Italy

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 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 →

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 weRead More →

It was glorious to spend October days in Sirmione…a magical destination on the tip of Lake Garda, Lombardy… So many pleasures are contained in the historic center of this tiny treasure-of-a-peninsula, surrounded by the lake. It’s pedestrian only, and you can actually leisurely stroll from top to bottom in about 20 minutes… The best way to arrive is by ferry from Desenzano del Garda…another charming lakeside town that has a lot of major train connections–that is, you can train from there to Venice in 1.5 hours. Then you cab to the port, catch the Sirmione ferry…CLICK FOR SCHEDULE… Dominating the whole pretty scene is theRead 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 onRead More →

On a hilltop in the southeast corner of Basilicata, sits the medieval village of Bernalda… I became intrigued by this spot in 2012. That’s when Francis Ford Coppola opened his newly-renovated 5-star Palazzo Margherita here. Coppola’s grandfather Agostino was born in Bernalda, and left in 1904, never to return. I’m grateful to have a friend who visited– Kathy McCabe, Editor of Dream of Italy newsletter, and Producer/Host of the fabulous PBS Dream of Italy TV series. She’s here to share her experience of this extraordinary place… “The town itself is like being in Italy in the 1950s,” she says. Coppola calls it “the real Italy.” The unassuming Palazzo Margherita entranceRead More →