Speaker 1: The custo of experiences and tours, Allison's in Florence, getting
Speaker 1: to your accommodation in Venice, Sicily at Christmas time, and
Speaker 1: itinery ideas for Northern Italy, plus even some questions about
Speaker 1: Untold Italy itself. We are covering a lot of ground
Speaker 1: on this Q and a episode that will be useful
Speaker 1: for first times and regular visitors to Italy.
Speaker 2: Tawatuti and Benvenuti too. One Told Italy. The travel podcast
Speaker 2: to where you go to the towns and villages, mountains
Speaker 2: and lakes, hills and coastlines of Belli, Italia. Each week,
Speaker 2: your host Katie Clark takes you on a journey in
Speaker 2: a search of magical landscapes, history, culture, wine, gelato, and
Speaker 2: of course a whole lot of pasta. If you're dreaming
Speaker 2: of Italy and planning future adventures there, you've come to
Speaker 2: the right place.
Speaker 1: Jao Bonjiono ben Venuti and welcome to the Untold Italy
Speaker 1: Travel podcast, where we help curious travelers like you open
Speaker 1: the door to the Italy that they have been searching for.
Speaker 1: I'm Katie, the founder of Untold Italy and I've been
Speaker 1: recording weekly podcast episodes since twenty twenty. This is episode
Speaker 1: number three hundred and thirty three, and if you're new here,
Speaker 1: you might want to download our podcast episode guide so
Speaker 1: you can choose the episodes that are best for you
Speaker 1: and where you're at in your Italy planning journey. Because
Speaker 1: there is rather a lot of content, we'll put a
Speaker 1: link to how you can get that in the episode
Speaker 1: show notes on our website, on your podcast app two,
Speaker 1: or you can go straight to Untold Italy dot com
Speaker 1: forward slash podcast and you'll find it there. On today's episode,
Speaker 1: I'm answering listener questions and there are quite a few
Speaker 1: to cover, So what I'm going to do for this
Speaker 1: one is break it down into groups because we have
Speaker 1: some questions from first time listeners or from people going
Speaker 1: back to Italy after many years. We have quite a
Speaker 1: few about Untold Italy and also some curly questions which
Speaker 1: I love from our more frequent travelers to Italy.
Speaker 3: Our goal, as always is to help.
Speaker 1: You plan your trip wherever you are in your trip
Speaker 1: planning journey. We have hundreds of free resources on this
Speaker 1: podcast and on our website if you are a dedicated
Speaker 1: DIY planner, but if you do want some help planning
Speaker 1: your trip, or you'd simply like everything.
Speaker 3: Done for you.
Speaker 1: We are here for you too, So let's kick things
Speaker 1: off with some questions for first timers. I'll answer these
Speaker 1: briefly and then point you to episodes where we have
Speaker 1: taken a deeper dive into some of these topics, ANDIAMO,
Speaker 1: let's get started. Our first question came through from deb
Speaker 1: on Instagram. She wanted to know how to safely use
Speaker 1: an airport ATM to withdraw cash, and how to tip
Speaker 1: taxis when you arrive, and then how to tip taxi
Speaker 1: drivers when you're there. These are some great questions that
Speaker 1: we have answered in depth on some other episodes that
Speaker 1: I'll mention in a minute, but the short answer here
Speaker 1: is please do not use the airport ATMs. They are
Speaker 1: a complete ripoff in terms of the exchange rate and
Speaker 1: the charges that they put on. The extra charges, plus
Speaker 1: there's slightly dicey in terms of security. Either get your
Speaker 1: cash out at a bank in your town or city
Speaker 1: before you leave, or use a bank ATM only. It's
Speaker 1: best if it's inside and not facing out into the.
Speaker 3: Street when you get to Italy. But you know the.
Speaker 1: Reality is that you do not need much cash when
Speaker 1: you are there. I usually take out around two hundred
Speaker 1: euros and I may not use all of it, depending
Speaker 1: on where I am going. Cards are really accepted everywhere,
Speaker 1: and actually by law places need to take card payment.
Speaker 3: In terms of taxis.
Speaker 1: Personally, I prefer to book a transfer direct to my
Speaker 1: accommodation from the airport.
Speaker 3: Taxis not just initially, but all over the world.
Speaker 1: I don't know why, but they can be pretty dodgy
Speaker 1: and they often refuse to take card even though they're
Speaker 1: not supposed to, and they can charge you too much
Speaker 1: if you are not really paying attention, which after a
Speaker 1: long flight many of us are pretty exhausted and not
Speaker 1: paying that much attention.
Speaker 3: For me, it's simply easier to pay.
