Travel Tips
Heavily crowded Irish bars in Florence are not recommended if you want to meet Florentines however they can overcome anyone's homesickness for an English speaking crowd.
Dara Levine, USA (Apr 99)
The Crypt of the Capuchins (an order of friars) is located in the Church of the Immaculate - 27 Via Veneto, Rome. The easiest way to get there is to take the train - metro line A and get off at Barberini, take the Veneto exit and you can see the church nearby. Inside you'll find five open rooms off a long corridor. Every room, including the corridor, is decorated with bones from the skeletons of the deceased friars. Even the chandeliers are made of bones. Skulls are stacked on top of each, forming decorative mounds. This is truly one of the most eerie churches I've ever seen and must be seen to be believed. Entry is by way of a donation. They sell postcards, slides and have a range of books and an audio/visual presentation in several languages.
Charlie Clancy (Feb 99)
We visited Pompei, but suggest you don't miss Herculaneum which is another town that was buried by Vesuvius. Herculaneum is smaller than Pompei but is much better preserved and was a highlight of our trip. Don't take a bus tour from Rome to see Pompei - you really need at least a half day at each of Pompei and Herculaneum. If travelling from Rome, I'd recommend you get to a hotel in Naples by noon, then take the Circumvesuviana to Herculaneum for an afternoon of sightseeing. Be careful - we got there at 4 pm and they wouldn't let us in because it was too close to closing time. Allow at least three hours to see it. Stay the night in Naples, then the next day, go to Pompei. Allow at least four hours at Pompei. Go back to Naples by Circumvesuviana to get your luggage.
Grace Marcinkoski (Dec 98)
Milano Malpensa 2000 Airport is the newborn intercontinental Italian airport. All flights to Milano now arrive here but there is absolute chaos. Flights are cancelled, destinations changed to other airports and hours are spent waiting for baggage. Avoid this airport and choose Roma Fiumicino instead.
Massimo Bisiacchi, Italy (Oct 98)
The Florence bus service has changed a small detail which makes a big difference. The bus to the HI youth hostel from the train station is no longer 17B, but just 17. 17B now goes from the hostel to the city.
Justine Curgenven, UK (Oct 98)
If you are leaving Treiste (Italy) to reach Ljubljana, you can save money and stress by reaching the railway station of Sezana (Slovenia) by catching the Trieste's exciting hill climber tramway no 2 to Opicina and then you can ask someone to take you over the border to Sezana, just 10 minutes by car. A train ticket from Trieste to Ljubljana costs about US$15, but from Sezana with tramway ticket it costs just US$6.
Massimo Bisiacchi (Sept 98)
Italy has changed the dialing system -people who call from abroad must dial the country code (39) then 0 in front of the old city area code. Calls made within cities will now be prefaced by that city's area code.
Josh Gonze, USA (Aug 98)
The town of Vinci is the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci. This town is 11 kms from Empoli in Tuscany and contains not only the house where Leonardo was born, but also an excellent museum featuring working models of many of his inventions with detailed explanations in four languages. The Museo Leonardo da Vinci is in a beautiful hilltop setting with views over the town and surrounding countryside and a good souvenir shop as well. Admission to the museum costs 5,000 lire per adult, children are free and it is open all day. Vinci itself is a very pleasant town with lots of restaurants and accommodation.
Virginia Saffioti, New Zealand (Sept 98)
To avoid the three hour queue, it is also possible to buy a ticket to visit the Uffizi in Florence at the Santa Maria Novelle train station. There is a designated entrance at the Uffizi for pre-purchased tickets with no queue at all.
Josephine Hsieh
From June 19, the area codes will all become integrated into one. The phone numbers will not change but they will all have to be dialled with the area code preceding the number - even for local calls.
When calling from abroad, it will be necessary to include a zero after the country code.
Zambelli Ud
From June 19, the area codes will all become integrated into one. The phone numbers will not change but they will all have to be dialled with the area code preceding the number, even for local calls.
Likewise, when calling from abroad, it will be necessary to include a zero after the country code, thus a zero precedes the area code.
