By Lee Ann Warner Minutes from the bustling hill towns of Tuscany, yet eons away from crowds of tourists, stands a secluded 17th century stone farmhouse. Set amid 800 acres of olive groves, rolling pastures, and sunflower fields, the Fattoria di Vagli (Vagli farm) is part of a growing trend in Italy, combining agriculture and tourism with the peace and tranquility of a … [Read more...] about A True Taste of Italy in a Tuscan Farmhouse
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Castle Getaway: Italy’s Northern Treasures in 7 Days
By Adriana Popa An inexhaustible destination and a dream vacation spot for many travelers around the world, Italy has something to offer in every region, and accommodations range from unassuming family-owned farmhouses to five-star hotels and renovated medieval castles. One shining example of the latter is the 12th century Castello di Montegufoni in Tuscany’s Chianti region … [Read more...] about Castle Getaway: Italy’s Northern Treasures in 7 Days
Pizzeria San Mina: A True Taste of Italy
By Jessica Irwin ITWPA Member Steam from a pizza radiates like sunbeams across the blue sky of a faded tablecloth. The pizza’s wide girth spills over its plate like the doughy middle of a belly dancer. You succumb to its sweet seductions, a glass of wine and the cool glow of the pizzeria’s spearmint-colored walls soothing its digestion. You are in Italy, but this is no … [Read more...] about Pizzeria San Mina: A True Taste of Italy
A Trip to the Sistine Chapel
By Shelli Elledge ITWPA Member Photographs by Ron Elledge We felt like kids in a candy store, giddy with anticipation. Arriving an hour before regular hours, our small tour group of 10 had the marvelous Vatican almost to ourselves! Determined, but certainly not rushed, our tour guide, Camille, led us through sunlit hallways of the ornate museums and past delicate … [Read more...] about A Trip to the Sistine Chapel
In Search of Their Private Ithaca
By Tom Weber ITWPA Member Did you know that Homer’s enchanting sorceress Circe from The Odyssey continues to cast her intoxicating spell far and wide? She does so through award-winning wines and spirits harvested from reclaimed marshlands in Italy’s Lazio region by the venerable Cantina Sant’Andrea -- a family of vintners that weathered a real-life odyssey to rival that of … [Read more...] about In Search of Their Private Ithaca