Speaker 1: A little more, maybe ten euros more, and go straight
Speaker 1: to where I want to go with someone who's going
Speaker 1: to pick me up at the arrivals area and take
Speaker 1: me buy car in a nice car that doesn't smell
Speaker 1: to my hotel. Myself and our team we use welcome pickups.
Speaker 1: You can book, pay and confirm online. It's really easy
Speaker 1: and will put a link to them in the show notes.
Speaker 1: If you want to use taxis, it is best to
Speaker 1: book online with the taxi apps that work like Uber,
Speaker 1: because Uber isn't really available in Italy that's a whole
Speaker 1: nother story. So you can book track the taxi and
Speaker 1: pay online, which takes a lot of stress out of
Speaker 1: trying to work out you've been understood and what you
Speaker 1: need to pay. This being Italy, there is of course
Speaker 1: a different taxi app for most cities and we put
Speaker 1: those into the Untold Italy app that covers most of Italy.
Speaker 3: And if you're looking for the.
Speaker 1: Specific taxi app for Rome, that's called app Taxi.
Speaker 3: It's the same.
Speaker 1: Actually here in Australia we have different taxi apps, so
Speaker 1: frustrating anyway. As far as the tipping goes, this can
Speaker 1: be a huge topic. But the short answer is that
Speaker 1: tipping is not expected in Italy, but it is of
Speaker 1: course appreciated. You can use the taxi apps to tip
Speaker 1: as well. It really does work just like Uber. So
Speaker 1: I really would encourage anyone who is thinking about getting
Speaker 1: a taxi hero or there to download those apps. That's
Speaker 1: really easy and straightforward. We do have relevant deeper dive
Speaker 1: episodes that go into these topics. Episode number seven is
Speaker 1: about tipping in Italy. Episode number five is about taxis
Speaker 1: in Rome.
Speaker 3: Two forty is.
Speaker 1: About handling money and all of those things, and one
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy two is arriving in Rome. We also
Speaker 1: have a big article about Rome airport transfers on our website. Again,
Speaker 1: these will be in the show notes, so you can
Speaker 1: go and look into that a little bit further. Laurie
Speaker 1: also asked about bringing euros and Laurie, I hope my
Speaker 1: answer to deb helped you too to reiterate you do
Speaker 1: not need to bring a lot of cash.
Speaker 3: Use your card.
Speaker 1: I have a travel one and a backup credit card
Speaker 1: and it works perfectly, and it has for many, many,
Speaker 1: many years. Laurie also asked about cell phone reception and
Speaker 1: purchasing cards to assist with this, Laurie, unless you're going
Speaker 1: to be very remote, you're going up into the mountains
Speaker 1: or some really non touristy areas, I wouldn't worry about
Speaker 1: reception at all. I use my phone from home here
Speaker 1: in Australia throughout Italy and have never had any problems,
Speaker 1: except if I'm somewhere really out of.
Speaker 3: The way, and in that situation we just go to
Speaker 3: the nearest village.
Speaker 1: I use the International Roaming Plan from my telecommunications company
Speaker 1: and it's around five dollars a day, and it's similar
Speaker 1: across most operators globally. You just need to watch how
Speaker 1: much data you are using each day, but these days
Speaker 1: it's pretty.
Speaker 3: Generous allowance, you know, at least a gigabyte.
Speaker 1: So unless you're downloading videos or you know, doing a
Speaker 1: lot of social media or constantly have your maps on,
Speaker 1: you're not going to use that data.
Speaker 3: You can also buy.
Speaker 1: An international SIM if you're concerned about the cost, and
Speaker 1: I would do that before you leave home.
Speaker 3: You can buy an e SIM online.
Speaker 1: As the process to get a physical SIM is a
Speaker 1: bit of an die Mary in Italy. We have a
Speaker 1: full breakdown of your options on our website article how
Speaker 1: to use your cell Phone in Italy, and the link
Speaker 1: will be in the show notes too. The next question
Speaker 1: is from Kathleen, who is visiting Italy in September. She's
Speaker 1: worried about train strikes and alternatives if she runs into one.
Speaker 1: She has a very long train journey from Florence to Solano. Kathleen,
Speaker 1: this is a great question because yes, one feature of
Speaker 1: traveling in Italy is that you may need to deal
Speaker 1: with train strikes. The good news is that these are
Speaker 1: announced well in advance, and of course we keep our
Speaker 1: untold Italy app users notified as they come up. Usually
Speaker 1: the main high speed train routes are okay for travel,
Speaker 1: but should you need a backup plan then the best
Speaker 1: and most effective option is flicksbus.
Speaker 3: This is not the.
Speaker 1: Old Greyhound services of your nightmares. These are really comfortable
Speaker 1: services with on board WiFi that get you from A
Speaker 1: to B.
Speaker 3: In this case, you would likely need to go to Rome.
