built in 1667 by the same architectwho crafted the baroque Santa Mariadella Salute and topped with an extrastory in 1745 (and once owned bypoet Robert Browning), was turnedinto a museum of the 18th century.The powers that be wanted the“museum” moniker to be takenlightly; in reality what the city hasdone is outfit this gracious palazzo asan actual house from the era as closelyas possible, using pieces culled fromacross the city. Adding to the 200-yeartime warp are a series of scenes fromdaily Venetian life painted by PietroLonghi plus several carnival frescoesthat Giandomenico Tiepolo (son ofthe more famous Giovanni BattistaTiepolo) originally painted for hisown house. See p. 140.

• Villa Pisani (Stra, Brenta Canal):Tiepolo frescoed the ballroom for thismassive 18th-century villa built forthe family of a Venetian doge, thoughNapoléon bought it in 1807. Its mostnotorious moment, though, came in1934 when two European leadersmet here for their very first summit:

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Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler.The rooms are sumptuous, and thegardens are extensive and include aquirky hedge maze. See p. 173.

• Villa Barbaro (outside Asolo):Though the villas right aroundVicenza get more visitors, this 1560Palladio-designed masterpiece out-side Asolo is perhaps the most gor-geous to visit. That’s because itmatches the perfect Palladian archi-tecture with stunning frescoes byVeronese, which carpet almost everyinch of wall and ceiling inside. Andto think it’s still actually in privatehands (with owners gracious enoughto allow visitors in)! See p. 181.

• Villa Rotonda (outside Vicenza): Ifyou’ve seen Monticello, the architec-ture of Washington, D.C., or InigoJones’s buildings, you’ll be prepared forLa Rotonda—it was the model forthem all. UNESCO has placed thispinnacle of Palladio’s architectural the-ories, a towering monument of humanachievement and ingenuity, on thesame World Heritage List as the Pyra-mids. This is Palladio’s strict neoclassi-cal take on the Renaissance in all itstextbook glory, an ancient templerewritten as a home and softened byRenaissance geometry of line. It wasalso one of his last, started in 1567, butlargely executed by a faithful followerafter the master’s death. See p. 189.

• Villa Valmarana (outside Vicenza):Mattoni’s 17th-century Palladian-style villa is nicknamed ai Nani, or“of the dwarves,” because its walls arepatrolled by an army of stonedwarves. The architecture isn’t all thatremarkable, but the 18th-centuryfrescoes inside by Giambattista andGiandomenico Tiepolo certainly are.See p. 189.

• Palazzo Patriarcale (Udine): Until1734, it was the bishops who ruledUdine as patriarchs, and the final

patriarch had the foresight to inviteTiepolo to Udine to decorate theirpalace with scenes from the Old Tes-tament that double as early–18th-century fashion shows. There’s also afine collection of locally carved woodsculptures spanning the 13th to 18thcenturies. See p. 252.

• Palazzo Te (Mantua): Raphael’s pro-tégé Giulio Romano, hounded fromRome over a scandalous series oferotic engravings, was let loose to filllibidinous Frederico Gonzaga’s Man-nerist pleasure palace with racy fres-coes. The place was built to look as ifit were crumbling, from arch key-stones to the illusionist frescoes in theRoom of Giants. See p. 302.

• Il Vittoriale (Gardone, Lake Garda):Gabriele D’Annunzio was a Roman-tic ideal made flesh, an Italian Hem-ingway-meets-Shelley, an adventurer,soldier, and poet who napped on afuneral bier covered in leopard skins;who carried on a torrid affair with thegreatest actress of his age, EleonoraDuse; and who crafted every iota ofhis villa in meticulous Victoriandetail. It’s said that Mussolini himselfgave D’Annunzio the property—either to honor his vociferous supportof Fascism or simply to shut him upbefore he said something to get themall into trouble. D’Annunzio was abit of a hothead, and not much of ateam player. In 1918, he flew toVienna just to drop leaflets on it andprove, to what he saw as the wimpyItalian military command, that hecould penetrate that far. When theAdriatic town of Fiume, previouslypromised to Italy, ended up inYugoslav hands, he led his own armyto occupy the town and claim it—much to the chagrin of the Italiancommanders, who had to talk himinto giving it up and coming home(this is the “victory” after which the

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villa is named). With a whole villa tokeep him occupied, D’Annunzio pro-ceeded to remake it to his own image.The very route guests take uponentering is a subtle and intricate playon the structure of Dante’s DivineComedy. The sheer volume of bric-a-brac is enough to drive a maid with afeather duster nuts, but is redeemedby the fantastic anecdote or quirkyexplanation behind each one (hopefor a chatty guide with a good com-mand of English). Nestled in theextravagant gardens are a structurebuilt as a ship, the actual boat D’An-nunzio commanded during the GreatWar, his biplane, and his heroic hill-top tomb. See p. 310.

• Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace)(Turin): This was where the Savoykings hung their crowns in all thesumptuous, overwrought, gildedglory that the 17th and 18th cen-turies could offer. From Gobelin tap-estries to Oriental vases, from theroyal armory to the elegant gardenslaid out by master landscape architectLe Nôtre (who did the Versailles gar-dens and those of the Tuileries in

Paris), this palace drips with royalfrippery. See p. 341.

• Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi(outside Turin): Sicilian baroquegenius Juvarra laid out this extrava-gant and palatial hunting lodge forthe Savoys in 1729. To fill the numer-ous frescoed rooms and vast halls ofits giant, sinuous X-shape, localauthorities have collected furnish-ings, paintings, and other decorativeelements from dozens of Savoypalaces to create here a sort ofmuseum of 18th- and 19th-centuryinterior decor. Napoléon liked it somuch he set up housekeeping herefor a time when he first conqueredthe region before pressing on. Seep. 342.

• Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spin-ola (Genoa): The Spinola provides itscollection of canvases (by Antonelloda Messina, Guido Reni, Luca Gior-dano, Van Dyck, and Strozzi) with astellar backdrop consisting of aGenovese palace of which the mer-chant/banking Spinola family lav-ishly frescoed and decorated eachroom. See p. 377.

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7 The Best Festivals• Carnevale (Venice): Every spring

Venice brings back the 18th centuryin all its silk and brocade, poof-sleeved, men-wearing-colored-hose,Casanova, ballroom-dancing glory. Inmost Catholic countries, the weekbefore Lent begins has long been atime to let down your hair and party.It all culminates in Shrove Tuesday,the day of feasting before AshWednesday kicks off the soberLenten period. This bash has earnedthe day the nickname Fat Tuesday—called Martedì Grasso in Italian, butbetter known by its French name,Mardi Gras. Venice ranks with Rio

and New Orleans as host of one ofthe most elaborate and famous Car-nival celebrations anywhere. Ratherthan a Bacchanalian bash, Venicegoes the genteel route, with concertsand masked costume balls filling per-formance spaces, churches, and fres-coed palaces. Ten days leading up toShrove Tuesday. See p. 146 and 148.

• Venice International Film Festival:This is one of the movie business’spremier festivals, ranking just belowCannes in importance. The best filmsmade over the past year from aroundthe world are screened for audiencesand judges at the Palazzo del Cinema,

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other movie houses, and sometimeseven open-air piazzas. Unlike, say, theOscars, which celebrates highly pro-moted Hollywood products, this is achance for all movies—from would-beblockbusters to low-budget, unknownindies—to catch the attention of crit-ics and distributors. Late August/earlySeptember. See p. 147.

• Biennale d’Arte (Venice): One of themost important art festivals in theworld is hosted every 2 years by the cityof Venice. Contemporary artists (bothcelebrated modern masters and tal-ented unknowns), critics, and art afi-cionados from around the world fillthe hotels to attend shows and perusethe works displayed in the gardens andArsenale warehouses at the far end ofthe Castello district. June to earlyNovember, odd years. See p. 147.

• Regata Storica (Venice): EveryVenetian must have an 18th-centuryoutfit mothballed in a closet to breakout for yearly fetes such as Carnevaleand, of course, this “historicalregatta”—less of a race than merely aparade of gorgeously bedecked gon-dolas and other boats laden with cos-tumed gentry for a day cruising theGrand Canal. First Sunday in Sep-tember. See p. 147.

• Partita a Scacchi (Marostica): A liv-ing chess match may be a throwawaygag to Mel Brooks or special-effectsequence in a Harry Potter film, butit’s the highlight of Marostica’s calen-dar. This pretty little medieval ham-let, which barely fills the bottomthird of the ring made by its ancientwall clambering up the hillside,would probably be overlooked if itweren’t for the biennial festival thatturns the checkerboard main piazzain front of the castle into a weirdpiece of yesteryear. After a parade ofcostumed gentlefolk and medieval-style entertainers (jugglers, fire-eaters,

clowns), people dressed as chesspieces fill the piazza’s board, the play-ers sit atop a stage ready to call outtheir moves, and the match begins.Actually, it’s technically not chess aswe know it but rather a medievalvariant, and it’s not a proper matchsince they’re in fact re-creating, movefor move, a game played in the 15thcentury between two noblemen vyingfor the hand of a fair lady. Still, it’s allgreat fun. Marostica has only a hand-ful of hotels, so book a few months inadvance. Second Sunday in Septem-ber, even years. See p. 185.

• Concerti in Villa (Vicenza): TheVeneto region around Vicenza opensup its villas or their grounds for aseries of summertime concerts andperformances. From famous master-pieces like Palladio’s La Rotonda tolittle-known Renaissance villas, thesettings are memorable and the musicis sweet. June and July. See p. 186.

