“The Baroque Train” taking you deep inside Noto Valley

Enjoy an extensive tour of amazing Sicily Baroque cities and reserve a seat on The Baroque Train, a beautiful picturesque locomotive taking tourists on a tour of Sicily Baroque cities.

Leaving from Siracusa, this picturesque train stops in Ragusa, passing by Scicli, Noto, Modica and crosses the striking Noto Valley (currently the largest world UNESCO site). The Baroque Train is a thrilling initiative promoted by Trenitalia which assembled a special locomotive with two wagons for passengers along with an exhibition wagon to admire architecture beauties and breathtaking sceneries.

The train operates all Sundays from March 27 until October 23 2011.

In connection with the train departure, every Sunday all museums and architectural sites spread along the itinerary will be open as well. The train will stop in Noto, Scicli and Modica allowing travelers to visit the Baroque historical centers.

Where to stay? soloSicily has the finest collection of luxury villas in Syracuse, click here   

soloSicily - Sicily Villas to rent
website: www.solosicily.com
Tel UK: 0044 (0)20 7193 0158
Tel DE: 0049 (0)69 5960 3981
Tel IT: 0039 091 687 0639

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The Slow Fish Festival - a GASTRONOMIC thrill!

Gorgeous Liguria, Italy, gets even better when it hosts the 5th Slow Fish Festival from 27 – 30 May in Genoa, capital to this thin region that sits along the top of the Italian boot looking out to sea. Otherwise know as the ‘Italian Riviera', its where you will find many celebrities and the largest yachts you will ever have seen in your life.

And Genoa is one of those cities that you don't know is fabulous until you walk around its lovely cobbled streets down to the Marina and Harbour whilst discovering some amazing historic facts.  Apparently the very first cheque was written in Genoa!

The Slow Food network is vast and spans members from 150 countries.  The Slow Fish festival features events and activities along side its huge market of fish in every shape and form where you can taste and buy products from around the world.

And whilst you are ogling the 20 international top cooks preparing mouth watering dishes for you to try, don't forget to visit the Slow Fish Enoteca which is the space dedicated to good quality wine so that you can try from more than 800 bottles.

BA fly from London Gatwick, prices start from £49pp including all taxes and charges in April and May.  http://www.ba.com/

Ryanair offers flight out of Standsted to Genoa from £31pp including all taxes and charges in April and May.  http://www.ryanair.com/

For short breaks tour operators, http://www.loveitaly.co.uk/regions.php?id=9&r=Liguria

For more info on Liguria, http://www.turismoinliguria.it/

For more info on Slow Fish, http://www.slowfish.it/

  

Award Winning Organic Farm Holiday - SICILY

CONGRATULATIONS: Il Glicine has been awarded the “Case & Country” magazine's “Best Agritourism of Charm” award  2010 !

Near Piazza Armerina, Il Glicine is a 4 hectare organic fruit and vegetable farm with two cottages and a pool, in an

enchanting setting, in the very heart of Sicily. Ideal and only for couples, this is a perfect haven for getting away from it all. As one client said, this is "a real place", difficult to find in the hurly-burly of modern life. Choose it for its individuality, stylish comfort, wonderful location and fantastic vegetarian food.

From £578 per person , including flights from Gatwick to Catania, a cottage for 2, self-catering and car hire (based on two people sharing for one week 19th September-26th September)

Better hurry - this place is going to be booked up.

http://www.long-travel.co.uk/holidaysearch.aspx?words=il%20glicine

Long Travel 01694 722193


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Quality Villas reveals luxury market boom

Quality Villas Ltd, a luxury villa rentals agent have reported a large increase in sales to Tuscany, currently at 100% up on 2010 figures. As a whole the company has seen a resurgence in interest in Italy and France together, which is generally attributed to unrest in other destinations in the world at the moment (Tunisia, Egypt, Japan).

However, strategic positioning in the past 12 months have enabled the company to take full advantage of this interest including the release of a new website and larger, taster style brochure.

Average villa rentals are £4000 per week, which looks favourable against St Tropez for example, which records average rentals of £7000 per week, thus it can be suggested that Italy is still showing value for money at the higher end, although it is debatable if the products are comparable.

A typical villa in Tuscany could be Villa Angelica, near Volterra, sleeping 8, this property enjoys a private pool, air conditioning, spectacular views and is walking distance of local shops. Prices range from £2530-£4430 for the complete property per week.

Quality Villas is currently in its 25th year of business, still independant and family owned. Tel 01442 870055 or visit their website for more Italian villas.