Speaker 1: And change bus from Florence, so you go from Florence
Speaker 1: to Rome and then get off the bus and go
Speaker 1: from Rome to Solano. But it is an option and
Speaker 1: it would be from thirty euros. It's a pretty good
Speaker 1: deal actually, but you would need to keep an eye
Speaker 1: on it if you thought that there was going to
Speaker 1: be a strike, because there may be other people with
Speaker 1: this idea. The other is that you could use a
Speaker 1: private driving service to get you there, but you are
Speaker 1: looking at around twelve hundred to fifteen hundred euros and
Speaker 1: so yeah, there's a bit of.
Speaker 3: A price differential there, but it's worth.
Speaker 1: Knowing that there are multiple options. So we have more
Speaker 1: information on strikes and how to manage them on our
Speaker 1: website in an article that's called train strikes in Italy,
Speaker 1: and the reason we have this article is it's quite common.
Speaker 3: Now we're coming to a question.
Speaker 1: Of pricing and the value of experiences, which I thought
Speaker 1: was really interesting and worth sharing. ANAKA ask about the
Speaker 1: pricing and value of private tours and group tours in
Speaker 1: Rome and other cities in Europe and whether tipping was expected.
Speaker 1: If you've done any research about experiences in Italy like
Speaker 1: Colisseum tours, Vatican tours, you Fitzy tours, vesper tours and whatnot,
Speaker 1: and all over the major cities of Europe and Italy,
Speaker 1: you'll know that they're are literally tens of thousands of options,
Speaker 1: and it really can be quite overwhelming, even before you
Speaker 1: get to the pricing and what's included.
Speaker 3: So here is a good general rule of thumb.
Speaker 1: If a tour or experiences is around fifty to seventy
Speaker 1: euros per person, it's going to be a large group,
Speaker 1: which is say over twenty people, and you'll be walking
Speaker 1: around with headsets on and it's largely a logistics exercise.
Speaker 1: You will get some information and things, but it won't
Speaker 1: be very personal. People may not like that, but don't
Speaker 1: underestimate how useful some logistics help is in a country
Speaker 1: where nothing is particularly well marked or signposted. The next
Speaker 1: pricing bracket takes you from around eighty to one hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty euros per person, and that will be a
Speaker 1: smaller group, perhaps as many as twelve to fifteen, but
Speaker 1: it can be smaller and therefore it's more personal and
Speaker 1: you can ask questions.
Speaker 3: Easily and engage with your guide.
Speaker 1: Next tours run by companies which can start at around
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty euros per person, and a great
Speaker 1: example are our friends that live tours. They usually have
Speaker 1: a base price that's fixed for a minimum of two people,
Speaker 1: and it becomes more cost effective if you add more
Speaker 1: people to your tour. The advantage here is that they
Speaker 1: will have many guides that can deliver the tours to
Speaker 1: the standard that they expect, and they can offer a
Speaker 1: broader range of times. Live tours are fantastic. They offer
Speaker 1: all sorts of options, from vesper and golf cart tours
Speaker 1: to art history tours of the Vatican and bulgesa gallery
Speaker 1: and you get five percent off with our code. Untold
Speaker 1: issually too, and we put the details in the show notes.
Speaker 1: Of course, Lastly, you have private tours run by individual
Speaker 1: guides that you may have found on social media or elsewhere,
Speaker 1: and their prices will be or they should be higher.
Speaker 1: Why is that their prices reflect exclusivity and customization. There
Speaker 1: are only so many tours that they can run personally,
Speaker 1: and let me tell.
Speaker 3: You that job requires really high energy and commitment.
Speaker 1: So when it is someone's own brand and business, they
Speaker 1: will go above and beyond, and so you can expect
Speaker 1: higher prices from these people because there's only a limited
Speaker 1: number of days that they can actually offer these tours themselves.
Speaker 1: It is worth noting and some of you might be
Speaker 1: surprised about this, but most guides in Italy do a
Speaker 1: combination of the above, and they work for several companies
Speaker 1: as well as themselves so they can maximize their income.
Speaker 1: I've had a few messages from people saying that they
Speaker 1: don't want to book through companies, and all I can
Speaker 1: say is that if you want to guarantee that you
Speaker 1: will have a guide and tour in the major cities especially,
Speaker 1: then go for a reputable company like Live Tours or
Speaker 1: Walks of Italy.
Speaker 3: As they choose.
Speaker 1: And train their teams carefully, picking from a pool of
Speaker 1: guides that are out there, and they make sure that
Speaker 1: they're delivering their services to a standard that they want.
Speaker 1: And it's a different maybe approach to some other companies
Speaker 1: that just pick guides from you know, from a scheduling
Speaker 1: point of view. They really do make sure that they're
Speaker 1: working with the people that can represent Italy in the
Speaker 1: way that they want to. If you're particularly concerned about
Speaker 1: choosing an Italian company, Live Tours are an Italian company.
