I recently went back to look at the blog posts I wrote while planning our winter trip to Italy. I never accomplish everything I put down on my lists (frankly, I don’t see that as the point of travel anyways) but I like to compare to see what we got done compared to what I researched. Below is the list from my books of what we could have accomplished while spending 10 days in Umbria, Tuscany, and Rome with my notes of what we actually did.
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UNESCO
- Assisi
- Pienza
- Siena
- San Gimignano
- Val d’Orcia
- Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
Medici Villas & Gardens– NOPE it totally wasn’t worth the travel acrobatics (but technically already crossed off this UNESCO World Heritage Site with Palazzo Pitti in Florence)
Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe
- Top 10 historic food shops: Antico Pizzicheria de Miccoli, Siena
Campo dei Fiori, Rome- Carciofi alla Romana (Roman artichokes)
- Tuscans Noble Food Tradition:
Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Ribollita,Focaccia & Schiacciata bread,Pappardelle alle Lepre, Vin Santo, Crostini di Povertà, Trippa alla Fiorentina Top ten extreme restaurants: Fortezza Medicea, Volterra- Sangiovese in Tuscany
- Top 10 places to enjoy cafe society: Rome, Italy
Read more: Italian Food
Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations
- Top 10 mosaic interiors: Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
- Abbazia di San Galgano
- Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi
Chapel of the Stigmata, la Verna(it was too far for a leisurely Sunday walk from Assisi but we ended up at another Franciscan hermitage…close enough)
Read more: Travel Tips: Visiting Catholic Churches
Secret Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Best Hidden Travel Gems
- Pienza
Top 10 sculpture parks and trails: Chianti Sculpture Park
Read more: 2018 Italy Planning: October Edition
Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips
- Walking in Umbria (we walked to the Eremo delle Carceri, a Franciscan hermitage)
Read more: Travel Tips: Keeping Active while Traveling
1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die: A Food Lovers Life List
*Note: there is so much Italian food in this book! I only picked ones we would reasonably see in the season and location we were in.
- Carciofi Romaneschi (Roman Artichoke)
- Chestnuts
- Crostini
- Espresso
- Lardo (Lard)
- Pane (Bread)
- Panforte di Siena
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Pasta
- Pecorino Toscano
- Pizza
- Prosciutto di Cinghiale (Wild Boar Prosciutto)
1,000 Places to See Before you Die
- The Hill Towns of Tuscany
- Siena
- Assisi and
Gubbio - Il Duomo, Orvieto
Read more: 2018 Italy Planning: November Edition
AP Art History Images
- #32. Tomb of the Triclinium Tarquinia, Italy. Etruscan. c. 480–470 BCE. Tufa and fresco
- #49. Santa Sabina Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 422–432 CE. Brick and stone, wooden roof.
- #82. Il Gesù, including Triumph of the Name of Jesus ceiling fresco
JMF