Zambelli Udine SAS (June 98)
I am not a football fan but going to a game in Genova was an amazing experience. From the beginning to the end of the game the fans sang constantly, clapped hands and jumped up and down (even when they were losing). I think a seat in the regular fans section is a must. You need to get a ticket at the Gradinata Nord in the cheap seats. Tickets are available in the Genoa shop in the shopping arcade behind the Carlo felice theatre of the Piazza de ferrari in central Genova.
(May 98)
To avoid the long queues for the Vatican Museum, go on a Wednesday mornings at around 10 - 11 am. The Pope will be holding a public audience so everyone will be outside St Peter's instead.
Michelle Kidd (May 98)
There are two train stations in Naples. The one mentioned in LP is downtown but the other is about 20 miles from downtown. We arrived from Venice at the second station which you can only get to/from by taxi.
Ralph Kuehn (May 98)
The opening hours to see The Last Supper are weird and, therefore, worth knowing :
Tue - Sat 8 am to 2 pm; 7 pm to 10 pm - Sun : 8 am to 2 pm; 5 pm to 8 pm.
Lisa Wessler - Sweden (Apr 98)
The Youth Hostel "5 Terre" is open from 08/04/1998.
Ostello "5 Terre", Via Riccobaldi, 21 19010 Manarola - Riomaggiore, La Spezia, Italy . email: ostello@cdh.it. http://www.cinqueterre.net/ostello/ Tel: +39 187 920215 fax: +39 187 920218
Located in Manarola in the heart of scenic Cinque Terre, near the church,
300 m from the railway-station, 100 m from the parking.
Services hours: 7am / 10am - 4pm/12 midnight during low season (Sept. 16
through May 31)
7am / 10am - 5pm/ 1am during high season (June 1 through Sept. 15) Closed from 5/11 to 5/12.
48 beds: 4 beds per room with sanitary facilities for families / 6 beds per
room with showers and toilets on the same floor.
Solarium with showers, possibility of music on each floor and in the
common rooms.Bar for the guests, and on demand breakfast and dinner.
Photocopyng and international fax services, e-mail and telephones with
phonecards.
Trekking, mountain-bike, Kayak and swimming; possibility of escursion with
professional guides.
Ostello 5 Terre - Italy (Apr 98)
Telephone : you need to tear off the perforated corner of the phone cards (carte telefoniche) in order to start using them. The instructions to do this are in Italian. They are sold intact to guarantee that they have never been used before.
I helped numerous tourists who could not understand why their card was not working, or why the telephone system seemed always to be out of service. Pick up the very useful Phone Home pocket pamphlet from any hotel or information office. It lists all the international dialing codes as well as the times when it is cheapest to call for each country.
Marilyn Flax - Australia (Apr 98)
In the northern part of Italy, between Genova and La Spezia on the northwestern coast, there is a place called Cinque Terres. It consists of five small villages; Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al mare, from south to north. The villages are very small and are situated on the mountain side high above the water. Below the villages there are small harbours and the railroad which goes mostly through tunnels. You can have a really nice walk between the villages on marked paths with wonderful views.
Annika Tomberg (Mar 98)
There is a new magazine which lists what's going on in Rome. It's called "Time Out" and you can buy it at any news stand.
Jacqueline Pereira (Mar 98)
In small hotels in Italy, there is often a cord in the shower/toilet. This is not the hot water cord (as in Britain) but the emergency cord!
David Watkins, Claire Ramsay (Jan 98)
In Sienna, go to the Piazza Il Campo for the sunrise. The city is made of a reddish stone, but when the sun is rising, this red stone burns like fire. I'll never forget it. If you wait more than a few minutes after sunrise, the effect is no longer there, it will look the same red as in the middle of the day.
Craig Z (Jan 98)
Italian highways do accept credit cards - pick the lane which reads Via Card and any major credit card will be accepted by the machine.
Lex Beije (Dec 97)
When arriving in Genova the first thing you should look at when you get off the train is the large statue of Christopher Columbus directly across the street from the station. Near the aquarium you may be able to catch a ride on a disk like elevator which hoists you high enough to see most of Genova as well as all the ships coming in and out of the habour. The lighthouse can also be seen which has become part of the coat of arms in Genova. About 20 minutes away by car, there is also Old Genova, where you can see the medieval town as well as Christopher Columbus's old house and garden.