Speaker 1: They are owned by Angelo Caratanuto and he's been on
Speaker 1: the podcast several times. He's originally from Rome, but he
Speaker 1: does speak with a little American accent twain because he
Speaker 1: lived in Los Angeles for a while. But both of
Speaker 1: those two companies are really worth looking at. It's a
Speaker 1: bit different outside the major tourist areas of course, as
Speaker 1: tour companies don't really operate there, but that is where
Speaker 1: local contacts come into play, and they're like finding Hen's teeth.
Speaker 1: To be honest, you really need to have really good
Speaker 1: context there. We do feature some of these guides on
Speaker 1: our podcast, and so if you're interested in a particular town,
Speaker 1: you can go through our podcast listing and you should
Speaker 1: find some people there. But a lot of people keep
Speaker 1: those details very close to their chest because it's really
Speaker 1: difficult to find amazing guides in some of the smaller cities.
Speaker 1: In summary, what you were prepared to pay for your
Speaker 1: experiences is completely up to you, but hopefully this gives
Speaker 1: you an idea of what you can expect for the
Speaker 1: price that you are wanting to pay. Next, we headed
Speaker 1: to Venice and Tamora or Tamra, I don't know. We
Speaker 1: say Tomora in Australia, so if it's Tamra, I'm sorry
Speaker 1: about that. She asked how she could get from the
Speaker 1: cruise terminal to her hotel near Piazza San Marco, noting
Speaker 1: that Tamora is on a Windstar cruise, which is a
Speaker 1: small boat trip that's able to dock in the Venice
Speaker 1: cruise terminal, which is quite rare these days, and that's
Speaker 1: because the bigger ships are no longer able to go there.
Speaker 1: Arriving in Venice is something you do really want to
Speaker 1: have a think about, as if is a city built
Speaker 1: on watar Of course, if you're arriving at the cruise terminal,
Speaker 1: it's about a ten minute walk to the Vaporaretto stops
Speaker 1: at Piazzale Roma or the cruise company may put on
Speaker 1: a shuttle. Vaparido one is the slow ride and Vaporoto
Speaker 1: two is the express down on the Grand Canal and
Speaker 1: the riot stop for Piazza San Marco is Sanzakaraya. You
Speaker 1: could also it's blurge on a water taxi straight to
Speaker 1: your hotel if it has a private doc and if
Speaker 1: you want more information about arriving in Venice. So it
Speaker 1: can be a little bit complicated, it's definitely worth looking into.
Speaker 1: You can check the Untold Italy app, the premium version
Speaker 1: where we have a rival info for many places in
Speaker 1: Italy like Venice, or there is an article on our
Speaker 1: website specifically for Venice that I will link.
Speaker 3: To in the show notes.
Speaker 1: Okay, next up, we have some questions about Untold Italy,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to start off with the question that
Speaker 1: comes from some of our Australian listener who often ask
Speaker 1: Katie why, as an Australian, why you often address American
Speaker 1: listeners and why are your services and tool pricing in
Speaker 1: US dollars. Well, dear friends, over eighty five percent of
Speaker 1: our listeners and followers are from North America, so it's
Speaker 1: nice to include their logistical challenges and cultural differences in
Speaker 1: our discussions. Actually, we cover so many countries in the world,
Speaker 1: from Chile to places in Africa to Egypt, I think,
Speaker 1: and South Africa. Definitely Hello to everyone listening their Thailand, Japan.
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 1: Everyone is here and it's a big world, but it's
Speaker 1: also a small world, and I like to think everyone
Speaker 1: joining us here is united by a love for Italy.
Speaker 1: With the respect to pricing, we do mainly post primarily
Speaker 1: USD for the reason that so many of our listeners
Speaker 1: are in North America, and it's also for technical reasons.
Speaker 1: So honestly, in these days of globalization, you would think
Speaker 1: it would be quite easy to quote in multiple currencies
Speaker 1: up front, but it's actually easier said than done, especially
Speaker 1: if you are like us and do not want the
Speaker 1: platform added fees and charges passed on to our clients
Speaker 1: back in a flash right after these messages for on
Speaker 1: the go curated travel tips, restaurant recommendations and fun things
Speaker 1: to do in classic and hidden spots across Italy, download
Speaker 1: the Untold Italy app link in the show notes. But
Speaker 1: of course I am Australian. I love being an Aussie
Speaker 1: and we support many Australian clients, and we're always happy
Speaker 1: to give you a quote in Australian dollars using the
Speaker 1: mid market rate, no commission applied. Just reach out and
Speaker 1: we will help. And that also goes for our Canadian, British,
Speaker 1: European and Kiwi E friends too. If you are from
Speaker 1: somewhere else, Sorry, unfortunately my accountant will not let us
Speaker 1: open any more currency accounts.
