Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

  • Home
  • Contact us
  • Links

Driving in Italy

Posted July 2, 2019 by Sharon 5 Comments

Taking the road less traveled–like this country lane in Molise–is a big part of the adventure when you drive yourself in Italy.

By Walter Sanders

Few things are as exciting … and daunting … as getting behind the wheel and driving in Italy.
I’ve been doing it since the early 1970s and have racked up tens of thousands of accident-free kilometers while living in or visiting Italy. The vast majority have been exhilarating and carefree.

I relish driving in Italy. I’m a confident driver. I like the unique opportunities that driving in Italy give me to explore areas that would be otherwise inaccessible given normal public transportation or group travel.

Of course, driving in Italy is different than driving in North America: the language, some streets that you might consider lanes or alleys, a highway system that is both luxurious and rearview-mirror-terrifying at times.

But most of all, the drivers are different. At the risk of generalizing, I have found Italian drivers to be skilled, resourceful, creative and, at times, aggressive. We could all learn from Italian drivers.

My theory is that the vast majority of Italian automobile drivers have graduated from the motor scooter ranks. The two wheel experience makes them situationally aware, clever for opportunities, and gives them the survival skills to stay safe.

So, are you itching to drive in Italy? Read on.

Cost of Driving in Italy

Renting a car in Italy can be expensive. Daily and weekly rates are high, and you would be well advised to work with a reputable provider that clearly presents costs and options and minimizes the risk of unpleasant surprises at return time.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellany, Sardinia, Sicily, Travel Tagged With: car ferries in Italy, car leasing in Italy, car rental in Italy, driving in italy, italian travel, off-the-road-in Italy

Dining with the Duchess

Posted June 14, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

 

 

Monday lunch might be a ho-um affair in most places but not in Palermo, Sicily, when you’re dining with Nicoletta Polo, Duchess of Palma, in the formal dining room of her 18th Century Palazzo by the sea.

Palazzo Lanza Tomasi Luncheon Menu

  Aubergine Rolls
Casarecce with Zucchini, Basil and Toasted Pine Nuts
Chicken in Caper and Anchovy Sauce, Pantelleria Style
Roasted Potatoes with Fresh Garden Herbs
Strawberry and Orange Pudding

Regaleali Biano 2018
Regaleali Nero d’Avola 2017
Vecchio Florio Marsala Secco Superiore 2013

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Books, Cooking Classes, Culture, Film, Food, Markets, Mediterranean diet, Miscellany, Palermo, Sicily Tagged With: Duchess Nicoletta Polo, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo, Italian cooking classes, Italian palazzo, Palermo, Sicily, The Leopard

Marionette Museum in Palermo

Posted May 23, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Walter Sanders

At first I balked at paying 5 Euro for a ticket to see what … a marionette museum? But Sharon said, “We have to experience this. UNESCO lists the Sicilian puppet theater on its Intangible Heritage site.”

Now I think that the ticket is a bargain.

Located in the ancient Moorish La Kalsa district of Palermo, the Museum is housed on a narrow side street between Piazza Marina and Via Butera. If you miss the modest signage, you may very well miss the museum.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Art, Artisans, Culture, History, Italy Artisans, Miscellany, Palermo, Sicily, Travel Tagged With: children and puppets, italian culture, Italy, Italy travel, marionette images, marionettes, puppet shows, puppets, Sicilia, Sicilian marionettes, Sicilian puppet opera, Sicily, UNESCO

Ferdinando Scianna Exhibit in Palermo

Posted May 8, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Ferdinando Scianna: Viaggio, Racconto, Memoria (Travel, Story, Memory) is currently showing at the Modern Art Museum in Palermo.

I had never seen Scianna’s work prior to this show. Now, I can’t imagine a world without it. His eye is keen and empathetic.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Culture, Palermo, Photography, Sicily, Travel Tagged With: Italy, Italy travel, Palermo museums, photography, Sicilia, Sicily

Palermo Flea Market

Posted May 5, 2019 by Sharon 2 Comments

By Sharon Sanders

Our first full day in Palermo started with great time at the Sunday flea market. Mercatino Antiquario di Piazza Marina runs weekly from 7 a.m. to midday. Dozens of vendors surround the lovely gated park and nearby streets.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Culture, Lifestyle, Markets, Miscellany, Sicily, Travel

Grillo White Wine From Sicily

Posted May 15, 2015 by Sharon 3 Comments

P1090982Browsing in my local wine shop, a bottle of white caught my eye.

