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New Article Category: Italian Wines

I’ve started a new category for my blog articles. It’s about wine and it’s about time, right?!

Yep, it’s the category that captures all of the blog articles that I’ve created over the years that are concerned with Italian wines. I count 8 articles in that category.

If you click on the heading to the top right of this article titled ‘Index of Articles’, you will be taken to the ‘Index of Articles’ page…strange how that works, huh? If you scroll down a bit in the right-hand column of said index, you will find the new ‘Italian Wines’ category near the top…right where it ought to be.

To simplify things for today, I’ve summarized those 8 articles just below.

So, grab a bottle of your favorite Italian wine, open it, pour yourself a glass (if you need permission, you’ve got a standing approval from me), and read on. I list the articles beginning with the oldest, along with just a hint of what you find in the complete article.

Castello Brolio

08/25/2015

This article titled, “Beautiful Places Castello Brolio”, was written because of the importance of Castello Brolio to Tuscan wines. You’ve most likely enjoyed Chianti and Chianti Classico wines in the past…right? Well, they started right here at Castello Brolio. It was the castle’s owner, Baron Ricosoli, who created the formula for Chianti. After more than thirty years of research and experiments, he divulged his formula for Chianti in a letter in 1872.

As a reminder, the word “Classico” in Chianti Classico is not necessarily a designation of the quality of a wine, but is related to its geographic origin. It is a designation for wines grown in a certain place within the official Chianti region…it’s like the hole (Chianti Classico) in a donut (the overall Chianti region)…kind of. On the other hand, if you find the words “Riserva” after the words Chianti or Chianti Classico, you can assume that the extra aging has improved the taste of the wine.

Banfi Wines

05/24/2016

Castello Banfi sits proud south of Montalcio

Most of you know of my love for all things Banfi…be it the food, the castello, the borgo, the people, or the wine…they are all magnificent! In the article titled, “Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi” you will get the full extent of what Banfi has to offer.

In the mid ‘70s, with earnings from their very successful importation of Riunite wines (remember, ‘Riunite on ice, that’s nice!’ commercials?), Brothers John and Harry Mariani went to Italy in search of the perfect place to start their own winery business…a business which has become an empire in the wine world.

A wine tasting is the best way to decide on your wine purchase

The prominent grape of the estate is Sangiovese, the same grape (among others) that is made into Chianti wine. But here, the wine of fame is Banfi’s Brunello. And then, Brunello isn’t the only wine made by the Mariani family, and you will find a good many of them available in the enoteca of the castello…like these that we tasted whilst there.

I don’t use the word ‘castello’ (i.e. castle) lightly. Yes, the estate is centered around a castello sitting atop a scenic hilltop, as seen in the painting, above. And within that castello, you will find Il Borgo Banfi (the hotel). I can’t recommend a stay at this lovely, peaceful place enough. We have such great memories of our time there. And, who wouldn’t appreciate just a wee bit of time away from wine tasting, sitting poolside in the Tuscan countryside? We certainly did…and to prove it, I’m sure you recognize Ellen’s toes in this photo.

Enjoying Your Italy-Bought Wine

02/02/2017

This article isn’t about a specific winery or wine type, though one does play heavily into the article. It is about spending a day being just a bit naughty, not doing anything other than relaxing and enjoying a bottle of wine that you purchased during one of your trips to Italy.

In this article titled, “Enjoying Your Italy-Bought Wine”, before we get to the wine that we sipped before a fire on a cold, winter day, you get the back story in the purchase of the wine.

There is the story of lunch at a fabulous restaurant in Radda in Chianti.

Then there’s the post-lunch drive on a Google-assured road that wasn’t much of a road after all.

And finally, we arrive for a wine tasting that turned to wine buying.

Ahhh, it was such a great day of enjoyment…both the day in Italy, and then the day at home, lounging away the day in our jammies. Give it a try…you’ll like it.

In addition to some of our favorite memories, this day’s activities led me to taking probably my favorite of all Italy photos, shown just below. The Tuscan countryside, just after an afternoon shower. Magnifico!