Speaker 3: He's already furious.
Speaker 1: With me and says I have the most amount of
Speaker 1: accounts of anyone he knows. The next question a lot
Speaker 1: of our listeners and customers ask is why can't I
Speaker 1: book my trip planning directly with Katie? Why doesn't Katie
Speaker 1: lead the small group tours? And here's the honest truth,
Speaker 1: and it's something of a philosophical and I guess values
Speaker 1: based answer. I would say, because I never wanted Untold
Speaker 1: Italy to be about me. I know I'm the voice
Speaker 1: in the face of this podcast and our company, and
Speaker 1: I'm going to say something now that's really very unfashionable
Speaker 1: in this age of personal branding. But I build the
Speaker 1: Untold Italy podcast and our company out of a love
Speaker 1: for traveling in Italy, and I want our company to
Speaker 1: be about Italy and Italians, not.
Speaker 3: About Katie Clark, and so it's no accident.
Speaker 1: I love to include my team and you know, so
Speaker 1: many different people, colleagues, partners on everything that I do,
Speaker 1: and it's no accident that we have Italian voices, mostly female,
Speaker 1: on this podcast as much as possible. This is quite unique,
Speaker 1: as you might notice on most social and other media
Speaker 1: that you come across talking about Italy, even if it's
Speaker 1: in English, it's mostly native English speakers that are talking
Speaker 1: about Italy and Italian culture. So call me crazy, but
Speaker 1: I want to hear from locals about their own country.
Speaker 1: And yes, I absolutely enjoy hearing from expats and migrants
Speaker 1: and travelers, but I really think to get to the
Speaker 1: heart of a place, it's also very important to hear
Speaker 1: from people who grew up there. So I'm always searching
Speaker 1: for Italians to talk to you here on the pod,
Speaker 1: but they are very shy. If you know any Italians
Speaker 1: who will make a great guest, please let me know.
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from them. As for leading the tours, well,
Speaker 1: one day I would really love to and you will
Speaker 1: be the first to know. But for now, as I
Speaker 1: have a young family who needs their mom at home.
Speaker 3: Most of the year.
Speaker 1: I leave it to the experts and the hosts, whose energy,
Speaker 1: passion and care for our guests is absolutely incredible to me,
Speaker 1: and I'm so very very proud of them. They are
Speaker 1: truly special people and if you've spent any time with them,
Speaker 1: you will know that, and it's reflected in the feedback
Speaker 1: and the reviews that we get each season that we.
Speaker 3: Travel on tour. Lastly, the only.
Speaker 1: Way Untold Italy is able to help you with this podcast,
Speaker 1: our website and cover the whole of Italy is because
Speaker 1: of our team.
Speaker 3: Take it from me.
Speaker 1: They know so much more about many parts of Italy
Speaker 1: than I could ever know. Sarah is the oracle on Umbria,
Speaker 1: Olivia knows Piedmont and Rome like the back of her hand.
Speaker 1: Cassandra is the expert on Abruzzo, Pulia, the Dolomites in
Speaker 1: southern Italy, and Hannah is our fond of all knowledge
Speaker 1: on Sicily, Liguria and the Each of our team have
Speaker 1: deep knowledge and contacts from living in Italy or traveling
Speaker 1: there many many times. They are the glue, the library
Speaker 1: and your access path to Italy, and honestly, Untold Italy
Speaker 1: would not exist without them. And the last question that
Speaker 1: we have about Untold Italy is with regard to the
Speaker 1: pricing of our small group tools, and I'll be up
Speaker 1: front we're definitely not a budget option, so we may
Speaker 1: not be the best fit for everyone. But what you
Speaker 1: might not know is that absolutely everything is included in
Speaker 1: our trip price. Beautiful family run hotels, all the activities
Speaker 1: that we do on tour, almost every meal, including hands,
Speaker 1: selected local wines and even tips for local guides, as
Speaker 1: well as the transport.
Speaker 3: Everything is included.
