Italy

Visited: continuously since 1985

Duration of visit: 35 days

Capital city: Rome

Population: 59 million (2022)

• My first backpacking trip at the age of nineteen started in Italy with hitchhiking from Slovenian-Italian border to Milan.
• Florence and Rome – the highlight of Italian art, design and culture.
• Relaxed Sicily – beautiful sand beaches, easy-going atmosphere and extreme heat in the summer.
• Investigating the secrecy of Leaning Tower of Pisa with Italian friends among hordes of tourists.
• Napoli and Pompeii Archeological Park – when it gets really hot among the ruins of the old Roman city.
• Having a whale of a time at Tazio Nuvolari circuit, for my 50^th Driving 4 laps with a Ferrari 812 Superfast on the circuit one hour outside of Milan.
• Wandering around the famous ski resorts of Livigno isolated in the Northern Italy, savoring the best pizza.

With 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the birthplace of Renessa Ince, the country of pizza, pasta, ice cream and espresso machine, has so much to offer. The capital city of Rome with ancient wonders, Canals of Venice, the center of Italian fashion – Milan, Tuscan countryside and magnificent beaches of Sicily, are just some of the reasons, why Italy is one of the most traveled countries in the world, with over 64 million tourists arriving annually.

Italy is one of four neighboring countries of my homeland Slovenia. It is logical that due to vicinity, attractions and opportunities, I have visited it constantly. First for shopping in the 1980s with my parents, skiing in the 1990s, later using it as a hub for flying out and finally for concerts, trade shows and friends’ visits.

Besides that, I was discovering Roman history, splendid nature, volcanos, beaches, holy city of Vatican, Pisa attractions, Rome and Italian cousin many times in the last twenty years.

My first backpacking trip around Europe somehow started for real in Italy, during the summer holidays 1991. Slovenia became an independent country, I had some savings, Europe was opening in front of my eyes. I was going to hitchhike around Western Europe mayor cities with my friend Andrey, but he didn’t want to inform his parents that we were not going to use public transport.

We got off the train as soon as we crossed the border in town of Fernetti, walked for some time to find a good spot and started to hitchhike along the highway. It didn’t take long until we got the first ride. An old Alfa Romeo almost passed us and stopped a hundred meters after our spot.

A young hippy was an incarnation of Brazilian formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna. We were overtaking every single car, speeding at over 200 kilometers per hour and I was desperate to calm down the driver.

His English was really bad; it was not easy to entertain him in the way to reduce the speed. When we were asking question to calm him down and relax, he started to talk stupidities. I came up with an idea to take out a map and focused his attention to the location, where he would drop us off. He took a map, opened it in front of him on the steering wheel and he kept pushing speed pedal to overrun everyone on our way. The situation became really dangers, because he was not focused on the road any more. My idea turned out stupid! When our ways finally separated and we got out of the car, I needed 15 minutes of fresh air to calm down and start hitchhiking again.

Final destination on that day one was Milan and in the next days we didn’t have to wait for more than 15 minutes to be picked-up along Italian highways. The toughest part was actually getting to a spot close to the highway or main road where passing cars could easily stop and collect us.

Milan is the most powerful city in northern Italy, country’s financial and fashion capital. As big football lovers, we only wanted to see San Siro stadium, the home of A.C. Milan and Inter, occasionally also Italian national team. One of the biggest stadiums in Europe is a monument, dedicated to Giuseppe Meazza, the two-time World Cup winner.

The second appreciated landmark of Milano is cathedral Duomo di Milano, one of the most elaborated Gothic cathedrals in Europe. It is not only its size, but also art, architecture and materials, that make it stunning and one of the most popular sites in Italy: stained glass windows, 52 pillars, three impressive altars, famous statues. You can guess which architectural creating impressed us more: the stadium or the cathedral?

In 2004 a visited Venice, Florence, Sienna, Pisa and Rome with Vatican. A classical cultural trip, which could easily be the most common route for millions of foreign tourists that visit Italy every year. Venice is always crowded in the summer time, but beautiful, humid and tricky.

Instead of negotiating with gondola drivers (gondoliers), I took a public boat from car parking down the Grand Canal to the vicinity of Piazza San Marco and walked back to explore the most famous attractions. Maybe my favorite one is getting lost in hidden corners or dark ghettos. Gondolas used to be the main mode of transportation in Venice. Today, they are mainly used by tourists willing to overpay and tip gondoliers, who row the boats along the canals using long oars.

The splendor of St. Mark’s Basilica mixes Byzantine and Gothic architecture styles in a unique way. The tallest structure at almost 100 meters – bell tower of Campanile in the back, Palazzo Ducale combined with hundreds of pigeons and tourists on a sunny day, makes it a typical postcard of Venice. In the city where cars are banned, water taxis, public water buses and gondolas, navigating along Grand Canal, are the only means of transport. The most famous and iconic of 4 bridges spanning the Grand Canal is the Rialto Bridge, always full of tourists taking photos, positioned in lovely poses.

