Archive for 'Venice'

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.

Shopping is, inevitably, part of most holidays, whether you are doing it for fun or picking up gifts for those who didn't get to go on vacation with you. If you have found a holiday rental in Venice and are planning on going shopping, here is a handy guide on the city's best stores and shopping districts to help you out and the key information you need on shopping culture in the city!

1. Venice is not a city of Bargains

Venice is a city where you very much get what you pay for and anything that is cheap is likely to be cheaply made. Venetians have been craftspeople and merchants for longer than some cities have existed and, as such, don't take kindly to haggling.

Among the incredible properties that we have to rent, there are many that are unique or interesting. In some cases they have particular features, locations or views to recommend them but some of the properties themselves are the stars of the show.

Some of the most stunning are our historic vacation rentals. These properties have character to spare, tales to tell and photogenic moments aplenty.

They are the perfect location for weddings, truly once-in-a-lifetime holidays for history buffs and seriously luxurious getaways. Here are just ten of our favourites and they really are beauties.

In our last article, we outlined the unique nature and particular charms of the Italian interpretation of Christmas markets, before outlining some of the best of the best around the country. In addition to those examples in Rome, Florence and Milan, we have compiled a list of some more of the finest Christmas markets around Italy, should you have found a vacation rental in Italy and be planning on spending the festive season there.

Verona is a very famous Italian city and UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site best known for its connection to Shakespeare's most tragic of lovers. However, come Christmas, it gets a German makeover when a large Christkindlmarkt opens in Piazza dei Signori. Made up of wooden stalls with over 60 exhibitors selling handicrafts, decorations, regional foods, and German specialties, it usually opens late November through to December 21st.