By the way, that same day in Italy led to these articles, also: Get Lost!, and Wild-Goose Chase. I hope you enjoy these two articles, too…it was a fun, frustrating, and then an interesting day.

Taking a Guided Winery Tour

09/03/2019

OK, first of all, who wouldn’t want to take a guided winery tour with Matteo? Right, ladies?

Beyond that, I can assure both male and female alike that getting around to the wineries of an area of Italy with a local, knowledgeable guide, is the way to go.

Our wine-travelling day with Matteo was spent in the Langhe area of Piemonte, in the heart of the Barolo wine area. If you plan to do a bit of wine tasting in Italy, you will find guides like Matteo (well, maybe not exactly like Matteo) throughout the Italian wine area.

Our first stop of the day was at the Aurelio Settimo winery. Here, Laura showed us both the traditional oak casks, as well as our first sighting of a glass-lined, concrete casks. Usage depends on the wine you are making, and the flavor you want to impart in that wine.

Next up was the DaMilano winery. Well, we didn’t actually tour the winery, but we spent a good bit of time, and money, at the DaMilano enoteca, where Alicia helped us sip and purchase. And, we were very pleased to find that DaMilano also produces the white wine called Arneis, which we had fallen in love with in the town of Nieve.

Next up was the Schiavenza winery. Here, Matteo’s buddy Waldo produces great wine in small quantiles. And, what’s Leslie measuring in the photo? Waldo had just told us how the casks were cleaned after being emptied. He says that he climbs through that little arched opening and brushes and hoses out the casks…and he wasn’t kidding.

And finally, we ended our day at the Giovanni Rosso winery. Here we had another new experience in wine tasting. Not only did we taste wine from the Giovanni Rosso bottles in their tasting room, but Francesca also tapped right into one of the wine casks for our tasting enjoyment…enjoyment you can see here on the faces of Matteo and Craig.

I neglected to tell you that we had a mid-day lunch at Trattoria Schiavenza. Sitting on the terrazza, we spent a bit of time with watercolors, painting the beautiful Piemonte-Langhe countryside.

Going to Italy? Going to taste a bit of wine? Check out Taking a Guided Winery Tour.

Renato Ratti Winery

09/17/2019

If you want to visit a winery that is state of the art…both in design and in presentation, then you definitely need to visit the Renato Ratti Winery.

Your entrance to the green-roofed Renato Ratti winery

First of all, the winery has been placed carefully into a hillside below the town of La Mora, where an environmentally-friendly green roof and gravity-fed winery have been expertly accomplished.

Next, you will find one of the most creative of winery introductions in a video developed by Pietro Ratti that is both fun and informative.

Christine takes us deep in the cellars of Renato Ratti winery

Then, take the tour of the wine making facility below you, deep down in the hillside.

Next, let Christine lead you through a series of vintage Barolo wines, where you can stick your nose in a glass and taste great wines. This way, you get to see how the ‘nose’, tannins, taste, and color change over time as a wine ages in-bottle. By the way, it changes in a good way! At least for Barolo wines.

And, note the view from the tasting room…probably the most magnificent in all of Italy as it frames the vines of the Nebbiolo grapes.

Finally, snap a photo with your hostess Christine, and engaging owner, Pietro Ratti.

Allegrini Winery

01/07/2020

It’s time to learn about appassimento! And where better than at the Allegrini Winery? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way, as there is no better answer than at Allegrini.

The Villa della Allegrini sits just north of Verona, in the heart of the Valpolicella area…known for both Valpolicella and Amarone wines. And, then there’s their own Palazzo della Torre wine.

Palazzo della Torre is made using the appassimento process. Appassimento means ‘withering’, and that’s what happens to some of the grapes as they are raisinated, or dried for about 3 months.

Here you can see Olmo as he describes the crappy (sorry, pardon the language) soil in which Allegrini’s grapes are grown. Mineral, rather than organics desired by most farmers, are the key to a healthy wine-making grape.

Wondering what a grape looks like during the appassimento process? Check out this photo.

Amarone wine is also made with the appassimento process. And, unlike the marvelous Brunello of Tuscany, which uses just the one Sangiovese grape, the production of Allegrini’s famous Amarone wine uses a blend of four different grapes.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a view of what I would call, ‘The King of the North’…a bottle of Amarone, lying comfortably upon a pillow of withering grapes, ready for you to gently lift it up and then savor it.

