Going to spend 10 days in italy by the end of Jan. (Rome, Florence and Milan). Wanted to visit places or do things related to
-Catholicism
-Automotive/car stuff
-WWII
-Antiquity
Anything goes (btw where can I go to good mass celebrations?)
Italy suggestions
i've wondered about this, as well. i like the idea of italy; my husband dislikes the idea of europe lol. he's a civil engineer, so i've wondered about like an engineer's tour of ancient roman architecture. or a european ww1 or ww2 historical deep dive or something.
monitoring this thread. i have no answers for you other than visit the vatican, which you were going to do anyways
Not much motoring-related stuff in those cities. You want Modena and Turin for that.
I might be able to go there. What places did you have in mind?
Not him but you will get 10x of anything interesting from Turin/Torino (guessing that name means something for autos) than you will from Milan
come to modena anon let's be friends i'll show everything from the balsamic vinegar parmesan cheese ferrari tortellini you just have to come 🙂
Sort of related and not an answer, but I attended Holy Mass during the festa Della Sensa in Venice earlier this year. It was pretty wild because all the city officials and clergy were there, but also rubbing shoulders with locals and tourists.
I also got a glass cross from a Murano glassmaker.
Is there a "Italy General" or "Netherlands General" thread we can check in the archive? Or at least well detailed pages with recommended visit places and tourist tipis?
I really got some use of that for my travel to Japan (granted, there was the language and different customs to consider), and it's a shame that i can't find something similar to Europe
My travel plan is 14 days between Italy-Germany-Amsterdam in April.
Nah we never have generals for Euro countries, there's just too many
Assuming you're from somewhere in the West, Italy is an extremely easy travel destination (especialky compared to Japan). No weird customs to worry about, good transit, pretty much everyone is white and Catholic. Of note is that the new government banned unpermitted public assembly (raves or protests) so I guess be careful with that. Also don't forget to validate your train tickets before you board, there's a little box that you insert it in and if you forget then they'll charge you like €40
I'm sure you're already planning to hit the Vatican if you're looking for Catholic stuff, and if you do, be sure to go up to the dome of St. Peter's. It's only a couple bucks, and gives amazing views of the city. Also, I recommend stopping into the Castel Sant'Angelo. It's right down the street from the Vatican and has an interesting history from both Pagan and Catholic times, having served as a tomb for Roman emperors, a fortress, and a papal residence.
Rome and Florence are really beautiful and worth more than 1 day of visit. Milan is not that great IMO, but you can check out the Alfa Romeo Museum (never been there myself though) or the Autodromo in Monza.
Since you have 10 days i would suggest adding a visit to 1 or 2 more cities to your trip, such as Turin or Bologna + the Motor Valley since you're into cars. Catholicism and antiquity are easy to find anywhere. Have fun.
>Catholicism
the four Great Basilicas of the Catholic faith in Rome (St John Lateran, St Peter's, St Paul Outside the Walls, St Mary Maggiore)
>Automotive/car stuff
as an anon mentioned, Modena and Turin are the main automotive centers
>WWII
You may want to check out the little town of Predappio, birthplace of Mussolini. From what I hear, the town is quite proud of him, and there are shops that sell pro-Mussolini memorabilia.
Alternately, the EUR district of Rome was built during the fascist period as a massive showpiece.
>Antiquity
Tons in Rome obviously, here's some sites that are maybe less-known.
>Domus Aurea, Nero's palace which is buried now and open by appointment only.
>The Ara Pacis altar and the Mausoleum of Augustus next door which may or may not be open.
>The Portus, a giant hexagonal basin that Trajan had built near Ostia Antica.
You can go to Turin from Milan and back on same day by train
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
FIAT museum for cars and to Mole for sights
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_Antonelliana
Rome
If you want to do the trip you can go to Frascati, which has good views and churches
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frascati
I went by car so cannot offer advice abt transportation
Now you have to queue up and pay the ticket but I suggest the Pantheon close to Piazza Navona
Shit this will be long but hope it helps
Rome is filled with Catholic places and histroical places, i suggest you stay fricking safe expecially in zona TERMINI and places like CENTOCELLE( remember this names) Parioli is the hightown so expect cocaine and Rolex robbers, wear poorgay and dont walk alone in shitty roads
Florence is pretty god and mid safe doh its full of drugs and dealers, just be sharp aroung africans expecially on metro im all cities stay fricking sharp on metro its full of zingari dimmerda.
Milan is shit, honestly its the worst place in italy right now its becoming like a los angeles ghetto pay extra attention to 5/10 people group of underaged kids usually with bombers and fake gold, theyre called babygang and maranza and they have knifes and rarely guns, if they start tallking loud to you get in the first open bar run to the toilet and say to waiteress CALL 118.
is it really that bad? you've basically given a rundown of nothing but crime
Italy is not nearly this bad, take the normal precautions you would in any other Western country. Have to admit Milan gave me jeebies but I was only there between midnight and 6 AM since I missed a train
I've heard Roma Termini can get pretty bad at night, which is unfortunate because since it gets dark around 5pm right now over there it's going to be pretty much unavoidable
It's the center of one of the most visited cities on the planet, of course shit happens but you're literally 1 in a million tourist
Planning 4 days in Rome, 4 days in Lecce, with a day trip to Otranto to see the cathedral mosaic.
I just plan to chill, but interested in Lecce suggestions.
I'm interested in the off the beaten path parts. I've got Lake Garda and Vieste on my list. Any comment about either?
Lake Garda is beautiful, but not off the beaten path in any way. It's full of of german-ish (Germans, Swiss, Austrian) tourists there to do water sports, at every season except winter. But I wouldn't say it's overcrowded in any way. There's several places you can go, I was at Riva del Garda up north, but it should be all beautiful.
If you're near the south, try to visit Bergamo for at least one day. It's a wonderful little town built up on a hill, surrounded by old stone walls, incredibly beautiful.