One for the Road: Osterie & Locande D’Italia

by Kelly Amabile on

Travelers who love Italy (are there any who don’t?) and those interested in the Slow Food movement will want to get their hands on a copy of Osterie & Locande D’Italia, which combines two older Slow Food guides into one. Published by Slow Food Editore and distributed in the US by Chelsea Green, this guide contains listings for 2,100 traditional places to eat and stay in Italy.

Recommended by the Slow Food organization, these traditional taverns, inns, trattorias, wine shops and hotels are guaranteed to give you a taste of Italy’s regional diversity — the cheese, the seafood, the fresh produce, the wine!! The book is organized by region –from Piedmont (where the Slow food movement was born in 1986) to Sicily, and everywhere in between. It also contains a handy glossary of Italian culinary terms and a place index in the back. Published for the first time in English, this comprehensive guide will be a useful tool for food lovers planning their next Italian gastronomic adventure. Mangia!


Ancient Rome Digitally Rebuilt in its Entirety

by Neil Woodburn on

I am constantly frustrated staring at ruins and trying to imagine how cool they must have been in their prime.

Sure, some of the better maintained ruins give you a decent idea of what they were once like, but man, wouldn’t it be cool to go back in time and see for yourself!

It was such a thought that launched Rome Reborn.

Rome Reborn is a $2 million computer rendition of how Eternal City must have looked during its heyday in AD 320. According to a recent article by Tracy Wilkinson, the project, now stored at the University of Virginia, “is the largest and most complete digital simulation of a historic city ever created.” The astounding fact that 7,000 buildings have been digitally recreated for the project seems to suggest that this is probably true.

Sadly, only a small portion of the project is currently available online–although there are plans to make the entire city viewable within the year.

I was a bit surprised to discover that the results aren’t startlingly realistic–like toady’s video games–but they are startlingly accurate. All it needs is some Gladiators and a Second Life contract…

One for the Road: Living in a Foreign Language

by Kelly Amabile on

L.A. Law fans may be interested to learn about an upcoming travel memoir by actor Michael Tucker. He and his wife, actress Jill Eikenberry, were vacationing in Italy when they fell head over heels for a rustic Umbrian cottage. They impulsively bought the place and Tucker has now chronicled their “under an Umbrian sun” experiences in a lighthearted travelogue.

Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine and Love in Italy tells the story of how the couple embraces the culture of their new home — including the gourmet delights of Italian cooking and the challenges of learning how to communicate with local neighbors and friends. “Our goal,” writes Tucker, “was to slow down our hearts and minds until they synched up with the circadian rhythm of the Italian countryside.”

The couple will begin a series of book tour appearances with an event in New York on July 10.

Europe From A Backpack

by Willy Volk on

Have you visited a foreign destination, had a frightening, enlightening, or just plain-old-fun time, and then — later — wished you could share your experience with others? That’s how Europe From A Backpack started. While backpacking through Europe, the founder thrilled at the experience and decided to collect other backpackers’ stories about the place.

The books in the Europe From a Backpack series are not quite guidebooks. Rather, they’re first-person accounts of travelers’ experiences in Europe. In other words, they’re more like a collection of short fiction. Since its inception, the series has expanded to include Italy From a Backpack and Spain From a Backpack.

Publishing travel writing for the “Budget, Independent, and Youth Travel” market, ..From A Backpack books are for people who want to backpack in Europe but don’t know what to expect; for people who want to re-live their backpacking adventures; and for people who just love travel writing. Want to see what the books are like? Check out some of the sample stories they have featured online.

[Via Backpackers]

Sistine Chapel: A Reason to Look Up

by Jamie Rhein on

I recently saw a good friend of mine who returned from a vacation spent in Rome which she deemed fabulous. Instead of hitting several spots in Italy, she and her friend decided to focus on the Eternal City. When I asked her about the highlight, Vatican City was the winner. The Sistine Chapel was one of the reasons.

Having been there myself, I have to say, I can understand her sentiment. I can’t remember the summer crowd that I’m sure was there when I went. I do remember being in awe, as corny as that sounds. St. Peter’s Basilica may be impressive in its size, history and majesty, but there’s something about the Sistine Chapel that is such a story of triumph. Who in his or her right mind would paint a ceiling in such detail these days, particularly when lying on one’s back? Michelangelo would probably be thrilled to find out that his efforts are such a big tourist draw. Also, the Sistine Chapel is listed in Lonely Planet’s Bluelist as being one of the five reasons to look up when in Europe.

When I saw the Sistine Chapel, I knew a tad about its history and could pick out a few images I had seen in pictures before. Mostly, I didn’t know the specifics of what I was looking at. The Sistine Chapel section of the Vatican Musuems Web Page is designed to fill in the details with a virtual tour. You can click on sections of the ceiling to find out specific details about each. This would be a handy virutual tour to take before visiting the chapel in person.