Italian Travel

August 15 is a big, beautiful, summertime holiday in Italy. The tradition goes way back to the days of the Roman Empire, when it was the Festival Holidays of the Emperor Augustus. Goddess Diana was at the center of the revels, symbolizing the cycle of fertility, and all were grateful for the summer days of sunshine and ripening. Here’s Diana in a Villa D’Este fountain. What looks like breasts actually represent bull’s testicles, as bulls were sacrificed at the Temple of Mother Goddess Diana in Ancient Times. Along came Catholicism, and the holiday switched to center around the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven,Read More →

It wasn’t my idea to design and host For Women Only Tours to Italy. Yes, I loved traveling there for decades, writing about Italy, going to Italy with family and girlfriends, arranging everything so we’d certainly have the most marvelous time. And I always loved meeting female travelers along the way, who, like me, were swept up in that fabulous magic Italy gives us women.All those women travelers and my own experiences inspired my first book, 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go. Then came The Surprise. During my book tour, after my presentations,  hands would fly up, and woman would ask: “Can we go withRead More →

Author in Bologna Cooking Class

It smells good in here: high note of nose-tingling parmigiano, base of salty cured salumi, and centering it all is rich meaty ragu, the sauce this city of Bologna is famous for. Here in Bologna’s Quadrilatero (market area), I’ve entered the Tamburini shop — a temple of deliciousness that’s been beloved and family run since 1932. I was lured in by window displays of humongous hanging prosciutto, balsamic vinegar in curvy bottles, honey-colored rounds of cheese. I line up behind a gang of teenagers on their school lunch break, grab a plastic tray to slide along the counter and order what everybody else is having: aRead More →

Tonight’s the night La Befana rides through the night sky, sweeping away last year’s troubles with her broom, bringing in a Bright Happy New Year To All… Full of New Possibilities! Here’s an excerpt from my book of essays, Letters from Italy, about my experience of celebrating La Befana in Rome, years ago… Postcard from Rome: The Legend of La Befana* “There is no Santa Claus in Italy,” my Nana told me when I was a kid. I had nightmares of how awful Christmas must be over there. Nana said she had to wait until January 6, The Feast of the Epiphany, to get gifts. TheRead More →

Of all the beautiful spots in the beautiful Cinque Terre, Vernazza is certainly the most beloved by photographers and painters…and book cover designers… It’s a dream to arrive to this village on the path from Corniglia… The view is crowned by the Belforte tower and Doria Castle, named after the powerful Doria family from Genoa. (BTW, as I’m always highlighting HERstory, the name Doria actually came from a 12th century Genoese noblewoman, Auria, who married a noble pilgrim who went off to fight the first crusades in Jerusalem. The name was originally, in Latin, de filius Auirae=Sons of Auria). If you arrive to Vernazza byRead More →

Florence = Heaven for so many reasons. There’s the masterpieces of architecture and art, amazing food and wine, welcoming natives, AND wonderful shopping. During our Golden Weeks, I’ve loved seeing the great joy women experience over filling their suitcases with gifts to bring home, and to keep for themselves for lasting memories… It’s so easy to come by fun leather finds in the market stalls of San Lorenzo, around Santa Croce, and the Mercato Nuovo (aka Straw Market, Mercato del Porcellino)… And lovely to stroll along Via Tornabuoni for designer brands in shops that were once Renaissance palaces… What’s marvelous is how history and traditionRead More →

Buona Primavera = Happy Spring! The Romans considered April the Sacred Month of Venus, Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, and Sex… Her presence is eternal…you see her all over Italy, in sculptures, paintings. You feel her spirit beckoning you to lighten up, enjoy all the flavors and pleasures…Here in the Uffizi in Florence is the Botticelli painting of her being born from the sea… The Romans believed they were the chosen descendants of this beauty. As Virgil wrote in the Aeneid, it was Venus who seduced a Greek mortal and thus became the grandmother of Romulus and Remus, those twins suckled by a she-wolf on Rome’s Palatine Hill, whoRead More →

Buona Befana! Tonight’s the night this dear signora rides through the night sky, sweeping away last year’s troubles with her broom, bringing in a Bright Happy New Year to All! Here’s an excerpt from my book, Letters from Italy,that tells my story of celebrating the holiday in Rome… Postcard from Rome: The Legend of La Befana* “There is no Santa Claus in Italy,” my Nana told me when I was a kid. I had nightmares of how awful Christmas must be over there. Nana said she had to wait until January 6, The Feast of the Epiphany, to get gifts. The presents came from an oldRead More →

100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go, Susan Van Allen, Women Only Tours to Italy, Small Group Tours Italy, Women's Travel, My Brilliant Friend

So happy to see HBO’s My Brilliant Friend Episode 6 , where Lenu gets to leave the Neighborhood and go to Ischia…She was so pensive on her way there, and there’s me, returning ecstatic to one of my most beloved places in Italy… The island has been adored for its restorative springs since the days of the ancient Greeks, and today is the largest thermal-water destination in Europe, with over 300 spa-hotels and thermal parks. I fell in love with Ischia 10 years ago, while doing spa research for 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go., and keep returning to discover more of this treasure…The AragoneseRead More →

I’m often asked: “I have 10 days in Italy, can you please help me with my travel itinerary?” Oh how I’d LOVE to! Except when that question is followed by that very looonng, heavy bucket list of ALL the traveler expects to  pack in to 10 days. While I love enthusiasm for Bell’Italia, and totally understand  “not wanting to miss anything”, the Truth is This:  When you cram too much in to an Italian vacation, you miss out on the most essential Italian experience: La Dolce Vita=The Sweet Life. A trip to Italy is a chance to open yourself up to the old world wayRead More →