Michele Chiarlo Winery

01/21/2020

Our last winery visit will be to the Michele Chiarlo winery. Here, not only did we visit the winery, but also the vineyards.

We started at the La Court vineyard pictured above in the eastern portion of Piemonte. Beautiful, isn’t it?

We met Alberto at the vineyards, where he explains the layout of the vineyard, and the importance of south- vs north-facing vines, and the compass points in between.

Then, it was on to the winery and tasting room. Leslie listens closely to find out more about their Arneis white wine. And seeing the bottling room was fascinating.

DOCG, DOC, IGT & DOG

11/17/2020

The most recent article concerning Italian wines dealt with government-issued geographic and quality guarantees.

The importance of these designations is one of quality control…Italy doesn’t want inferior wines being produced that would lower the already very-high bar of Italian wines. Thus, the governments involvement in the wines produced in Italy.

As this was recently published in November, I will assume that you read DOCG, DOC, IGT & DOG in the very serious state of mind in which government decrees should be carefully examined…so I won’t dwell on it here.

That’s it for today. Is that bottle empty, yet? No? Then get back to work on it! Meanwhile, I’ll cover the multitude of wine-producing grapes of Italy soon.

In closing, here is a toast of San Angelo Pinot Grigio from Banfi. This toast is to your continued health in 2021, and to your successful exit from 2020. Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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102 Blog Articles...But Who's Counting?

Index of Articles

That’s right…102! I had no idea that I had put out over 100 blog articles until I counted them this week. I’ve really been a bit chatty, haven’t I?!

I have enjoyed every minute in the production of these articles, mostly about my favorite place — Italy. ‘Why do you do this?’, you ask. Because I want you to be stimulated through my writing and photos to visit Italy yourself. And, as an added benefit, I get to travel voyeuristically along the way as I write and go through photos from great times gone by.

“I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way”

Italy is a place with beautiful scenery highlighted by mountains, plains, coastlines and lakes…a prolific history of art and culture (I know that you’ve heard of Michelangelo and the Roman Empire)…vineyards and their wineries producing the world’s best wines, like Brunello…authentic (it has to be, right?) Italian food…and a loving, smiling, happy people.

Today, I thought I would give you of my ‘Top 10’ articles. I’ve categorized them into ‘Visiting a Particular Place’, ‘Experiences We’ve Enjoyed’ {that you would, too), and ‘Helpful Travel Tips”. These are my favorites because of memories of the times and places involved, be they humorous, joy-filled, frustrating, or whatever — or because I felt that they were particularly informative in preparation for your own upcoming Italy trip.

If one of the descriptions catches your eye, go ahead and link to the article so that you can enjoy a small slice of Italy, too.

[OK, I have a confession to make. There are actually 12 articles listed below…I just couldn’t pare it down to 10…sorry about that]

Each listing below has a clickable bolded heading that takes you to the original article.

Visiting A Particular Place

Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi

A beautiful Tuscan day at the Banfi pool

This article lays out for you the full Banfi experience that you will just have to live through yourself one day. We’ve visited the Castello Banfi twice and found the experience to be absolutely wonderful. The tour of the Banfi winery is outstanding. And then there is the Castello Banfi itself…a must see, as well as a must stay. Dining? Yes, you have your choice of the informal La Taverna, as well as the fabulous La Sala dei Grappoli. The enoteca where you can taste and then purchase wine? The largest and most beautiful we’ve seen — and we’ve seen many. Published on May 24, 2016.

A Visit to Villa Cimbrone

The view along the walk from Ravello to Villa Cimbrone

If you will be visiting the Amalfi coast, with its breathtaking mountainous backdrop, you absolutely need to journey up those mountains to the the town of Ravello. It sits high above the town of Amalfi and has spectacular views from the Belvedere. The gardens are charming and there are several restaurants between the town and the Cimbrone Gardens from which to choose, like our selection, Il Flauto di Pan. Published June 7, 2016.