Speaker 1: And this is quite different from many other small group
Speaker 1: tool companies where activities and other items are used as
Speaker 1: an upsell opportunity or you're left to sort out meals
Speaker 1: on your own. Our philosophy is that you join us
Speaker 1: and we take care of everything so you can just
Speaker 1: relax into feeling part of Italy. That's not to say
Speaker 1: that you have no flexibility. It's quite the opposite. Our
Speaker 1: tour hosts make sure that you have plenty of free
Speaker 1: time and suitable options for meals. And the beauty of
Speaker 1: small groups is that we can be very adaptable and
Speaker 1: often guests will ask to sit out an afternoon or
Speaker 1: a meal for whatever reason, and that's great it's completely
Speaker 1: up to them as it's their vacation, and that concludes
Speaker 1: our questions on Untold Italy. I hope you got some
Speaker 1: insight into our company and why it is the way
Speaker 1: that it is. Now on to some questions from our
Speaker 1: more frequent travelers, Nancy wrote that we're going to Sicily
Speaker 1: in mid December with our daughter over her winter break,
Speaker 1: and they're hoping to take advantage of fewer crowds and
Speaker 1: walkable weather. Very smart Nancy. She's listened to our previous
Speaker 1: Christmas episode, but would love some tips on traditional Sicilian
Speaker 1: Christmas events in smaller towns. Their current plans include staying
Speaker 1: in Palermo or Tisha and Talmina with various day trips.
Speaker 3: Chow Nancy, that sounds wonderful.
Speaker 1: Sicily is always a good idea, especially around major festivals
Speaker 1: and definitely Christmas. It's great you're arriving in mid December,
Speaker 1: as things really kick off on the eighth of December,
Speaker 1: which is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is
Speaker 1: traditionally the time when the Christmas decorations go up and
Speaker 1: everything starts looking spectacular. Italy does a superb door of Christmas,
Speaker 1: but they really don't advertise it very well or sometimes
Speaker 1: even planet very well. One of our team told me
Speaker 1: that in her village they had the Christmas events meeting
Speaker 1: on the seventh of December last year, which, as I
Speaker 1: just mentioned, the eighth of December is when things kick off.
Speaker 1: So I'm going to tell you about some things to
Speaker 1: look out for, but we can't be precise on dates
Speaker 1: because this is Italy and Sicily is a.
Speaker 3: Little extra on all of that chaos.
Speaker 1: Apart from December the eighth, the other big dates are
Speaker 1: the thirteenth, which is the Feast of Santa Lucia Christmas Day,
Speaker 1: and then the period through to January the sixth, which
Speaker 1: is the Epiphany.
Speaker 3: Palermo.
Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about Palermo because it's really worth
Speaker 1: digging into some of the neighborhoods there, not just some
Speaker 1: of the more obvious stuff, but Pialermo has a lovely
Speaker 1: Christmas market and then the main ones usually at Piazza
Speaker 1: castor Novo. But it's also worth visiting the main markets
Speaker 1: at Caapo and Balaro as they get into the Christmas spirit.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of fun there. It might not
Speaker 1: be one hundred percent tasteful, but you're going to have
Speaker 1: the Christmas foods and.
Speaker 3: Gaudy decorations and things like that.
Speaker 1: If you like to time things right and you love
Speaker 1: music and theaters, some of the best shows that are
Speaker 1: played throughout the year are on at Tiachra Masimo, which
Speaker 1: is studying building in itself. A date to look out
Speaker 1: for in particular is the thirteenth. In Palermo, they don't
Speaker 1: celebrate Santoluccia so much, although they do traditionally abstain from
Speaker 1: bread and pasta shock horror, but instead they celebrate Angina,
Speaker 1: those delicious stuffed rice balls by eating lots of them.
Speaker 1: Or Tisa is the old town of Siracusa. It's one
Speaker 1: of my favorite places in Italy and its patron saint
Speaker 1: is Sante Licia, So hopefully you are there on the
Speaker 1: thirteenth this This is one of the most important days
Speaker 1: on their calendar, where they pay respects to the saint
Speaker 1: with processions throughout the day and at night by candle light,
Speaker 1: and the celebrations continue through until December the twenty first,
Speaker 1: which is known as the octavepe Sante ly Chiir is
Speaker 1: said to have ended a famine, so the best way
Speaker 1: to celebrate is eating the cutcha cake that represents this miracle.
Speaker 1: It's made with farrow and dried fruits. It's very rich
Speaker 1: and very delicious. From there, you can probably visit a
Speaker 1: town called Carta Gerona, and I'm going to tell you
Speaker 1: a little bit more about that later, and that one
Speaker 1: is a place that's really famous for ceramics. So in Taumina,
Speaker 1: where you're going, Piazza Dwarmo is the focal point of
Speaker 1: the activities, and this is the same for a lot
Speaker 1: of little towns throughout Italy and Sicily, so you'll find
Speaker 1: the main activities have outside the front of the churches.