• Opera in Arena (Verona): La Scalaand La Fenice may be more famous,but few opera stages in Italy have amore natural dramatic setting thanVerona’s ancient Roman amphithe-ater. Every season they put on Aïdaas they have since 1913, surroundedby other operatic masterpieces byGiuseppe Verdi. For a huge 2,000-year-old sports stadium open to thesky, the Arena enjoys surprisinglygood acoustics. Late June throughAugust. See p. 196.

• Festival Shakespeariano (Verona):Verona mixes its two powerhouseattractions—ancient Roman heritageand Shakespearean fame—in a the-ater festival of Shakespeare’s plays(along with ballets and concerts, fromclassical to jazz) put on in the garden-set ruins of the Teatro Romanoancient theater. Since 1998, they’veinvited the Royal Shakespeare Company to come and perform

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(naturally) Romeo and Juliet and TwoGentlemen of Verona, as well as otherplays, in English. See p. 194.

• Palio (Asti): Medieval pageantry pre-cedes a breakneck horse race on thepiazza. The 2 weeks leading up to itcomprise the Douja d’Or, a grape-and-wine festival and trade fair. Rivaltown Alba spoofs the event with arace of their own—riding asses—intheir Palio degli Asini on the firstSunday in October. Third Sunday inOctober. See p. 350.

• Sanremo Festival (San Remo): It’sthe Grammy Awards meets Sundancemeets American Idol. Since 1950,Sanremo has been Italy’s belovedfestival of pop music, where fadedItalian stars get to strut their stuff,major international rock stars andartists are invited to perform, andscruffy teenage musicians from across

Italy get the chance to play that care-fully crafted song they just knowwould be a number-one hit if onlythey could sign a record contract (andmany do). If you want to hear whatwill be belting out of boom boxes andFiat speakers this summer at Italy’sbeaches and pumping in the discos,listen to the winning performanceshere. Late February or early March.See p. 387.

• Sagra del Pesce (Camogli): Take theworld’s largest frying pan (3.6m/12 ft.across) and place it on the wide,waterfront promenade of this tinyRiviera fishing town. Fill the pan withsizzling sardines and the town withhungry folks ready to party. There youhave a sagra, or celebration of food, inthis case of seafood, the town’s tradi-tional economic lynchpin. SecondSunday in May. See p. 398.

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8 The Best Luxury Inns• Hotel Gritti Palace (Venice): The

grandest hotel on the Grand Canal hashosted the crème de la crème ofwhomever visits Venice since DogeAndrea Gritti built the palace in the16th century. Charles de Gaulle, Win-ston Churchill, Truman Capote, JohnRuskin, Henry Ford, Mick Jagger,Giorgio Armani, Robert De Niro,Charlie Chaplin . . . the list goes on.This place is luxury everything: hand-painted and inlaid antiques, 18th-century stuccoed ceilings, cutting-edge designer entertainment centers,and, of course, balconies overlookingthe Grand Canal (well, from the top-notch rooms at least; everyone else getsto enjoy the water from the restaurantor piano bar, or can overlook a sidecanal). Because this is now a Westinproperty, you also get access (on a freehourly boat) to their Lido WestinExcelsior hotel and its facilities (seebelow). See p. 97.

• Hotel Danieli (Venice): Venice’sbacino (the bay into which the GrandCanal spills) is lined with luxuryhotels, but none beats the Danieli, a14th-century doge’s palace of pinkplaster and elaborate marble win-dowsills that’s been a hotel since1822. The centerpiece is a four-story,sky-lit, enclosed courtyard of Byzan-tine-Gothic arches, open stairwells,balustrades, and verdant pottedplants, off of which sit luxurioussalons. It’s worth popping your headin just to see it even if you don’t stayhere. The rooms vary, but no matterwhat, insist upon a lagoon view—andtry to stay in the original wing or, fail-ing that, the larger rooms of the 19th-century palazzo next door (by allmeans, avoid the bland, albeit cushy,1940s wing). As with its Westin sis-ter, Hotel Gritti Palace, you can enjoythe facilities at the chain’s Excelsioron the Lido (see below). See p. 102.

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• Hotel Cipriani (Venice): This is thelast independent, locally owned lux-ury hotel in Venice, and quite pos-sibly the best. It sits in splendidisolation at the tip of Giudecca, theonly large island of central Venice notconnected by a bridge (rather, it’s a10-min. boat ride to Piazza SanMarco). Giuseppe Cipriani, theVenetian impresario behind Harry’sBar and the Locanda Cipriani onTorcello, where Ernest Hemingwayloved to hang out (Cipriani evenmade it into a Papa story), craftedthis retreat out of several Renaissancepalazzi in 1959, offering stylishaccommodations, discreet service,and modern comfort. See p. 113.