Renato Ratti Winery

Talk about a fabulous and unique winery and visit thereto! This Piemonte winery has been environmentally inserted into the side of the hill upon which the town of La Mora sits. Gravity provides an energy-saving way to transport the developing wine from vinification to storage. The grape of this Piemonte winery is the Nebbiolo and their top wine is Barolo, of course. Our tasting was of vintage Barolo wines going as far back as 1998, which gave us a personal and up-close education on a wine’s tannin, fruit and color over time. Published September 17, 2019.

Stay Here: Borgo San Felice

There is a beautiful place to stay and eat in the heart of Tuscany, and it is the Borgo San Felice. A friend had stayed here and highly recommended it…we are glad he did! The owners basically purchased a small Tuscan town and converted it into a marvelous resort hotel experience. From the ancient chapel to the modern swimming pool, we enjoyed it all during our two visits there. And the food of their Ristorante Poggio Rosso was delicious, whether at breakfast or dinner. Published January 12, 2016.

Stumbling Upon Something Magnificent

Just what was it that we stumbled upon? It was a church sitting high on a hillside overlooking Lago Lugano, just west of Lago di Como. Oh how dumbstruck we were when we opened the doors of the church of Albogasio Inferiore in the small, lakeside town of Albogasio-oria. They say that one can’t judge a book by its cover, and that goes too for churches. The inside has beautifully painted fresco walls and ceilings, as well as other gorgeous ornamentation. Published July 28, 2015.

Experiences We’ve Enjoyed

One Fine Day

The setting is the Amalfi Coast. The conveyance was a 38’ Itama boat, captained by a friendly Gian-Carlo. The day was wonderful. This is the quintessential way to see the Amalfi Coast — by boat. We cruised in luxury with prosecco in hand. We swam the White and Green Grottos. We dined waterside on the Isle of Capri. And every bit of this day was perfect. Published September 29, 2015.

Enjoying Italy-Bought Wine

It’s strange how certain things can trigger memories of the past. We had that experience one lazy day…and those memories were certainly fond ones. What was it that triggered these great memories? It was wine, of all things. It was a wine that we had tasted at lunch in Radda in Chianti and one that we subsequently purchased at a winery in Tuscany. The setting for this article is our living room…in front of a roaring fire…with good book in one hand and a good wine in the other. Published February 2, 2017.

Wild Goose Chase

I’ve chased a wild goose or two, and I’m sure that you have, too. This incident relates to the day we bought a nice wine, as discussed in the article just above. We were on our way to a highly praised dinner…as praised on Trip Advisor. What we found when we arrived at the very small hilltown of Poggio alla Croce was an unexpected mystery. We had a reservation that I had managed to pull off in Italian…at least I thought I had. Find out what happened and how our evening managed to end. Published February 2, 2016.

Your Romantic Gondola Ride

If you’ve been to Venice and you haven’t ridden in a gondola, then you haven’t really been to Venice. The ubiquitous gondola is the iconic symbol of Venice. Your gondola experience should be a romantic one. This means that there is a certain time for your ride…a time that is best for reasons more than just romance. And, as each time has its place, I give you a suggestion on the best place to start (and end) your ride. Published July 12, 2016.

Helpful Travel Tips

Getting There: Bellagio

Bellagio is undoubtedly the most charming town we have visited, and its important how you get there! It sits on the end of a peninsula on Lake Como. You can auto there, but the road is twisty-turny and you may arrive with a bit of fuzzy brain. You can arrive by train…kind of…at least you will be close, but will require a ferry ride from Varenna. And you can arrive by boat…but not just any boat. You definitely don’t want the hydrofoil. What you want is the slow boat from the town of Como. It’s a slow ride and it is absolutely beautiful. Published August 2, 2016.

Another Way Into Italy

Of course you can fly directly to Italy, but there is a way that you might find to be a lot more fun…and relaxing. Why not start your Italy adventure in Switzerland?! You start in Zurich and take one of three trains into Italy. That has been our favorite way because it is a fabulous way to overcome your jet lag…as well as seeing the beautiful Swiss countryside. Published July 30, 2019.