Speaker 1: So I think with some of these smaller towns it's
Speaker 1: going to pay just to take things as they come
Speaker 1: if you can't find out specific dates and when things
Speaker 1: are on, because usually there will be a bonfire, which
Speaker 1: is known as the zukata. And they also have often
Speaker 1: Sicilian bagpipe players. And who knew that Sicily had bagpipe players,
Speaker 1: but they do, and they also have them on the mainland,
Speaker 1: or actually not the mainland, but Carpre and we have
Speaker 1: another episode about Carfre at Christmas time, which listeners might
Speaker 1: be interested in. In Telmina, they have this concept of
Speaker 1: the living nativity, which is where real people play the
Speaker 1: parts of the characters of the Christmas story and it
Speaker 1: can be really quite moving. I think in Telmina it's
Speaker 1: usually put up between Christmas and New Year, so you
Speaker 1: might miss that one. But yeah, it's worthwhile looking for
Speaker 1: these living nativity, which are known as presepe because yeah,
Speaker 1: it can be really lovely and they put a lot
Speaker 1: of effort into building the displays and obviously it's an
Speaker 1: important touch point, touchstone for the communities of those towns.
Speaker 1: I did mention Carterone first. This is also a town
Speaker 1: that's known for lovely Christmas displays and it's known for ceramics,
Speaker 1: so you know, you can expect that to be part
Speaker 1: of the focal point because it is part of their
Speaker 1: public artworks. So when you're there, we always update the
Speaker 1: Untold Italy app with local events as soon as the
Speaker 1: dates and details are known. Hopefully not on the seventh
Speaker 1: of December, but you never know. Have a fabulous time
Speaker 1: in Sicily, Nancy. I just think you're going to have
Speaker 1: a wonderful time. The next question is from Michelle, who
Speaker 1: said that they love their recent trip to Venice and
Speaker 1: she really loved to return and she would like some
Speaker 1: suggestions on two week trips that include Venice, maybe the Dolomites,
Speaker 1: or Lake Garter or Lamarque or Bologna, Oh, Michelle, so
Speaker 1: many options. I would say you can make a great
Speaker 1: argument for spending more time in Venison, heading to Verona
Speaker 1: and Lake Garda for a few days plus than adding
Speaker 1: on the Dolomites.
Speaker 3: Which needs at least a week.
Speaker 1: And is it really a huge area, Especially if you
Speaker 1: go as far west as Marano, you could easily spend
Speaker 1: the two weeks just in the Dolomites. Another option is
Speaker 1: to travel west to do a like a road trip
Speaker 1: west and stop at all the beautiful lakes along the
Speaker 1: way to Turin. My favorite is Lago Diota with the
Speaker 1: Island of Silence in the middle, but obviously you also.
Speaker 3: Have Garda, Como maggiore Is.
Speaker 1: There's so many, they're all beautiful, they're all different, and
Speaker 1: the countryside is absolutely stunning. But there are also some
Speaker 1: wonderful cities along the way too. People would think of Milan,
Speaker 1: but you could also stop at Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Brescia, Bergamo.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of things you can do in two
Speaker 1: weeks if you're heading west. You could also head south
Speaker 1: and do a loop through Amelia a month down the
Speaker 1: coast to Ravenna, maybe drop into San Marino as it
Speaker 1: is another country and that's always fun. Then you can
Speaker 1: go across to Bologna, Moderna and Palma and up to Ferrara.
Speaker 1: I could easily fit in two weeks here, but you
Speaker 1: can also have the option of adding Lake Garda and
Speaker 1: Verona into the loop for that one too. And this
Speaker 1: is what I love about Italy, there's so many options.
Speaker 1: Liz asked what are your favorite museums and cultural sites
Speaker 1: in Genoa and also for the most cultural or art sites,
Speaker 1: what are your thoughts on Padua, Ferrara and Mantua. Thanks
Speaker 1: to this question, Liz, I love visiting cultural sites in
Speaker 1: these smaller secondary cities as they are really busy and
Speaker 1: of course full of the most magnificent things that you
Speaker 1: can spend your time over and really soak in instead
Speaker 1: of jostling with two hundred arms waving iPhones. Genoa is
Speaker 1: really an up and coming destination. Well, I say that,
Speaker 1: but the city once ruled the ways and it has
Speaker 1: the palazzi to prove it, So I suggest it's visiting
Speaker 1: the palazzi de Roli Unesco site. This is an open
Speaker 1: air museum in the center of Genoa and it's a
Speaker 1: collection of forty two buildings and homes of the city's
Speaker 1: most powerful elite families, built between the sixteenth and seventeenth century.