One of the best times to visit Venice is during the Carnival, the world-famous festival famous for its elaborate masks. According to the legend the carnival started in 1162, but recently reappeared in 1979 and since then it has attracted millions of people and a bunch of international costume and fashion designers, who reward the most beautifully elaborated mask every year.

Venice Carnival reinterpreted ancient Roman and Greek festivals that saw people dress in masks and costumes to hide differences in social class. I have never seen anything similar anywhere. If most of the carnivals in Latin-America include costumes that are picturesque, seductive and fashionable, the costumes in Venice are a state of art.

Masks are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf and are hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to decorate. Splendid historical costumes are unique pieces and require months of work at the ateliers to be created. Of course, is all a big business now, but I was excited walking around the most scenic corners of Venice chasing colorful costumes and masks. There is no frenetic atmosphere, nor wild dancing music or drums beating; costume participants walk around elegantly stylish and are happy to pose for a photo. I would think that attending the Carnival in Venice was even a better experience than a summer visit of prominent City of Canals.

Even not being a huge art fan or Roman history admirer, I can admit that Florence and Rome really impacted me. Museums, palaces, and churches house some of the greatest artistic treasures in the world.

Florence became a center of medieval European exchange and finance and one of the wealthiest towns of that era. It is taken into consideration to had been the birthplace of the Renaissance, turning into a chief artistic, cultural, commercial, political, monetary and economic center.

A medieval stone bridge Ponte Vecchio in Florence was initially occupied by butchers, tanners, and farmers, while today jewelers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers are offering their products in the shops. It is especially beautiful at sunset, when colors are strong and the atmosphere calms down.

Michelangelo’s best-known work, the sculpture of David, is present all over Florence, but the original one, is located inside the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze. The most visited area of Florence is Piazza Duomo, located in the heart of historic center.  The group of buildings that form its cathedral complex gather some of Italy’s greatest artistic treasures into one relatively small area. Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is covered with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink with large brick dome visible from hills around the city.

All Roads Lead to Rome. I don’t need to explain about the significance, position or historical importance of Rome in development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology and language in the Western world through Roman Empire; nor one of the most compelling reasons of Rome’s importance via Vatican City, which is located on its territory.

I visited Rome on two occasions and walked from one landmark to another.

• Colosseum – the large amphitheater that housed 65,000 spectators observing gladiators battled each other as well as against wild animals in Roman days. I could easily write that the Colosseum is the monument, which impressed me most. The combination of legends, capability to raise such a structure almost 2,000 years ago, brutal activities that were taking place and excellent shape impressed me a lot.

• Fontana di Trevi, built in 18^th century located on the Piazza di Trevi displaying the god of the sea Neptune on his chariot is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. An interesting fact is that tourists throw over a million euros of coins in the fountain every year in search of inspiration and happiness.
• A former Roman temple and, since 609 AD, a Catholic church, the Pantheon proudly stands up as one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings due to continuous use throughout its history.

• World’s largest church, Peter’s Basilica with a huge plaza Saint Peter’s Square, dominated by ancient Egyptian obelisk, depicts a central monument to many architects and construction workers, who over the centuries participated in creation of this centerpiece of the Catholic church. I was not patient enough for long ques to Vatican Museum, which holds the most outstanding art treasures of the Catholic church and Sistine Chapel, where lovely frescos by Michelangelo are located and the new pope is elected inside of conclave. I will come back eventually.
• Named after the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See, Piazza di Spagna has probably become one of the most visited attraction and the most popular location for taking selfies in Rome.

What impressed me equally as main attractions, were the incredible summer heat, delicious pizza and car park in Rome. I am used to good pizzas and I can easily differentiate between qualities of this traditional Italian dish, but I was still licking my fingers again and again and was inspired by the simple combinations of just the right crispy bread dough and uncomplicated toppings.

Two or three delicately prepared ingredients instead of topping with too many additives, make pizzas simple, delicious and full of specific flavors. It doesn’t matter where I bought it, but always away from tourist areas.

Rome is a city, where a small car is much more appreciated to wander round the narrow, cobbled streets of the old quarters, cover short distances with heavy traffic and especially when you need to park it. Small vehicles are squeezed in to every small spot available outside the old apartment buildings and the smallest models such as Smart can be parked facing a curb. There are hardly any SUV, luxury sedans or long wagon cars driving around the city center.

Finding accommodation with a car in Rome can be expensive, hence camping was a rational alternative. Camping in Rome is much more remote from downtown than those in Pisa or Florence, but the campground is very well equipped with a lot of space and mostly campers.

