Suggestions for Italy

[Donald Miller]

I will be heading off to Italy within the next couple of months. I plan on staying at least three months...possibly as much as six months. I will be based in Milan. I am looking for suggestions of places to photograph. Aside from Tuscany, Florence, Venice, and Sicily, what other places would you recommend?

I plan on shipping my large format gear apart from my flight. Do you have preferences and recommendations re shippers, etc.?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Six months? Have you got a visa yet?

If you are traveling Venice to Sicily why pick Milan for a home base? Wouldn't be my first or even 10th choice.

 

[Donald Miller]

Nick,

I have a friend that lives in Milan. I don't need a visa for three months...I have been told that extension via visa once there is a formality.

 

[Nick Zentena]

I'd be carefull with that formality. From all I've heard it's only a formality if you fall sick or otherwise can't leave the country.

OTOH it's not like they do sweeps for US tourists.

 

[Peter Schrager]

Abruzzi Region

Donald-the Abruzzi region which is NE of Rome is a wonderful place to photograph. Beautiful small villages that are perched on the top of hills like birds nests. Regardless of where you go enjoy....
Best, Peter

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Also take in the Cinqueterre region on the Mediterranean coast, south of Genoa. Even though it's been over-visited and over photographed, don't pass up Portofino. All the towns in the Cinqueterre are accessible by commuter train from Genoa. I'd say even Genoa itself is worth a visit - a little different from the standard destinations in Italy. Also think about Torino (Turin). It is in some ways more limited than other destinations in terms of tourist appeal, but it has its charms, and some pretty darned good food to boot.

While I haven't been to either of these myself, Pisa and Sienna are highly recommended. There was a good article in (I think) the New York Times travel section within the last year or so on Bologna, and how to visit it like a non-tourist (rent a bicycle, do the circuit of attractions in the reverse order of normal, etc).

 

[Pinholemaster]

Siena!

 

[Roger Hicks]

I will be heading off to Italy within the next couple of months. I plan on staying at least three months...possibly as much as six months. I will be based in Milan. I am looking for suggestions of places to photograph. Aside from Tuscany, Florence, Venice, and Sicily, what other places would you recommend?

I plan on shipping my large format gear apart from my flight. Do you have preferences and recommendations re shippers, etc.?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Dear Don,

I'll probably get slammed for being negative, but really BE CAREFUL ON THE ROADS. The first time I ever went to Italy I'd been there 45 minutes when I was rear-ended (on the motorcycle) and Frances was thrown over my head; the second time, a few years later, I took the Land Rover for obvious reasons. Two things stick in my memory. One is that if Frances had opened the car door a fraction of a second later in a car park, one car-width from the wall, she's have lost a leg to the idiot who shot between us and the wall at 40 mph. The other is that on a tour of maybe 3000 to 4000 miles though half a dozen or more countries, we saw five serious, possibly fatal accidents in Italy and none anywhere else (France, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Luxembourg).

Yes, we got lots of good pictures while Frances was recuperating in Aoste from the first accident. Just sit in any square, in any village, at a café table or even on a park bench, and you can get incredible people shots (not usually with LF, I'll grant you). And with LF you can shoot what I call the 'hand of man': hilltop villages, terraced walls, rag-cut slate roofs, dry-stone walls, all kinds of things where people have gently and sustainably modified the countryside for thousands of years. I find this much more attractive than what I call 'empty' or 'pseudo-wilderness' landscapes.

But on the road, BE CAREFUL. The Italians are the worst and most aggressive drivers I've found anywhere, including Greece, Mexico, Malta and even China.

Cheers,

R.

 

[David Henderson]

A few thoughts

The city of Bergamo is well worth a visit with a camera.

Lake Como has excellent photographic possibilities despite being a faded holiday destination mainly for the elderly.

If you want high mountains, the Dolomites north of Trento has a great cable-car and path network that gets you around really well in summer

The Cinque Terre is indeed nice- though neither so isolated nor as unspoiled as it used to be. Try and avoid the "school trips" season and above all a sunny Sunday when towns like Vernazza are heaving.

Tuscany is a large area and far from uniform. My preference is for the area known as "il Crete" centred around San Quirico d'Orcia south of Siena, and bounded by the towns of Asciano, Monteroni, Montalcini, Radi, Montepulciano. Within this the area near Pienza and that town itself are outstanding.

There's some italian photography, and a section on Tuscany on my site

www.photography001.com

 

[Sirius Glass]

Siena!

*2 on that.

Also Revenna and Classe on the east coast of Italy south of Venice => The churches, etc. ... have the best collection of Bizantine mosaics outside of Greece and Turkey.

Pestum, south of Naples, the best preserved Greek temples outside of Greece.

Capri - Blue Grotto

Lake District - just north of Milano

Steve

 

[Síle]

Umbria..