Please, Thank You, and Where's the Bathroom

Don't let the fear of not knowing the Italian language keep you from Italy. Our experience has shown that for most of the places that we go (i.e. not too far off the beaten path), English is well spoken. I do recommend the joy of giving Italian a try, as it’s kind of fun to order a light breakfast by saying, “Pane tostata con burro e marmellata di arance”. But for sure, don’t let the lack of parlando Italiano keep you from Italy. Published August 14, 2016.

Now you know what I know — that being that the above are my favorite article posts. Trust me when I say that it was super difficult to pare them down to those twelve.

I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way. If a trip to Italy is in your future…and I certainly hope it is…then the article ‘A Trip to Italy in Your Future? Read On!’ is a guide to using the Index of Articles to help you plan for your trip.

And, I really would love to see you there in beautiful Italy! But, in the meantime…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Driving a Car in Italy - Part 1

Index of Articles

This is a big topic…with lots to cover. So, I’m breaking it into two articles.

“All fines are passed from the rental companies to the renter, sometimes after a year”

Part 1 will treat the issue of whether to rent a car, or not…with emphasis on what you can expect if you choose to drive. I asked a couple of friends who have lived in Italy for many years, and who have experienced much in their driving throughout Italy, to give us the benefit of their knowledge. You will find that knowledge, below.

Part 2 will assume that you’ve decided to rent a car, and will cover the rules of the road in Italy, as they are a bit different. This includes the best rental opportunities, licensing requirements, GPS vs Google Maps, Ferries, traffic signs, etc.

In both Parts, I have included photos with captions, which will give you an idea of what we have experienced as we have driven through Italy.

So, let’s start with…

Do You Need to Rent a Car?

We’ve explored Italy completely by train. It’s fun, economical and generally convenient. Can you get everywhere? No, but you can get fairly close to everywhere…but don’t then expect to get an Uber to your agriturismo lodging or small Tuscan village rental.

“If you will be finding yourself in the bigger cities getting culturated, and you have little time or interest in visiting the countryside, I would say that you should absolutely not rent a car…”

For example, let’s say you are in Firenze (Florence) and want to get to Castello Banfi in southern Tuscany, which we highly recommend (see Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi). You would take a train from Firenze, arriving Siena, and then continue your trip to the small town…extremely small town…a community mostly…well, mostly just a train station - of Monte Antico. Though you can see Castello Banfi sitting on a hilltop just 2 miles away, you would be faced with a circuitous 3-1/2 hour walk unless you crossed over the Fiume Ombrone (river) via a train bridge, which one should absolutely not try. And, seeing as how Fiume Ombrone translates to ‘River of Shadows’, it sounds a bit ominous just thinking about it! So, going to Castello Banfi? Rent a car.

But, there is often bus service to get you to a destination away from a train station, like the bus from the train-accessible-from-Florence Poggibonsi train station to not-to-be-missed San Gimignano…we’ve done it and it was no problem.

This is me driving the main street into beautiful Bellagio….super narrow, and yes, it is the main street

And then again, we’ve explored Italy almost completely by rental car. I say ‘almost’ because we generally rent a car just for certain portions of our journey. When we’ve gone the rental route, we’ve had no problems…at least no significant problems. And using our family mantra of ‘tragedy plus time equals comedy’ we can now laugh about the times when things weren’t going peachy keen.

Only in a rental can you get onto beaten paths like this one

If you will be finding yourself in the bigger cities getting culturated, and you have little time or interest in visiting the countryside, I would say that you should absolutely not rent a car…it is much more trouble than not.

However, if you want to visit the remote, charming, historic, off-the-beaten-path, rural, wine-producing, quaint, pastoral, quiet, dreamy, absolutely lovely parts of Italy, then a rental car is just the thing.

HIRING A CAR WITH DRIVER FOR THE DAY: However, let me say here that if you just want to leave the city for one day of adventure (e.g. leaving Firenze [Florence] to explore the charms of Tuscany for only the day), then hiring a car with driver works well. Just do an internet search for ‘car tours’ like this one for Tuscany.