• Westin Excelsior (Venice): The Lidomight never have been developed as abathing resort if not for the pre-science of Nicolò Spada, who createdthe Excelsior’s Moorish-style centralstructure in 1907. As one of Venice’sonly custom-built luxury hotels, itdidn’t have to abide by all the histori-cal considerations converted palazzinow have to take into account, so itsarchitectural plans allowed for morespacious accommodations than thosefound in most Venetian hotels.Rooms overlook either the Adriatic(there’s a private beach across theroad) or the small, lush, Moorish gar-den. It also sports all the resort-typeamenities: pool, fitness center, golfand tennis, sauna. See p. 114.

• Villa Margherita (Mira Porte,Brenta): This villa’s role as a guesthousehasn’t changed much since it was builtin the 17th century by Venice’s Con-tarini family. It still looks much like acountry-villa home (if your family hap-pened to be Venetian and fabulouslywealthy), with rooms overlooking theshady gardens, a restaurant across thestreet along the canal, and a similar sis-ter property nearby with a swimmingpool. See p. 175.

• Hotel Villa Cipriani (Asolo): In1962, Giuseppe Cipriani branchedout from his premium-grade Veniceminiempire to turn this 16th-centuryvilla into a well-appointed hotel.Once the home of poets Robert andElizabeth Barrett Browning, it enjoysa dreamlike setting: the medieval hilltown of Asolo, famed for its vistasover the Veneto. See p. 180.

• Hotel Greif (Bozen): Boutique hotelshave officially arrived in Italy—though so far only the Greif seems tohave heard. The Staffler family hasowned this 500-year-old hotel on themain square of Bozen—the Dolomiti’sliveliest town—since 1796. But in1999 and 2000, they decided to over-haul it completely in a minimalist,modern vein of burnished steel andoriginal contemporary art mixed with19th-century antiques and an Inter-net-equipped laptop in every room.See p. 221.

• Four Seasons Hotel Milano(Milan): In 1993, the Four Seasonsopened and rewrote the rules ondeluxe hotels in Milan. Seven yearswere spent restructuring and trans-forming a 1476 convent, a processthat brought many of its Renaissanceelements back to light, including alovely cloister. The rooms are huge byItalian city standards and flush withamenities and small luxuries such asCD stereos and king-size beds. Thebi-level suites with frescoed vaultingare particularly nice. See p. 278.

• Grand Hotel et De Milan (Milan):How do you define superior service?While resident guest Giuseppe Verdi,who lived for 30 years in the suitenow named for him, lay dying in hisbed, the hotel spread straw over thestreets under his window every day tomuffle the sounds of carriage wheelsso as not to disturb the maestro’s rest.They’re constantly upping the luxuryquotient here—even closing down

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from 1993 to 1995 for a completeoverhaul (perhaps a response to thesudden competition from the FourSeasons)—to keep the 1863 hotellooking and feeling its best. Thismeans marble surfaces and lushupholstery, thick curtains, andantique furnishings. Okay, so theopera music trickling lightly fromhidden speakers may be overdoing it,but what did you expect from a hotel3 blocks from La Scala that hasplayed host to divas and tenors fordecades? See p. 279.

• Villa d’Este (Cernobbio, LakeComo): On short lists of the world’sgreatest hotels, the Villa d’Este alwaysranks near the top. There’s nothingreproduction or faux about this place.The villa is true Renaissance, themarble precious, the guestbook A-list, and the Empire furnishings sogenuine they actually date back toNapoléon’s tenure when his aide-de-camp owned it. Add to all that severalpools (one floating on the lake), avast park that hides tennis courts, afitness center that includes squashcourts and a virtual driving range,and a trio of restaurants. See p. 319.

• Grand Hôtel et des Iles Borromées(Stresa, Lake Maggiore): ErnestHemingway loved this retreat by thelake so much he set part of A Farewellto Arms at the hotel. Shell out $2,400and you can stay in the suite namedafter him (two bedrooms with king-size beds and huge marble bathroomsin each, frescoed ceilings, lake-viewterrace). Recent renovations haverestored the decor to its original

1860s splendor and richness, regild-ing an old lily of the Italian hotelscene and restoring it to the ranksof Europe’s most exclusive hotels.Rooms are sumptuously appointed ina variety of styles, from 19th-centuryinlaid wood to lavish Empire style toopulent Italianate rooms of lacqueredfurnishings and Murano chandeliers.See p. 329.

