Archive for 'Curiosities'

The Venice Biennale is an annual event that takes place in the city of Venice in Italy and is, on alternate years, an art exhibition and then an architectural exhibition, with art being on odd years and architecture on even years. It is an international showcase of the best and brightest design talents from all around the world and attracts around 300,000 tourists from all over the globe to Italy. If you have always wanted to visit the city, now is a great time to book a Venice vacation rental and to head to the city to experience the 58th edition of the Biennale International Art Exhibition. Entitled, “May You Live In Interesting Times,” it will be open to the public until the 24th of November 2019 and was inaugurated on the 11th of May. Venice and the wider Veneto region always have abundant charms to offer but with the Biennale taking place, it is all just that much more colourful, exciting and fascinating.

Italy is known as a gourmet country and foodie destination and there are lots of different dining experiences that one can enjoy while holidaying in Italy. Some are conventional but elevated and delicious and others are more unique and unusual. If you have found a vacation rental in Veneto and are planning on enjoying some culinary experiences and adventures while in the area, then you should definitely pencil in a visit to the rather special Osteria senz’Oste.

This restaurant offers a very unique dining experience as it famously does not have any chefs or waiters present! The name literally means, “restaurant without hosts” and they aren’t kidding. Located in a picture-perfect and exceptionally pretty 19th century farmhouse, set amongst vineyards on the hills of Cartizze in Veneto, it boasts the most amazing views over the lush landscape that unfolds beautifully below.

The Tuscan Coast is dotted by lots of incredible surprises and little gems, among them being the vibrant seaside city of Viareggio in the Province of Livorno and its epic Carnival celebrations and the famous Elba Island, to which Napoleon was notoriously exiled. Not far from Elba is another, lesser-known delight, the island of Pianosa. One of the smallest islands in the Tuscan Archipelago, it is an almost entirely uninhabited beauty located in the glimmering Tyrrhenian Sea and is a must-see for those who have found a vacation rental on the Tuscan Coast and are interested in exploring the most interesting and lovely hidden corners of the area.

So incredibly flat that it is barely visible, and often described merely as looking like a darker blue line in the sea, Pianosa was first inhabited in the late Stone Age and then was a Roman settlement before Pisa and Genoa began to fight over the land in the 12th and 13th centuries. Variously inhabited by pirates, fishing colonies, and military officers, the island became a maximum security prison in 1868 and remained home to prisoners, with many particularly dangerous Mafia criminals among them, until 1998. Upon the closure of the prison, almost everyone left with just a few people remaining on the island today.

If you have found your perfect vacation rental in Veneto and are thinking about spending some time exploring the wider region and all that it has to offer, then you should definitely ensure to set aside a day to head the few kilometres just outside of the city of Verona to the Moreniche hills overlooking Lake Garda, where you’ll find the Parco Giardino Sigurtà. Often listed as one of the most beautiful gardens in the world and with good reason, it is a truly breath-taking place and a perfectly idyllic spot to get well and truly away from the humdrum surroundings of daily life to experience something utterly refreshing and rather extraordinary.

First established as a park all the way back in 1617 and now combined with a modern garden, the park was sold by its last owner, Dr Carlo Sigurtà, in 1941 and was then opened to the public in 1978. It extends over a whopping 600,000 square meters and is made up of a diverse landscape including woodlands, a medicinal herb garden, a grotto, 18 (yes, eighteen!) flowering ornamental lakes, incredible fields of flowers, a dog cemetery, the Hermitage, the Great Lawn, the Great Oak, a farm, and more. The scale and variety is utterly staggering and the whole thing is an amazing sight to behold with plenty to keep anyone more than occupied for a day (or several!).

So, you've decided that Italy is where you want to get married, you've consulted our guide to all of the things you need to know, steps you need to take, and documents you need to get married in Italy, and you have found a vacation rental in Italy. Now, all that remains is to plan the details and look forward to the big day. Seeing as how you are intending on getting married in Italy, you might also want to incorporate some Italian traditions and elements into your wedding. As you might imagine, there are lots of unique wedding traditions in Italy and they are sure to enrich your wedding and make it all the more special and memorable. Here are some of the traditions that you might want to know about and incorporate into your own wedding in Italy...

1. La Serenata

Perhaps not for everyone, this theatrical event takes place the night before the wedding when the groom arranges a serenade under the window of his bride. While others may know, it is kept a secret from the bride and she is awakened by the sound of musicians and her groom singing downstairs. Usually involving fun, music, a buffet, and a festive atmosphere, it is a uniquely Italian and somewhat Romeo and Juliet-esque tradition.