OK, You’ve Made Your Decision to Drive

What can you expect if you decide to drive in Italy? Let’s let a couple of friends give us some pointers. Pam and Elizabeth have lived and driven in Italy for many years. Pam since 1978, and Elizabeth has lived there for over 37 years. They love Italy, its lifestyle, the wine (especially!), and people. With some basic information and the benefit of their own experiences, they feel that you can do well if you give it a go.

So, below are Italy-driving tips from two seasoned drivers, as well as my own limited experiences. Their tips are shown in “quoted bold Italics”.

[By the way, this sloping type called ‘Italics’ is called such because it was introduced in Italy in 1501 by Aldus Manutius, a Venetian printer, when he printed his edition of Virgil]

Staying One Step Ahead of the Law

So, you thought you got out of Italy without being fined for your driving habits? “All fines are passed from the rental companies to the renter, sometimes after a year.” Yes, your rental car company is obligated to pass on your personal information to the policing authorities. We had just such a parking ticket experience which will be related a bit further below.

How Fast Can/Should You Drive?

KPH VS MPH: First, remember that speed limits are posted in kilometers per hour (kph), rather than miles per hour (mph). A sign indicating a speed limit of ‘80’ means 80kph, or about 50mph, and not 80mph. A quick mental multiplication of 80kph x 0.6 gives you a good approximation of the speed in mph.

The sign to the right is an Italian speed limit sign. This one is for…you tell me…how many mph can you drive…legally?

Speed Traps

“Fixed speed cameras have to be announced with road signs indicating “controllo elettronico della velocità” (‘electronic speed control’). There’s not much excuse for getting caught is there, as they give you fair warning. But, are you looking for speed-trap warnings, or are you looking at that beautiful row of cypress winding its way up the drive to that hillside palazzo?

This sign says, “Traffic police, electronic speed control”. Just like for heart disease, look for the warning signs!

But, how about those Italian drivers, themselves? “They are very frightened of getting points on their license for speeding, but they know where every electronic speed trap is and the quickly apply their brakes when approaching one.”

And, don’t think you know where every speeding camera is located, as there are mobile speed cameras. However, “Mobile speed cameras used by the police have to be announced also with road signs”. So, one must remain vigilant! The best way to not get caught speeding is to not speed…right?

But wait, there’s more! The other speed trap is the Sistema tutor, or Tutor System. This complicated system records your license plate number, and then “two speed machines clock the time it takes between the machines to calculate average speed” from two places along the autostrada (more on the Italian autostrada in the upcoming Driving in Italy - Part 2).

Parking

Arrgh! Parking can be such a pain! But, here’s a helpful tip for finding a place to park your rental: “Yellow parking spaces are for residents, blue spaces are subject to payment and white spaces are free.”

VERY LIMITED PARKING: Parking is a great reason to not rent a car in a metropolitan area…whether a major one or a very small one. Many roads in Italy were laid out centuries ago and parking was not something of concern at that time.

Some smaller towns do not allow un-permitted vehicles in their centro storico (historic town center) because of vary narrow streets (see ‘No-Go Zones’ below).

In some of the very small hill towns, there just physically isn’t room to park, and you park at an edge-of-town parking lot and walk into town. Many Italian towns are still walled cities, which are surrounded by large, protective walls with narrow portals here-and-there through which you must pass through by foot or you must have a vehicle permit.

HOW TO PAY IN A PARKING GARAGE: In Siena, for instance, there are large multi-level parking garages outside the walls of the city where you park your car. We learned after thirty minutes of backing up, going the wrong way on ramps, and getting out of the car to illegally lift drop-down gates to drive under them, that you use your machine-dispensed ticket received as you enter the parking structure to pay at a kiosk before you get in your car to leave. Ahhh, so that’s how you do it!

Google Map showing Parking locations in centro Verona

MAP HELP: Using Google Maps, you can zoom in on a city and type ‘parking’ into the search bar and see parking opportunities displayed, like this one for Verona. Though we did have to bypass two full lots before we were able to find one with availability, the map helped, especially with the display of one-way streets. And, using the ‘Directions’ function of the map, we were taken right to the lots going the correct way down the myriad of one-way streets.