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A Perfect Italian Lakeside Holiday

Gorgeous Italian Lake Caldonazzo deserves an airing. The largest lake in Trentino offers waterskiing, sailing, windsurfing, peace, tranquility and of course, clusters of fabulous Italian villages perfectly set around the lakeside.

Everyone has heard of  Lakes Garda, Como and Maggiore but we think Lake Caldonazza is worthy of much more publicity than it currently receives. The great news is that its off the main tourist trail and offers idyllic Italian picture postcard scenes year round.

The beautiful lakeside villages such as Caldonazzo, Calceranica al Lago, San Cristoforo, Ischia or Santa Caterina host mainly Italian holidaymakers (its one of their biggest secrets). Its for this reason that prices have remained moderate by Italian standards.  The Dutch appear to make up the remainder of the tourist numbers.

The lake is home to a large variety of wildlife and fish species, including trout, perch and tench, making it very popular with fishermen. It is also possible to spot various species of birds of prey, especially in the afternoon hours.

There are also a number of camping areas around Lake Caldonazzo with families generally preferring to locate on the lake's southern section. Bathing is possible from June to September, when the lake waters are between a pleasant 20 and 24 degrees Celsius.

Its also great for hikers. A trip to the Rifugio Casarota – a refuge run by the Alpine Club and situated at an altitude of 1,572 metres.

The route winds its way past the small church in Campregheri, then up a narrow country road and through a forest. In summer, temperatures can climb quite high but refreshments are available at the Al Bosco guesthouse. The climb to the refuge is steep and takes up to three hours but the trek is well worthwhile, not least just to sample the cooking talents of hut-keeper Goretta Zambon.

The panoramic view of the Valsugana valley with its lush green forests are fabulous, Lake Caldonazzo can also be seen glimmering in the distance.

Ask one of our ABTOI members for more information www.loveitaly.co.uk

The Independent's Big Six in Sardinia

In case you didn't catch it at the weekend the Independent ran an article on luxury hotels in Sardinia, picking out 6 of the best. Included in the round up were Villa del Parco (Cagliari), La Casitta (Santa Maria Island), Faro Capo-Spartivento (Chia), Petra Segreta Resort (San Pantaleo) La Coluccia ( Santa Teresa di Gallura) & La Maddalena (Maddalena) 

Read the full article here: http://goo.gl/r7tPd

Great news on flights to ITALY

Still thinking about booking a holiday to Italy?  Here's some flight info that will help you get a handle.

Sicily:

From 25 June, it will be easier to get to Catania, Sicily.  Easyjet has introduced an extra service, making that 3 flights per week out of London Gatwick.

Juliet's Balcony?

Another new flight from London Gatwick to Verona will begin on 3 June.  The flight will operate daily. http://www.easyjet.com/

Direct into Florence? Now there's more choice!

At last, CityJet Airlines has introduced a direct flight from London City airport to Florence.  The flight operates six times a week (no Saturdays).  http://www.cityjet.com/

Venice Alert

Its good news – Treviso Airport will be closed for improvements during June, July and August which means the Ryanair flights will be flying into Marco Polo Airport in Venice – much nearer and far more convenient.

For hotels, advice and tour operators, check the ABTOI members http://www.loveitaly.co.uk/

Loveitaly now on Facebook

Brief post to say we now have a facebook page! Here is the link;
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Loveitaly/198130716885364

Beautiful Italy exhibition running until September 2011

As part of the 150 years of independence celebration a new exhibition started this month. Within the impressive setting of the Scuderie Juvarriane at the Reggia di Venaria, more than 300 Italian masterpieces reveal the progress of art from the medieval period to the eve of 1861 by means of the pre-Unification capitals: Turin, Florence, Rome, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Bologna, Naples and Palermo.

The exhibition shows the image of the various cities – their culture, traditions and historic-artistic heritage – as seen by the major historical artists: Giotto, Beato Angelico, Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, Botticelli, Bronzino, Titian, Veronese, Correggio, Caravaggio, Rubens, Tiepolo, Canova, Hayez and many more. A path that reveals the profile of Italian art and style.

http://www.travelinggreener.com/culture/250-ways-to-experience-italy/

Italian holidays dropping in price this summer

Over at our main site (www.loveitaly.co.uk) our members (tour operators and travel organisers) have been busy adding special offers and discounted holidays as the summer season approaches. There are some great deals to be had on Tuscan and Sardinian Holidays, including villas, apartments and hotels. Savings range from straight money off discounts (up to £145 per person) to free night and early booking offers.
You can view the offers here :Loveitaly offers