Advice for 3 weeks in Italy - October

[jasonsmith]

We have decided to spend 3 weeks in Italy for our Honeymoon which I am very

excited about. I was there 11 years ago (before the Euro made it expensive)

and spent a few days in Venice, Rome, Florence Tuscay and the Amalfi Coast. We

will definately be going back to Venice, and a few of those locations but I

would like to visit some other other places. We will be hiring a car.

 

I am looking for advice on your top photo locations in Italy. I would like to

spend some time in a place where I can capture traditional Italian life - I am

thinking maybe Sicily.

 

I was also looking to get a lightweight tripod - I assume Manfrotto is

Italian. Would they be cheaper in Italy.

[charles_stobbs3]

Lucca, in Tuscany, is a very pleasant place to hang out. Day trips to Pisa, Florence, cinque terra, etc. Don't need a car.

[michaelging]

I think there is nothing more photogenic than the hill towns in the north,such as Cortona.I doubt if the tripods are cheaper in Italy, The Euro is a Dollar killer, AUS or US Dollars.

[bonsignore_ezio]

There is nothing like a single "traditional Italian life". Quite a few people stil live along traditional customs, but these vary very widely from region to region. Traditional life in say, Trentino and Sicily is as different as between Alaska and the Everglades. Which of course is what makes such places all the more interesting.

 

If you are going to Venice you may also want to add Verona, Padova and Mantova. All very near to each other and all very beatyful Middle Age/Renaissance cities laden with art treasuries. Reading a little bit about them would help to understand better what you see.

 

By the same token, around Florence you should not miss Siena and Pisa.

 

Rome would require an entire life to really see it all, so I wouldn'even try. Just a suggestion for a Roman photographic theme: the "Madonnine" (images of the Holy Mary). There are countless of them high over street corners. If possible don't miss "Ostia Antica, a.k.a "Ostia Scavi" (a few miles towards the sea). It was the old harbour of Rome, now many miles inland. It is like Pompeii, but far less crowded.

[jlineen]

If you are going to venice, a detour north to the dolomites would be well worth it

[bonsignore_ezio]

"a detour north to the dolomites would be well worth it..."

 

very true - provided the weather is fine or at least acceptable, which is a rather odd proposition in October. Also, most hotel and restaurants there will be closed, this being the "dead" season between summer and winter. Anyway if you go the best option is easily to take the ring of so-called "Four Passes" (Sella, Pordoi, Campolongo and Falzarego).

[s_u]

I think you would be well-advised to spend some time in Sicily. The place is an historical "compost heap"--Greek, Carthaginian, Roman, Norman French, to name but a few of the cultures that have influenced it--and the island is for the most part physically beautiful. As an itinerary, I'd recommend Palermo (very exotic looking in its old part), Siracusa (fascinating Greek ruins), Agrigento (a rich history, going back to Magna Graecia; some of the best-preserved Greek temples in all Europe), Monreale (near Palermo; gorgeous cathedral), and Taormina (in the shadow of Etna, on the NE coast; one of the loveliest spots in Italy, and its Graeco-Roman theater is a "must see"). Footnote re Taormina: most of the Italian location scenes for "The Godfather" were shot in the immediate area.

As for the peninsula itself, if you decide to go to Sicily, then Naples is the next logical locale. Very photogenic, and you can take trips easily to the wonderful ruins of Pompeii and to Capri by boat. I join one of the posters in recommending a day trip from Florence to Siena, then to the fabled "city of towers," San Gimignano.

I have travelled a great deal in Italy, and took what I regard as some of my best photos there. Good luck.

[jasonsmith]

Thanks guys, some great advice there, if only we had another 3 weeks....what will the weather be like in October?

[bill_from_new_york_city]

<p>I would add Siena on you list of places to visit, only if you are willing to spend more than a there day. I think you will find the magic of Siena and the locals that live there is when the day trippers and tourists leave for the day.</p>

 

<p>Another good option is spend some time in some of Tuscany's famous hill towns like Montepulciano, Montalcino and Pienza. All three have breath taking views, you should at least spend the night to enjoy these towns because each is unique in their own way. Since you are on your honeymoon I will say they are romantic at night too.</p>

 

<p>I visited Tuscany in October. I will have to admit that all the fields were plowed under, but I never thought dirt, Tuscany dirt could look so beautiful.</p>

 

<p>Enjoy your honeymoon.</p>

 

<p>Bill

[bonsignore_ezio]

October is Fall. This said, the weather will depend very much on where you are and how lucky you are - although you must be prepared to take in some rain and possibly some cold front ("cold" by Italian standards, i.e. around 10?C/50?F).

 

In Tuscany, Rome and southern areas October can be absolutely gorgeous - clear, sunny but pleasantly fresh. If you catch these days, they are easily the most comfortable period to see Italy (apart from the days getting short). In Sicily it is perfectly possible to get days that will allow you to go swimming. North of the Po by contrast you have a pretty solid chance for most of the period to be rainy, cold ans foggy. Given that you are driving, pls be careful with fog - in the Northern plain between Milano e around Verona you can get a fog that will cut visibility to literally 5m or even less.

The ring road in the Dolomites will bring you over 2000m. If you are fortunate enough to do this in a clear and sunny day it would be a truly stupendous experience (but it will COLD, possibly below frezzing point - be prepared!). Doing this in bad weather makes no sense.

[david_henderson]

There is a lot to see in Italy, and its a question of ckoosing how far you want to travel and a rough rural/urban/lakes/sea split split. Finding good things to do isn't hard- its more a question of putting a trip together that is do-able without spending all your time in the car given that if you're flying/ hiring you may well want to start and finish in the same place. For me, and if warm sun wasn't important I'd do 3/4 days in each of Venice and Rome, and maybe three days on each of Lakes Garda and Como. Then I'd spend a few days in southern Tuscany at a couple of locations seeing the Crete, smaller cities such as Montepulciano and Pienza in an area where its easy to spend the morning in the country and afternoon in a town or vice versa. A stopover in Umbria, another in Verona or Padua, and there's your three weeks.

 

If you want more warmth then a different circuit might apply including Puglia (Lecce, the heel of Italy, staying in a Trullo?), Matera, Amalfi/Sorrent/Capri; Naples, before linking up with the "northern" option for Rome and maybe southern Tuscany for a greener experience or at least less arid, for many of the fields will be ploughed.

 

What I wouldn't do is try to see the whole country in three weeks or pla a route that involved the extreme north and extreme south. Just too much time wasted on autoroutes. I must admit also that I can take or leave Florence since my tastes in art run more modern than the Renaissance and other than the artworks I find it less interesting than other cities I've seen.

 

There's a section on southern Tuscany on my web-site www.photography001.com. The photograph below is of Matera, Basilicata, where an extensive series of cave dwellings have had "built" frontages attached.

[david_henderson]

Hmm didn't seem to want to upload an image and got a "bad gateway" notice. One more try.<div></div>

[tcyin]

My favorite spot in Italy is Urbino which is a small walled hill town southwest of Venice(less than a day's drive). It's a medieval town (birthplace of Raphael) and you can almost imagine what it was like 300 years ago. Cinque Terre would also be great for a honeymoon!!