• Hotel Splendido/Splendido Mare(Portofino): Portofino is the fishingvillage chosen by the world’s jet-setelite as their own little bit of Italy, itstiny cove harbor overshadowed byyachts, and the hillside Splendidohotel booked by the top names fromHollywood, European nobility regis-ters, and CEO boardrooms. The villaitself is 19th century, though its foun-dation is a 16th-century monastery,set amid olive groves a 10-minutewalk above the town. Suites comewith antique furnishings and cutting-edge entertainment centers (DVD,anyone?). The sister hotel, SplendidoMare, sits right at the harborfront,stays open all year, and offers diningwith a view of the boats. See p. 406.

• Royal Hotel (San Remo): With sucha small town and such a major popfestival, once a year you’ll find a con-centration of rock stars here rarelyseen outside of a major benefit con-cert. The rest of the year, with dou-bles starting under $250, almost all ofus can enjoy its private beach acrossthe road, its cushy accommodations,its stuccoed bar, and the wonderfulpool styled as if it were carved out ofrock. See p. 388.

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9 The Best Moderate Hotels• Pensione Accademia (Venice): If you

ever wanted to live like KatharineHepburn, here’s your chance. Well,not exactly, though her character did live in this 16th-century Villa

Maravege (Villa of Wonders) in the1955 film Summertime. It sits in anenviable position, a flower-filled gar-den at the confluence of two canalsemptying into the Grand Canal, and

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the rooms are done in a tastefulantique style that makes you feel as ifyou’re staying in the home of yourwealthy Venetian relative rather thanin a hotel. See p. 107.

• Hotel San Cassiano Ca’Favretto(Venice): It’s one of the cheapesthotels on the Grand Canal—plus therooms and bar terrace overlook theprettiest stretch of the canal, withthe Ca’ d’Oro directly across thewaters. Even most non–Grand Canalrooms overlook a side canal. All that,and the hotel in the 16th-century villaretains much of its 18th-centuryambience (though room decor is vin-tage 1970s repro antiques). See p. 109.

• Hotel Majestic Toscanelli (Padua):The management of the Toscanelli isalways reinvesting in this gem of a hotelthree quiet shop- and osteria-linedblocks from the central Piazza delleErbe. Its latest refurbishment came in1999, with burnished cherry furnish-ings gracing the spacious rooms. Thereception is warm and helpful, and thelocation excellent. See p. 171.

• Hotel Aurora (Verona): Situatedright on the scenic Piazza delle Erbe,the Aurora enjoys a combination ofprime location, low prices, and per-fect, simple comfort that keeps guestscoming back. See p. 203.

• Antica Locanda Solferino (Milan):The most wonderfully eclectic hotelin Milan exudes character. It sits inthe heart of the fashionable Breraneighborhood, its quirky amalgamof furnishings fitted into gen-erally spacious rooms. Sig. GerardoVitolo leads one of the friendliest

managements in town; it’s no won-der this delightful place stays bookedby regulars, who enjoy its creaky,homey atmosphere. See p. 279.

• Agnello d’Oro (Bergamo): Bergamomay not quite be the Alps, but you’rehigh up enough in their foothills thatthis tall, narrow ochre building withits flower-box windows, patio foun-tain, and sloping roof looks perfectlyappropriate, offering a bit of Ital-ianate Alpine charm smack-dab inthe center of the pedestrian medievalquarter. Furnishings are simple andserviceable, but the price and locationcan’t be beat. See p. 297.

• Du Lac (Bellagio, Lake Como): Ofall the hotels lining Bellagio’s littlelakefront piazza, the Du Lac is thefriendliest by a long shot. For over acentury and a half, it has offeredcomfort and genuine hospitality,from the panoramic dining room androoftop sun terrace to the simple butfully stocked rooms and the bar tablestucked under the arcades of the side-walk. The hotel recently added a pooland tennis courts. See p. 321.

• Verbano (Stresa, Lake Maggiore):Why shell out hundreds of dollars fora hotel by the lake when you can haveone on the lake for half the price? Thedusty rose villa of the Verbano sits atthe tip of Isola dei Pescatori, an islandof colorful fishermen’s houses in themidst of Lake Maggiore, with viewsover the landscaped Isola Bella, thelake, and the Alps beyond from mostrooms and also from the gravelly ter-race, where they serve excellentmeals. See p. 330.

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10 The Best Budget Gems• Hotel La Residenza (Venice): Just off

the highly fashionable Riva degli Schi-avoni sits one of the great remainingcheap pensioni in Italy, a 15th-centurypalazzo converted into an inexpensive

hotel. Hotels this cheap are hard tocome by anywhere in Venice, let alonein such a prime location, and nonehave such remarkable decor and fadedstyle. Its 15 rooms occupy the piano

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nobile, the high-ceilinged “noble floor”where the wealthy family once lived,so it sports 18th-century stuccoes over Venetian-style furnishings, 17th-century oil paintings, and Muranochandeliers. See p. 105.

