Archive for 'Food and Wine'

Finally, here are the last of our round-up of the best foodie experiences that any food-lovers visiting Italy will not want to miss out on during their next visit. Take note, add them to your itinerary and thank us later.

Venice is one of the most romantic cities in the world and is a hugely popular honeymoon destination. It is only fitting, therefore that perhaps the most romantic dining experience in all of Italy is available in the city: galleon dinner cruises that take place on the Venetian lagoon. It is the perfect way to see a little of the city while enjoying good food and soaking up the romantic atmosphere, all at the same time. The boats are in the style of the typical traditional Venetian galleon that was used during the time of the Venice Republic, between 1600 and 1800, and they go out on cruises along the canals and around the islands of the lagoon.

Continuing on from our last post, here are some more of the best foodie experiences that you will find in Italy. If you are a food-lover planning a trip to Italy, take note of these activities and attractions and add them to your itinerary.

One of the most expensive foods in the world are truffles and, arguably, the best in the globe are those that are found in Tuscany. There are several fairs and festivals that are expressly dedicated to the truffle in Tuscany each Autumn. San Miniato, for example is known as the Truffle Capital and 25% of all of Italy's white truffles are produced in the territory. It is home to the biggest and best recognised festival for truffles globally, the Festival of the White Truffle of San Miniato. First held on the 26th of October 1969 in Piazza del Duomo, it has been held on the second, third and fourth weekends in November every year since, bar a two year hiatus immediately afterwards.

Italy is an absolute paradise for food lovers and, as a result, we decided that it might be a good idea to compile a list of foodie experiences that are a must for those holidaying in the land of crowd pleasing meals.

If you feel like eating the best ice-cream in the world, for example, you should find a luxury villa in San Gimignano, as, located in the central Piazza della Cisterna, is the Gelateria Dondoli or Gelateria di Piazza. This little shop is known all over the world and has been visited by a large number of celebrities over the years. It has won countless awards, invents flavour combinations that attract gourmet-lovers to the town on a regular basis and has made it World Champion on two occasions. Arguably, this is one of the best places in the entire world to try some ice-cream. Owned by Sergio Dondoli, one of just ten Master Ice-cream Makers in Italy today, the gelateria places importance on passion and creativity and they are constantly innovating new flavours and recipes.

Continuing on from our last post, here are some more examples of famous Italian cocktails. Italy is cocktail rich and, as a result, if you're looking to sit back and relax on your next holiday, there could be no better place for it. Just sip on one of these famous drinks, enjoy your surroundings and learn to adopt the very different pace of life.

One particularly famous cocktail is the Negroni. Supposedly, invented in Florence in 1919 at Caffè Casoni (now called Caffè Giacosa), when Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender to strengthen his usual Americano. It was suddenly transformed by adding gin rather than the normal soda water and the swapping of an orange garnish for the typical lemon garnish of the Americano. The cocktail became incredibly famous and the Negroni Family founded the Negroni Distillerie in Treviso, where they produced a ready-made version of the drink. Negroni Sbagliato, meanwhile, is a variation of the classic Negroni that was invented in Milan.

There is something about Italy that gives birth to great cocktails. Many of the most iconic and popular cocktails in the world were born in Italy during the stylish last hurrah of the Old World and holidaying of the European aristocracy in the 1900s and the Economic Miracle and dolce vita of the 1950s. Still, to this day, there is something in the air and in the way of life that makes Italy the perfect placed to kick back, relax and sip on a well-deserved cocktail.

For cocktail lovers, one of the must-see pitstops on your itinerary is the city of Milan. It is home to Campari, an alcoholic liqueur that was invented by Gaspare Campari in the nineteenth century in Novara but was first produced on a large scale in Milan. Milan is also where Gaspare settled down with his family and where he opened the legendary bar, Caffè Campari.