I would highly recommend Umbria, having been lucky enough to visit this particular area of Italy twice, you can't help but fall in love with it's picturesque medieval towns (perched impossibly on the edges of the hills), the beautiful countryside, and not least the warm friendly people.. It is in my opinion, the unspoilt Tuscany, with much less tourism and a wealth of photo opportunities.
Enjoy your trip.. it sounds truly amazing..

 

[DWThomas]

The coastal area below Naples offers Pompeii, Ercolano and Vesuvius, as well as Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. Much to see and view. I also dabble in painting, and when discussing a proposed Italian trip with a neighbor who'd been there several times, he said "you can't miss, the whole country is an art museum!"

In my limited travels (Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Verona and Cremona), there were interesting landscapes and architectural subjects everywhere I looked. The cities are typically vibrant places with much people activity -- markets, church processions, evening walks, outdoor cafes and restaurants. It is not unusual to find roads and structures that go back 1000 to 2500 years. To those of us in the US for whom a 17xx vintage building is "old," Italy is mind boggling.

I did not do any driving, and from what I saw, would be in no hurry to do so, those people are crazier than we are!

DaveT

 

[Wally H]

Dolomites:Landscape
Sorano / Pitigliano (N. of Rome - Old, worn towns with sections giving themselves back to the earth)
Sicily: Some of the world's best Greek ruins
Tuscany & Umbria in general: Hill towns / landscape
Mt. Blanc via tram near Aosta
Lake district, (Lake Como, etc.): Landscape / architecture

Contact "donna in photographia [sp]", "Women in Photography". A group that has been helpful to me on my visits to Milan.

Buona Fortuna....

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Dear Don,

I'll probably get slammed for being negative, but really BE CAREFUL ON THE ROADS. The first time I ever went to Italy I'd been there 45 minutes when I was rear-ended (on the motorcycle) and Frances was thrown over my head; the second time, a few years later, I took the Land Rover for obvious reasons. Two things stick in my memory. One is that if Frances had opened the car door a fraction of a second later in a car park, one car-width from the wall, she's have lost a leg to the idiot who shot between us and the wall at 40 mph. The other is that on a tour of maybe 3000 to 4000 miles though half a dozen or more countries, we saw five serious, possibly fatal accidents in Italy and none anywhere else (France, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Luxembourg).

Yes, we got lots of good pictures while Frances was recuperating in Aoste from the first accident. Just sit in any square, in any village, at a café table or even on a park bench, and you can get incredible people shots (not usually with LF, I'll grant you). And with LF you can shoot what I call the 'hand of man': hilltop villages, terraced walls, rag-cut slate roofs, dry-stone walls, all kinds of things where people have gently and sustainably modified the countryside for thousands of years. I find this much more attractive than what I call 'empty' or 'pseudo-wilderness' landscapes.

But on the road, BE CAREFUL. The Italians are the worst and most aggressive drivers I've found anywhere, including Greece, Mexico, Malta and even China.

Cheers,

R.

I think the Thais can give the Italians a run for their money on psychotic road behavior. I once tried to cross a street in Bangkok - I was in the zebra crossing, had the light, and was at a T-intersection, so the traffic I was crossing couldn't turn or go forward, but I still almost got run over by two cars and a city bus! Moral of that story is that if you need to cross a street in Bangkok, if it has more lanes than you have nostrils, find a suitable pedestrian overpass even if it is a half-dozen blocks out of your way. Do NOT attempt crossing Sukhumvit Road at street level.

 

[Allen Friday]

I will second the following suggestions:

Siena
Umbria
Dolmites
Pompei

And, you have to go to Florence. You just have to. If not to photograph, at least to see the David and the galleries.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I think the Thais can give the Italians a run for their money on psychotic road behavior. I once tried to cross a street in Bangkok - I was in the zebra crossing, had the light, and was at a T-intersection, so the traffic I was crossing couldn't turn or go forward, but I still almost got run over by two cars and a city bus! Moral of that story is that if you need to cross a street in Bangkok, if it has more lanes than you have nostrils, find a suitable pedestrian overpass even if it is a half-dozen blocks out of your way. Do NOT attempt crossing Sukhumvit Road at street level.

Fair enough.I've not tried that one.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sirius Glass]

When in Rome, cross the intersections with priests or nuns.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

In Florence, don't forget to cross the Arno and go up to the top of the Boboli Gardens to the Belvedere fortress to get the view back across the city and see the Duomo essentially "from the air". Even climbing to the top of the Signoria (Palazzo Vecchio) doesn't quite do the Duomo justice, since you're too close to it. You really appreciate the monumental accomplishment that is Brunelleschi's dome on the Duomo when you can see it from that distant perspective. If you've got the legs and the lungs for it, climb to the top of the dome - another breathtaking (in more ways than one) vantage-point. Try to schedule your visit to Florence for a weekend, so you can catch the big antiques market, not only for shopping but for street shooting as well. There's a terrific little restaurant not far from the train station that has wonderful florentine cuisine, reasonable prices (for Italy), and fantastic service. Make the attempt to speak Italian (if you don't already know it fluently) - that got me free grappa and free dessert in a number of restaurants in Florence.