• Foresteria Valdese (Palazzo Cavag-nis) (Venice): If La Residenza (seeabove) is full, you may luck into evenmore decaying style (18th-century fres-coes decorate the ceilings in severalrooms) for less money at this 16th-cen-tury palazzo run as a sort of hostel bythe Waldesian and Methodist Church.The drawbacks are that it’s a sort ofhostel-type arrangement—many, butnot all, of the accommodations areshared rooms—and the rooms lackamenities such as telephones and air-conditioning. The location isn’t quiteas sweet as that of La Residenza, butthe rooms do have balconies over alovely small side canal. See p. 104.

• Hotel Galleria (Venice): This place isremarkable: a 17th-century palazzowith double rooms for under $100, ahalf dozen of which open directlyonto the Grand Canal, and it’s nextdoor to one of Venice’s top sights, theAccademia Gallery. All that and youget breakfast (including freshly bakedbread) in bed. See p. 107.

• Pensione Guerrato (Venice): Thischarming pensione is run by a pair ofbrothers-in-law in a converted 13th-century convent near the daily Rialtomarket. The furnishings are mis-matched but lovely, a mix of antiquesculled from markets over the years, andthe breakfast is excellent. They alsorent two great apartments at excellentprices near San Marco. See p. 109.

• Hotel Bernardi-Semenzato (Venice):The friendly Pepoli family runs thiswell-maintained palazzo hidden ablock off the main drag abouthalfway between the train station andSan Marco. It’s surrounded by osterieand good restaurants patronized by

locals, and the modernized roomsretain rough wood-beam ceilings andantique-style furnishings. They alsorent simple but spacious rooms intwo annexes nearby that make youfeel as if you’re staying in your ownVenetian apartment; one room has afireplace, another overlooks a pair ofside canals. See p. 111.

• Due Mori (Vicenza): Just off the cen-tral Piazza dei Signori lies this simple,no-frills, but comfortable hotel, theoldest in Vicenza, packed with gen-uine 19th-century antiques and afriendly reception. See p. 190.

• Grifone (Sirmione, Lake Garda):Would you believe a vine-coveredhotel where the simple rooms enjoyviews of the lake and access to a smallbeach for under $35 a person? Well,that’s what the Marcolini siblingsoffer at this gem of an inn around thecorner from the little medieval castle.Book early. See p. 308.

• Ostello La Primula (Menaggio,Lake Como): If you don’t mind hos-tel living (shared dorm rooms, busyour own table at dinner), you canget a bed overlooking the lake for14€ ($18) and some of the bestfixed-price dinners in town for just8.50€ ($11). It’s run by a family ofex–social workers, who also rent bikesand kayaks. See p. 327.

• Fasce (Santa Margherita Ligure):This little hotel a few blocks up fromthe harbor is now in its third genera-tion of family management, whichincludes the incredibly helpfulBritish-born Jane at the front desk.Not only are the bright guest roomsspacious and comfortable and thesurroundings a lovely profusion ofplants and flowers, but they pile onthe extras, from free bicycles toCinque Terre packets for guests whostay at least 3 nights (including atrain ticket a day and all the info youneed to explore the coast). See p. 401.

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• Cavallino d’Oro/Goldenes Rössl(Kastelruth/Castelrotto, near Bozen):The village is a full-bore Tiroleanmountain hamlet straight out of theMiddle Ages, and this rambling hotelhas sat at the cobblestoned center oftown since the 1400s, its swingingshingle emblazoned with its GoldenHorse moniker. It includes the cornerbar where the locals hang out forlunch and a genuine, preserved 18th-century Stuben (beer nook) in therestaurant at back. It’s a nice mix ofnew and old: The lounge has a wide-screen TV with 300 digital channelsset next to a picture window of theAlps; the rooms offer modern com-forts amid hand-painted wood fur-nishings and four-poster beds. Best ofall, the Urthaler family couldn’t bemore welcoming, and they happen tobe Frommer’s fans. See p. 222.

• Hotel Castello Schloss Labers (out-side Merano): The road from townwends its way through vine-clad hillsto the Stapf-Neubert family’s 11th-century, countryside castle—a hotelsince 1885. The cozy hunting salonscluster around a magnificent centralstaircase that leads up to the eclecticcollection of rooms tucked into tow-ers, eaves, and high-ceilinged rooms.A statue-studded garden out backoffers views across the valley to thesurrounding peaks, and they alsohave a heated pool, tennis courts, anda Tirolean restaurant. See p. 229.

• Villa Fiordaliso (Gardone Riviera,Lake Garda): This Liberty-style villawas built in 1903 and immediatelystarted attracting formidable owners,including poet Gabriele d’Annunzioand later Claretta Petacci, Mussolini’smistress (this is where they spenttheir final weeks in semi-hiding at theend of World War II before being

hunted down and killed). Thingshave calmed down considerably sincethen, the villa transformed in 1990into one of the most popular high-end restaurants in the lake region (iteven has a Michelin star now), withseven elegant guest rooms upstairs.See p. 311.