Speaker 1: On special days throughout the year, mainly spring and fall
Speaker 1: or autumn, they have these days known as Rolly Days,
Speaker 1: where the palaces are open free to the public. And
Speaker 1: what you can expect there are the ornate rooms, frescoes,
Speaker 1: sumptuous furnishing, artwork and more. It's really quite spectacular. Genoa
Speaker 1: is one of those places that hides its treasures behind
Speaker 1: very robust walls and sort of like innocuous environment. You
Speaker 1: might think, oh, yeah, I don't know what's going on
Speaker 1: in this city, but it's one of those places we
Speaker 1: really need to go looking and you will definitely find
Speaker 1: a lot of things to excite you about this city,
Speaker 1: and a lot of them are in this palazzi. And
Speaker 1: as with any Italian city, the churches also worth a visit,
Speaker 1: especially with a guide who can explain their cultural significance
Speaker 1: as well as their religious importance. Being a port city,
Speaker 1: there are a lot of superstitions and stories about protecting
Speaker 1: the seafaring citizens, so it's really worth having a duck
Speaker 1: into at least a couple of churches to see what's
Speaker 1: going on. To answer your question on Padua for our Mantua,
Speaker 1: I'll go with Padua for its fourteenth century frescoes, including
Speaker 1: some by Giotto. It's a lovely city with so many
Speaker 1: architectural treasures, and there's a beautiful there's a couple of
Speaker 1: beautiful piazzas actually, and a very large covered market which
Speaker 1: is fun to visit. And if you're there in spring
Speaker 1: and summer, you also have the option of taking a
Speaker 1: river cruise to view the Veneto Palladian villas that are
Speaker 1: actually a little closer to Vicenza, but it's something nice
Speaker 1: to do. By the way, we do put all cultural
Speaker 1: sites like this into the Untold Italy app for as
Speaker 1: many small cities as we can, and we keep adding
Speaker 1: to it because we want them there for ourselves. The
Speaker 1: last question is from Eric, who sent me an absolutely
Speaker 1: fantastic question, and he wanted to know where does one
Speaker 1: find contemporary artists and crafts people in Florence. Eric is
Speaker 1: a jeweler and sculptor himself, and I just love when
Speaker 1: people lean into their own interests when planning their travels. Eric,
Speaker 1: what I would say is that many of the artists
Speaker 1: deploying traditional techniques will create more modern pieces using those
Speaker 1: techniques as well, so it's worth ducking into their studios
Speaker 1: to take a look. One that I absolutely love that
Speaker 1: is like in Aladdin's Cave is jeweler Alessandro dari. I
Speaker 1: always go there when I'm in Florence, and often his
Speaker 1: workshop is open so you can see the creative process.
Speaker 1: But if you want to have a buddy find the
Speaker 1: scenes look, they do sometimes have tools and experiences to
Speaker 1: do that, and it's really worth it. He's making a
Speaker 1: lot of historical inspired pieces, but also some really cool
Speaker 1: steampunk type things, if you know what I mean, and
Speaker 1: it is incredible. This studio is just the untapped creativity
Speaker 1: that's coming out of there is quite amazing. If you
Speaker 1: want to go see some other contemporary art spaces, Palazzo
Speaker 1: Strozzi is probably the best known contemporary museum or gallery,
Speaker 1: but you can also take a look at Muza Novis
Speaker 1: Centro and an up and coming artisan hub and contemporary
Speaker 1: art space called Money for Tua Tabaki and I also like.
Speaker 3: The female arts in Florence Hub.
Speaker 1: Lastly, I also recently discovered an American woman doing a
Speaker 1: very cool project at the moment to document the artisans
Speaker 1: of Florence. The Instagram account is called the content Itelier
Speaker 1: and it's really worth a look if you are a
Speaker 1: nerd about beautifully handmade crafted things like Eric and I.
Speaker 1: And hopefully I can get the creator on the podcast
Speaker 1: sooner or later because it's very interesting project.
Speaker 3: Well that's all for this Q and A episode. Folks.
Speaker 3: We sure have.
Speaker 1: Covered a lot of ground here. I hope you have
Speaker 1: found it as interesting as I did. I think the
Speaker 1: main takeaway for me is something I've known for a
Speaker 1: very long time but that continues to surprise me. But
Speaker 1: it's how diverse Italy is, and that if you have
Speaker 1: a passion for something, that you can definitely follow that
Speaker 1: passion while you are there and make a trip as
Speaker 1: interesting and as varied and as detailed as you like.
Speaker 1: As always, we put the transcript and detailed show notes
Speaker 1: on our website at Untold Italy dot com. Forward slash
Speaker 1: three three three for episode number three hundred and thirty three.
Speaker 1: Make sure to hear our pod with your Italy loving
Speaker 1: friends and download our podcast guide if you don't quite
Speaker 1: know where to start or you're looking for something specific.
Speaker 1: Next week we are headed to the beautiful island of
Speaker 1: Sir Daniel, but until then it's chowfaow.
Speaker 3: The Untold Italy Podcast is an independent production podcast editing,
Speaker 3: audio production and website development by Mark Hatter, Production assistance
Speaker 3: and content writing by the other kJ Clark. Yes there
Speaker 3: are two of us.
Speaker 1: For more information about Untold Italy, please visit Untold Italy
Speaker 1: dot com.