Also, if you can organize a group of folks to split the cost with you, book a private tour of the Corridoro Vasariano that connects the Uffizi gallery to the Palazzo Pitti. A substantial chunk of the Uffizi collection, including a number of quite famous and significant paintings, are kept in the Corridoro, and it is only open to private guided tours. You can book the tour through the Uffizi website. The tour is EXPENSIVE, but given what you get to see, it is worth it. At least two miles total running wallspace of Renaissance masterworks.

 

[Ian Leake]

But on the road, BE CAREFUL. The Italians are the worst and most aggressive drivers I've found anywhere, including Greece, Mexico, Malta and even China.

Roger, a wonderful Italian friend of mine once described her driving style as, "freedom driving." I think that says it all What you can see through the windshield is your problem, everything else is someone else's...

Donald, if you're in Tuscany then you really should visit Lucca. This is one of the very few walled cities left in Europe. Once you're inside the walls you're in a different country - and you'll never want to leave. It's quite close to Florence and Sienna, but IMO much, much more satisfying.

 

[Ian Leake]

And if you're out and about in the Tuscany countryside then Devil's Bridge in the Garfagnana Valley is worth a look.

 

[Prospero]

You are very lucky.

I second Umbria. Todi, Spoleto and thereabouts. Take the road through the Valle di Nera from Spoleto to Norcia, then up to the amusingly named "Piano Grande" (big plain) in the Monte Sibillini.

Southern Tuscany (the Crete Senesi) is much-visited, but justly so. You get the feeling you are putting your tripod feet in the marks made by Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, etc. Base yourself near Pienza, San Quirico or Montepulciano and take time to explore the backroads. Even in summer most of the tourists stick to the main roads. Sorano and Pitigliano (already mentioned) are easily reached from here and well worth the visit.

Northern Tuscany (Chianti) is even more touristic but worth the visit. Best place for panoramas of Florence is the Piazzale Minchelangelo. Here's mine:

http://www.netspeed.com.au/sgskelt/italy3/florence-pan.jpg

The Garfagnana region in the Apuan Alps, north of Lucca.

The Alps are good but if you have to choose I'd pick the Dolomites over Valle d'Aoste. Unless you like castles.

Venice is a theme park but that didn't stop me falling in love with it.

Driving is great on slow back roads. Scary in towns and can be terrifying on freeways. Best time to drive into towns is very early in the morning (5-6am).

More of my of my Italian pics:

http://www.netspeed.com.au/sgskelt

 

[David Brown]

We went to Italy once with a tour group. (Now we know how to do it by ourselves. ) The tour organizer saw all of us off at the airport with only one piece of advice: "When in doubt, eat it".

She was absolutely right!

 

[S_Patton]

Lived in Italy in the service...

You might want to try Sorrento, Naples, the Isle of Capri. There's also a town called Alberobello. It's basically a small town towards the Adriatic coast, it's full of photo opps. Round houses with cone shaped roofs, some of the best chocolate rum balls you can ever find, and some really friendly people. Still the views from various spots on the Bay of Naples are incredible and as far as I'm concerned worth the price of the trip there by themselves. Hoping to get back there myself one day.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Lived in Italy in the service...

You might want to try Sorrento, Naples, the Isle of Capri. There's also a town called Alberobello. It's basically a small town towards the Adriatic coast, it's full of photo opps. Round houses with cone shaped roofs, some of the best chocolate rum balls you can ever find, and some really friendly people. Still the views from various spots on the Bay of Naples are incredible and as far as I'm concerned worth the price of the trip there by themselves. Hoping to get back there myself one day.

This would include renting a car and spending a day or two driving along the Amalfi coast.

I would not worry about driving in Italy. I have done it many times. The Italians have a sense of who is not a native driver and they will give you enough room to safely drive.

Steve

 

[removed account4]

i can't make any suggestions where to go,
but if you will be renting a car, and use your credit card
for your gap insurance ( takes care of deductible ) be very careful ..
i learned of someone who rented a nice italian car, and while she
was shopping, a trailer truck landed on her car and squashed the $30,000 car like a bug.
she thought " no problem, i am using my credit card for the insurance " ...
ummm, it turns out that her card did not insure rental vehicles in italy and a few other places ... so just call to make sure

sounds like a great trip!

can't wait to see the pictures

john