Peter Fraone, Canada (Apr 99)
While walking through Agrigento, Sicily, we came across a beautiful church. The church is called la Chiesa de San Lorenzo (also known as la Chiesa del Purgatorio). It is on Via Atenea on Piazza Purgatorio. Thirty years ago, it was the most frequented church in Agrigento. It has been closed for 15 years and was recently cleaned and re-opened by a group of boy scouts (in September 1997). Entry is free and there are scouts present who can explain the history and artistry of the church in Italian. They are planning to print brochures with this information translated into various languages. They hope to continue restoring the church using money from the pamphlets as well as donations from tourists.
The church contains very old confessionals carved in wood which date back to the 1600's. They have a skull and crossbone carved into them which were intended to frighten people into confessing. There is a beautiful gilded crucifix with relics all around it from the 1700's and, more importantly, eight statues by Giacomo Serpotta. Another curiosity is that there is a trompe l'oeil duomo inside.
The number to call for further information and for the hours is 0922-401810. We were moved by the effort and energy demonstrated by the scouts - aged between eight and 13 - who have taken this restoration project into their own hands. We feel that visitors to Sicily should be made aware of this unique and astonishing project and the beautiful church that is emerging.
Mirella Amato & Paolo Pietropaolo, Canada (Oct 98)
The town of Bassano del Grappa at the base or the Alps is lovely and well kept. There is a small museum (free) on the process of distilling Grappa with free tastes of this potent drink and various products that can be bought there. Mount Grappa is also an experience if you have a car. Because of its steepness and the valley below you can see hangliders and parachuters throughout the skies taking off from the mountain.
Yarden Agrari (July 98)
I lived in Piacenza, right up in the north of Emilia-Romanga. The cities along the Via Emilia (cities between Piacenza and Bologna) seem to be a bit off the tourist trail, yet I found them to be some of the most interesting places I visited in Italy. All of these cities are easily accessible on the Milan-Bologna railway line and spending a day in each or some of these cities is a great bonus if you're sick of all the crowded tourist orientated centres. Parma is a spectacular little city and some of the churches have paintings in the domes that will blow your mind and are definitely worth an excursion to see. Modena is well worth a look, especially the cathedral with its leaning bell tower. Piacenza has an interesting architecture (more sombre than most cities in the region) but it's always impressive - they build things big in Piacenza. Check out the cathedral to see what I mean. The people in these cities are always keen to help out travellers, in Piacenza often I'd find myself with an impromptu (and free) guide to some of the churches. Anyway, go to the information centres and they'll regale you with all sorts of relevant pamphlets, maps and booklets (see the guide for info, but note that the one in Parma has now been relocated).
I also spent four and a half months living in Fruili-Venezia Giulia which is again off the beaten trail for tourists and is again interesting. Palmanova is a Napoleonic Fort formed in the shape of a perfect star. Although it doesn't have the age of many cities in Italy, it will be of great interest to any Napoleon buffs out there, or just anyone interested in a perfectly preserved star shape city . Venzone (in the north of Friuli) was almost completely destroyed by a huge earthquake in the 1960s and has been completely rebuilt, stone by stone, uncovering some Roman period architecture. It's fascinating if you're passing through on your way to Austria.
Hadley M Cave (Mar 98)
An interesting and useful thing to know is that the Uffizi Gallery in Florence can be booked by individuals, so as to avoid the long queues. The booking has to be made during business hours for the weekend as well. The number for bookings is 055/2388651-2.
Christine Newton - Australia (Jul 97)
A residence in Italian Riviera, Liguria is suitable for kids. Fantastic playground areas, high chairs, baby phones and toys of every kind. And children cat eat for free until 6 years of age.
Residence Calde Berna, strada Provinciale 59, Balestrino, Balestrino SV Italy ( 0039 182 99 1985.
Daniela Cremonini (Jul 97)