• Villa La Meridiana/Az. Agrituris-tica Reine (near Alba): An agritur-ismo is a working farm whose familyopens their home and hospitality toguests. The Pionzo family runs thisgracious agriturismo above the Pied-mont wine town of Alba, with roomsin the main house and convertedfrom the former stalls, almost alloverlooking the vineyards that pro-duce their Barbera wine, the sur-rounding village-capped hills, and thepeaks of the Alps in the distance. Theample breakfast may include apricotpreserves from their own orchard andsheep’s milk cheese from the neigh-bors. See p. 354.

• La Cascina del Monastero (outsideLa Morra): The di Grasso family runsan agriturismo similar to Villa LaMeridiana (see above), another vine-yard and fruit orchard farm outside aPiemontese village with large guestrooms and apartments filled with com-fortable rustic furnishings and exposedwood beams. This place would beworth staying at if only for the sump-tuous breakfast spread, the only draw-back to which is that you may have tocancel lunch plans and head back toyour room for a nap. See p. 357.

• Milleluci (outside Aosta): Fourmatrilineal generations of hoteliershave turned this family farm into oneof the coziest, friendliest hotels in thewhole of the Valle d’Aosta. A firecrackles in the large lounge down-stairs, and the rooms are done in

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11 The Best Countryside Retreats

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woodsy Alpine style with canopybeds in suites, traditional wood fur-nishings, and hand-hewn ceilings. Intrue country tradition, the breakfasthere is overwhelming, with freshlybaked pies, cakes, and breads everymorning accompanied by farm-freshcheese, milk, and preserves. Unlikemost countryside retreats, the Mil-leluci sports plenty of facilities a four-star hotel would be jealous of: aheated outdoor pool, tennis courts,exercise facilities, hot tub, and sauna.See p. 363.

• La Grange (Courmayeur-Entrèves):Entrèves may not properly be coun-tryside, but this tiny collection ofAlpine chalets below the Mont Blanccable-car station is so small it barelyqualifies as a village, and the atmos-phere is fully rustic. The Bertholdfamily converted this hotel from abarn by fitting the rooms with a mixof antiques and sturdy country fur-nishings. It makes a refreshing (andfar less expensive) alternative to theresort hotels of Courmayeur justdown the road. See p. 365.

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12 The Best Restaurants• Do Forni (Venice): Though the

menu is vast, they seem to devoteequal attention to every single dish,making this one of the best (if mosteyebrow-raisingly expensive) restau-rants in Venice. The bulk of the placeis done in a vaguely rustic style, butthe best room is the front one, fittedout like a car from the luxurious Ori-ent Express. See p. 118.

• La Cusina (Venice): One of the newstars on the Venetian restaurant sceneis also one of the few hotel diningrooms worth singling out. In warmweather, this becomes one of themost romantic dinner settings intown, the tables set on terraces hang-ing over the Grand Canal. The loca-tion alone is worth booking ahead,but happily the cooking is as deli-cious as the view is stunning, offeringan inventive take on Italian cuisinebased on Venetian and Veneto tradi-tions and using the freshest ingredi-ents. See p. 118.

• Le Bistrot de Venise (Venice): Themenu at this upscale bistro is splitthree ways to satisfy your appetite (orat least make your choice harder):Venetian/Italian, French, and ancientlocal recipes culled from historic

cookbooks and documents. Theyattract hip artistic types by turningthe back room into a coffeehouse-style performance space most nights,hosting poets, acoustic musicians, artexhibits, and cabarets. See p. 119.

• Al Covo (Venice): Texan DianeRankin makes the pastries and chatswith guests while husband-chefCesare Benelli watches over thekitchen at this always-popular restau-rant that mixes a warm welcome andexcellent fresh seafood dishes withrelatively reasonable prices (especiallyon the quality wine list). See p. 122.

• La Milanese (Milan): In a city withmany fine restaurants whose stars riseand fall almost as soon as they makeit onto the map, La Milanese is a stal-wart survivor, a traditional trattoriathat has never stopped offering typi-cal Milanese dishes, smart service,and moderate prices, a formula thathas kept it successful for almost 70years now. See p. 284.

• Antica Hosteria del Vino Buono(Bergamo): This cozy restaurant isspread over two floors of a cornerpalazzo on the market square. Thefood is mountain-style, rib-stickinggood, heavy on the game meats and

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thick polenta accompanied by heartyred wines. See p. 298.

• Ochina Bianca (Mantua): Mantuancooking is somewhat more complexthan most northern Italian cuisines,and the Venturinis put their own inno-vative spin on it at the “White Goose,”marrying local ingredients with freshfish from the Mincio and game in thiselegant restaurant. See p. 304.