The common facilities were almost empty and available for few visitors with tents. I used a train for transport to downtown and avoided traffic congestion or parking issues that can be quite challenging in the center of Rome. Besides that, pickpockets prefer to break into cars with foreign registration plates, since locals strictly avoid leaving any valuables in their cars.

In general, it is surprisingly comfortable to camp in Italian big cities. The location of campgrounds is not necessarily central, but connection with public transport is efficient and inexpensive.

In 2008 I visited she southern part of Italy: Ragusa, Catania, Palermo and Volcano Etna on Sicily, Napoli and Pompeii. The southern part of Italy varies a lot from the northern.

Northern Italian are workaholics and put extra attention on managing their lives properly, how their cities and regions look like and what can be offered to tourists. Southern Italians are famous to be welcoming and much more relaxed; everyday life is more informal, due to the heat in the summer months all activities run slower.

In Ragusa, we were hosted by an Italian friend and her family. I had a chance to get in touch with Sicilians and familiarize with local cuisine. It is definitely not only pizza and pasta, as many visitants might think. Breakfast is usually very light and sweet. A small sweet cake or cookie is combined with cappuccino. Pizza is not eaten for lunch and many pizza restaurants are actually closed until late afternoon.

Two of local delicacies are: arancini – a ball of creamy risotto rice that’s breaded and deep-fried; brioche con gelato – warm bread with ice cream (a kind of strange combination), but in the afternoon hunger and heat, it is a succulent combination.

Our host prepared a delicious dinner with so many different plates that I couldn’t even try all of them. Pasta, vegetables, meat, cheese, fish … and different dishes kept coming to the table. I couldn’t find out, what the last dish of the day was or when it would be served. Extended dinner can take two hours or more; it’s a real event and it is not tailored for visitors, but mainly for themselves.

Volcano Etna is the highest volcano in Europe and among the most active in the world – standing 3,327 meters tall above sea level. A UNESCO World Heritage Site overlooking the city of Catania was active, erupting lava during my visit. I decided to ascend at night to observe lava flow from a distance.

Unfortunately, the gap between us and lava was large and I could only see red batches in the darkness with naked eye. Through binoculars we were able to observe slow movement of lava. The rewarding part of the trip was a walk-through lava tunnels and tubes, created by flowing magma. These subterranean tunnels develop during an eruption, when lava flows down the slope very slowly, it cools on the surface and forms a crust. Previously emitted lava continues to flow under the solidified layer. When the eruption is over and no new lava comes, the resulting tunnel empties.

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city located near Napoli. On August 24, 79 AD, a huge eruption from Mount Vesuvius showered volcanic debris over the city, followed by clouds of blisteringly hot gases the next day. Buildings were destroyed, the population was crushed or asphyxiated, and the city was buried beneath a blanket of ash and pumice. It stayed abandoned and ignored until 18^th century, when the ruins were finally unearthed. The world was astonished by discovery of a sophisticated Greco-Roman city frozen in time.

Visiting Pompeii in the summer is a special experience. Extreme heat, where only umbrella can help you protecting from the sun, can be unbearable. I took the shirt off, walked around slowly, drunk liters of water and sometime joined groups of tourists with English speaking guides to acquire free information about this historic site.

All in all, Italy has a lot to offer at any time of the year. The worst month to visit is probably August – Ferragosto is a public holiday celebrated on 15^th August in all of Italy, but the whole country is on holidays from first weekend of August. I had a chance to see the desperation of Italian drivers, when waiting in tenths of kilometers ques at the toll stations on main highways going to the South. Lucky enough, I was driving the opposite way from Napoli to the north and counting kilometers or hours that they would need to pass the toll station.

I was celebrating my 50^th birthday in 2022 and I got a special gift from my partner Nivia. Ferrari experience for driving 4 laps with a Ferrari 812 Superfast on Tazio Nuvolari circuit, one hour from Milan. The most respected brand of cars – Ferrari, has always been my favorite car model: speed, noise, design and the magic red color combined in a unique elegance, attract my attention whenever I see or hear them.

The event started at 8:00am, when approximately 50 candidates gathered for an initial briefing. I was the only non-Italian, who couldn’t understand the instructions properly, since they were given in Italian. The cars were getting ready and we were driven around the track in a mini van to familiarize with the track and understand, where are the critical points to speed up or brake and which gear is ideal to enter or exit the curves. The driver of our mini van was speeding up, the tires whined under the pressure of the torque in the corners. After returning to the pits, I got an under cap, gloves, a helmet and I finally took a seat in my Ferrari.

The co-driver was fluent in English when giving me the last instructions, my place was adjusted and I was ready to go. Ferrari F812 Superfast possess 788 horsepower, speeds up to 100km/h in 3 seconds and race with maximum speed at 340km/h.