It came from Tenuta Regaleali, a name I recognized as the much lauded estate and cooking school in Sicily. It was founded by the late Anna Tasca Lanza, who did so much to bring Sicilian country cooking to wide acclaim. Tasca Lanza’s daughter Fabrizia has taken over the school. (This is off topic, but David Lebovitz published this gorgeous post about the estate.)

I also had never encountered the varietal Grillo, which means cricket in Italian, so I was doubly intrigued.

Golden in color, this vino is aromatic with hints of citrus. It’s a sumptuous dry Italian white for summer times.

I learned the back story of this indigenous Sicilian grape on The Wine Hub blog. Once the primary varietal used to produce fortified Marsala wine, it has largely been replaced by the higher yielding Catarratto. Happily, it’s being revived by modern vintners.

Cin Cin!

Tenuta Regaleali
Grillo
Cavallo Delle Fate
Sicilia DOC 2013

$13.99 for 750 ml. bottle in Pennsylvania Wine & Spirits Store

Do you know of an Italian white that veers from the standard pours list? Share it here!

Filed Under: Cooking Classes, Culture, Mediterranean diet, Miscellany, Sicily, Travel, Wine Tagged With: Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School, David Lebovitz, Italian white wine, Sicilian white wines, summer white wines

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »
Follow Simple Italy on FacebookFollow Simple Italy on RSS
Lasagne_19 Simple Italy's Greatest Hits at a click!
Lasagne alla Bolognese and more

Recent posts

  • The Hill Towns of Molise
  • Fior di Latte Cheese
  • In the Mood for Molise, Italy
  • Silk from the Sea in Sardinia
  • Driving a Ferrari Spider

Posts by Category

  • Abruzzo (12)
  • AirBnB (1)
  • Amalfi (8)
  • Archeology (3)
  • Architecture (21)
  • Art (19)
  • Artisans (4)
  • Automobiles (1)
  • Bakery (1)
  • Basilicata (3)
  • Bologna (4)
  • Books (21)
  • Calabria (4)
  • Campania (17)
  • Cooking Classes (5)
  • Cremona (2)
  • Culture (174)
  • dreamofitaly (1)
  • Driving in Italy (2)
  • Emilia Romagna (2)
  • Ferrari (1)
  • Ferrari Museum (1)
  • Film (22)
  • Florence (30)
  • Food (134)
  • Fred Plotkin (1)
  • Friuli-Venezia Giulia (2)
  • Gardening (25)
  • Genoa (2)
  • Golf in Italy (1)
  • Guides (1)
  • History (8)
  • Hotels (14)
  • Inner Italian Q & A (11)
  • Italian seafood (7)
  • Italy Artisans (3)
  • Italy restaurants (17)
  • Language (86)
  • Le Marche (4)
  • Lifestyle (113)
  • Liguria (2)
  • Lombardy cooking (5)
  • Lucca (3)
  • Mantua (1)
  • Markets (26)
  • Mediterranean diet (55)
  • Milan (1)
  • Miscellany (86)
  • Modena (1)
  • Molise (3)
  • Mt. Etna (1)
  • Music (9)
  • Naples (2)
  • New Orleans (2)
  • Opera (1)
  • Palermo (3)
  • People (3)
  • Photography (4)
  • Piedmont cooking (1)
  • Puglia (9)
  • Quotes (4)
  • Recipes (64)
  • Rome (8)
  • Salerno (3)
  • Sardinia (4)
  • Sicily (15)
  • Test Drive (1)
  • Testimonials (2)
  • Travel (110)
  • Trentino Alto-Adige (1)
  • Tuscan cooking (17)
  • Tuscany (30)
  • Venice (2)
  • Videos (2)
  • Wine (23)

Inside SimpleItaly

  • American Couple Marries Italian-Style
  • Appearances
  • Contact us
  • Cooking Up an Italian Life
  • Le Marche Tour with Luisa
  • Links
  • Palazzo Donati Sample Itinerary
  • Palazzo Donati Tours
  • Privacy and Site Policies
  • Publications and TV
  • Sharon’s Inner Italian
  • SimpleItaly Adventure in Tuscany Tour
  • Thank You
  • Walter’s Inner Italian

Tags

Abruzzo bucket list Florence Gardening gelato Genoa Inner Italian Italian cooking italian culture italian food Italian food stores italian language italian lifestyle italian markets Italian music Italian pasta recipe italian recipes Italian tourism italian travel italian wine Italy Italy travel Lago di Como Lake Como Malika Ayane Mediterranean diet mozzarella di bufala Naples tourism Paestum Paolo Conte porcini Puglia Rome Santa Croce Sardegna Sardinia Sicily Southern Italy Stile Mediterraneo Sulmona Tuscan cooking Tuscany Uffizi Gallery Villa Pipistrelli women and travel