• C’era Una Volta (Turin): That youhave to ring the bell and climb to thefirst floor gives this place a clubby air,but owner Piero Prete will instantly

make you feel like a longtime memberas he greets you warmly and comesback around to help you select yourwine. The cooking is traditional Tori-nese, excellently prepared. See p. 345.

• Lalibera (Alba): Franco and Manuelereign over this stylish dining room onan alley off a pedestrian shoppingstreet, with Marco in the kitchencrafting excellent variants on Piemon-tese cuisine by using only the freshestof ingredients, all locally produced,from the cheese to the fruit to themeats. See p. 355.

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13 The Best Countryside Eateries• Al Camin (outside of Cortina d’Am-

pezzo): This barnlike structure liesalong the rushing Run Brigantinemountain stream, 10 minutes outsideof town, serving hearty Alpine foodin a woodsy dining room around astone fireplace. Some regional spe-cialties that are hard to find elsewherethese days are staples on Al Camin’sseasonal menus. See p. 240.

• L’Osteria del Vignaiolo (La Morra):This place is sophisticated rustic, withsimple rooms with pale-gold wallsexpanding to tables outside in sum-mer. It’s set amid the vineyards thatproduce its excellent wines and pro-vide the excellent views. The cooking,in the hands of chef LucianoMarengo, samples from the varied

bounty of Piemontese regionalcuisines, accompanied by choicecheese platters and, of course, some ofthe best fine wines in Italy. See p. 357.

• La Maison de Filippo (Entrèves):This is the never-ending meal to beatall feasts. I honestly tried to keeptrack of the courses, but after the sev-enth appetizer, I had to give it up.But it’s not just quantity (two words:pace yourself ): The food actuallymanages to be fantastic as well, andit’s served in an archetypal rustic-countryside dining room of lowwood ceilings, open kitchens: some-times there’s even a dog under thetable. Book here, then plan to spendmuch of the next day merely digest-ing. See p. 367.

14 The Best Down-Home Trattorie & Osterie• Vino Vino (Venice): Antico Martini

is a pricey but good restaurant nearLa Fenice opera house; Vino Vino isits worst-kept secret, an inexpensiveosteria branch that serves simple buttasty dishes that come out of thesame kitchen. You choose from thedaily chalkboard menu, stake out atable, and then carry your meal to it

along with a wine from their excel-lent and extensive shared wine cellar.See p. 121.

• Ai Tre Spiedi (Venice): This is whereI take my buddies for a blow-outVenetian meal at remarkably lowprices—not the cheapest in town, butperhaps the best value for yourmoney. The owners are jolly, and the

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food is excellent, including the fish(which is often dicey at the more inex-pensive places in Venice). See p. 122.

• Cantina do Mori (Venice): Notwith-standing the recent change in man-agement (and a slight price hike), theCantina do Mori has remained oneof the best bacari in Venice, a winebar that serves exquisite cicchetti(tapaslike snacks) to a crowd of regu-lars nightly under the low-beamedceilings that seem unchanged sincethe joint opened in 1462. After all,this is the place where even Casanovasupposedly came to tipple betweenaffairs. See p. 126.

• Toni del Spin (Treviso): Seventy yearsof satisfying Trevisani diners hasimparted a patina of reliability to thisdown-home trattoria of crisscrossingbeams, swirling fans, and chalkboardmenus. The choices are limited, buteach dish is excellent, mixing local tra-ditions with experimental cooking andsome international dishes. The winelist is stellar—they also run the wineshop across the street. See p. 178.

• La Taverna di Via Stella (Verona):The Vantini brothers and their bud-dies have successfully started abrand-new, laid-back osteria thatinstantly feels as if it’s been around

for centuries. Here, the local volun-teer fire squad shows up to hang outin uniform and hit on girls, andoffice workers troop in to unwindover traditional Veronese dishes andwine (of their some 180 bottles, 10 varieties are opened nightly sothat you can sample by the glass). Seep. 205.

• Osteria del Duca (Verona): Theladies bustling around this old fave ofa trattoria know to double-checkwith foreign visitors who have inad-vertently ordered one of the manytraditional Veronese dishes involvinghorse or donkey meat. The setting isromantic in true Verona style: It’s onthe ground floor of a medievalpalazzo that most likely belonged tothe historical Montecchi family,immortalized by Shakespeare as theMontagues, whose son Romeo fell inlove with Juliet of the enemy Capuletclan. See p. 206.

• Vineria Cozzi (Bergamo): LeonardoVigorelli’s wine bar is the turnstilearound which Bergamo’s upper cityspins, a requisite stop for locals andvisitors alike who enjoy his hospital-ity, good wine selection, and yummypanini, meat and cheese platters, andsimple dishes. See p. 299.

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