Supported by my co-driver I was enjoying each and every second of the ride, improving on every lap and passing some slower cars. The instructor was helping me with signals where to break and where to start speeding up. Even though I was using only limited potential of the car and the maximum speed on the straight part of the circuit was only approximately 225 km/h, the experience of speeding up, feeling the pressure on the curves and strong breaks is memorable.

Ferrari trip continued to Switzerland and back to Italy through Eastern Alps to Dolomites, where the highest passes would be combined with beautiful valleys, where exquisitely built villages attract explorers of winter sports or bikers in the warmer months.

After driving through Munt la Shera tunnel from Switzerland I crossed the border back to Italy. The difference was immediate. A price for cappuccino dropped from 5 to 1.5 euros. Pasta, pizza and Italian sweets replaced plain Swiss dishes made from basic ingredients and mostly accompanied by meat. Groups of professional cyclists were training hard, preparing for the second part of the season.

My first stop was a ski resort town of Livigno. I didn’t know much about it before, but a friend of mine sent me a list of places to stop by on my journey. Livigno is a special-administrated area in the northern Italy, located in the Italian Alps, near the Swiss border. Apparently, the town was so remote and difficult to access due to the mountains that surround it, that even tax inspectors gave up crossing the high passes to collect taxes.

The current tax exemption was first introduced by the Austrian Empire around 1840 and maintained through other governance until today.  It still enjoys a special tax status as a duty-free area, where VAT is not paid. The most pleasant way to appreciate this advantage is to fill up a car tank with gasoline. Instead of paying 2.00 euros per liter in nearby Switzerland I filled up a tank paying only 1.10 euros per liter.

Skiing and snowboarding heaven in the winter converts to cycling, mountain biking and trekking destination in the summer. The town center with pedestrian area is a wonderful combination of restaurants, bars, wooden houses and stores.

It was time for lunch. I usually look for a restaurant off the main street, expecting lower prices, more pristine food and quieter ambient. The menu of the day was suspiciously inexpensive – most of the dishes were under 10 euros. Could it be due to VAT exemption? I elected a simple pizza with cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella cheese, flavored with basilica leaves. What a blast! I couldn’t stop phrasing the tasteful combination of simplicity, fresh ingredients and the structure of crunchy pizza dough. I always considered Slovenian chefs to prepare good quality pizzas until I started to visit Italy. Italians really know how to make pizzas, being it at a small stand in a secluded street of Rome or in a nicely arranged restaurant of touristic Livigno.

Gavia Pass at 2,621 meters above sea level is the tenth highest paved road in the Alps. Maybe not as high as Stelvio Pass at 2,757 meters, which is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, and the second highest in the Alps, but probably as curvy and scaring as any others. I was actually taking Gavia Pass to avoid Stelvio, but at the end my car started to feel the attitude sickness at approximately 400 attitude meters before reaching the top.

The road was in good conditions when ascending from Santa Caterina, but during descend towards Bormio there were many narrow parts were meeting another car was almost impossible. It was so scaring during the descend, that I promised to never come back to this place again.

Being only a warming up for travelling on wheels to Dolomites I was worried about the red light on a dashboard of my 20 years old Audi A4. As soon as we reached lowlands the light turned off, so I decided to continue driving with direction to Bolzano, our next stop. On the first slightly steeper ascent, the red light started to glare again. “I need to see a mechanic to check the engine and give a diagnosis. I don’t want to take a risk being stuck at one of the passes 2,000 meters above sea level with my old car.”, I was decided to het a professional opinion.

It was not easy to find a mechanic on Saturday, but in a workshop for local transport company two young technicians immediately opened a hood of my Audi A4. After a few minutes the diagnosis was as expected: “It is alternator. No way to fix it here quickly or cheaply. It could take days to find a spare part and cost way over 1,000 euros! But no worries, you can drive home and fix it later!” I was not happy about the explanation; “My home is 600 kilometers away in Slovenia. Do you really think I could drive so far?”. Their heads stacked together and in broken English one of them offered me an answer that I wanted: “No problem, you can drive home. Everything will be OK.”

I realized that Dolomites will need to wait for another opportunity. I set my home address into navigation and fortunately arrived home without any complications.

Italian food, culture of coffee, passion for design and fast cars, constant political battles, historical sites empowered with Roman archeological ruins, skiing slopes, football affection, southern insouciant lifestyle and emotional way of speaking, are some of the reasons why I love Italy.

If watching the news, the impression of crisis reflecting in difficult life, filled with constant problems or cataclysm would be the impression of situation in Bel Paese – beautiful country, during the last decades.

Nevertheless, Italians know how to live, enjoy life and always find a solution or simply understand that the solutions will come by themselves. I will continue to explore the hidden corners of my neighboring country, finish my unconcluded adventure in Dolomites and try to merge with their easy-going southern lifestyle in the future.