DIGITAL PARKING: In Asti, we were directed to download the ‘Asti Parcheggi’ app to park on the street, in lieu of their use of parking meters. These are the blue painted spots mentioned above.

Small town polizia scoring a parking violation

DAUNTING PARKING: In Rome, parking our car at the Hotel Campo de Fiore was something I refused to do. They have arrangements to park cars in a garage a block away and the tunnel-like entrance was so narrow that I insisted that the garage attendant do the parking. He had no problem, and I had no problem with the glass of wine while he was doing it. And folding in the side mirrors was a necessity.

LOOK FOR THE SIGNS: Look for ‘no parking’ signs, which are a red circle on a blue field with a red slash, like this one. Wouldn’t it be more intuitive if there were a white ‘P’ included on that field of blue, under the slash? We saw these signs all over in Italian towns thinking that it was saying ‘do not enter’…but then again, we’ve been wrong about a lot of things before.

Here are some more parking related signs. (from left to right) Applicable 24hrs-a-Day; Applicable for Specific Hours; Parking Ahead to the Right; Detailed Hours of No Parking and Parking

A PARKING ANECDOTE: Arriving at the Hotel Convento in Amalfi, having driven the torturous Amalfi road, there was no place to park in front of said hotel. The Hotel Convento is up the side of the mountain a few hundred feet and there is no pullout in front of the hotel’s small street level elevator lobby. The bellman who came out said, “Just leave it there, I’ll park it for you later”. So, there it sat in the westbound lane of the two lane road along the Amalfi coast. The Italian drivers just drove around our car as if it wasn’t even there blocking the road…that’s just the way it’s done along the Amalfi coast.

That’s the just-mentioned road that you see in this photo below as Ellen takes life-in-hand to get to dinner.

Going to dinner in Amalfi…this is the main (and only) Amalfi Coast road…it is two lanes only

“Most streets have cleaning days which are posted, usually only in Italian.” Here is just such a posting. Can you figure out what it says?

Since ‘lunedì’ is Monday, and ‘venerdì’ is Friday, you best not park here on weekdays between the hours of 9:00pm and 4:00am. Otherwise, look for other signs and curb painting to see if you can park thereabouts.

PARKING TRAPS: Our friend Scott waited at the car in a pull through area for us to get our stored luggage from the Santa Maria Novella train station in Firenza (Florence). Two polizia chatted him up, let him know that he shouldn’t park there, and seemed to understand as he explained that he was waiting on his travelling companions to bring out their luggage. All seemed well, with nothing in hand, until he got a parking ticket for $220 in the mail several months later.

No-Go Zones

“All historical towns have a ZTL, zona di traffico limitato, restricted traffic areas, which are controlled by cameras.”

Do not drive in an area with a ZTL (limited traffic) sign or one marked Area Pedonale (pedestrian zones), unless you have special permission. Most cities and small towns near the centro storico (historic center) have these zones.

We had to get a permit from our hotel in San Gimignano to enter the ZTL…and we only fit through the portal by folding in the mirrors…a very tight fit! It’s kind of like getting the ship in the bottle. This is typical of the ancient walled cities wit… — We had to get a permit from our hotel in San Gimignano to enter the ZTL…and we only fit through the portal by folding in the mirrors…a very tight fit! It’s kind of like getting the ship in the bottle. This is typical of the ancient walled cities with their small, defense-minded portals.

“Access is allowed to hotels in the ZTL. The hotels have to enter the plate number into the system, otherwise there is a fine.” If your hotel is located in one of these zones (as I hope yours is, as it is more fun to stay in these historic areas than on the road leading out of town), your hotel can usually provide you with the necessary permissions– either to park, or just drop off your luggage before parking outside the ZTL. For example, in both San Gimignano and Riva del Garda, we were given a permit to drive into the ZTL to drop off luggage, but we then had to go outside the ZTL to park…repeating the process on the morning of departure.

Below you can see signage designating ZTL and pedestrian zones.

On the left is the sign to look for near the town centers. If you see this sign, don’t drive there.
In the middle we see the same sign, but with additional information. When could you drive into this zone? How about 8:00pm to 8:00am. And if you can’t read the other fine print in this sign, you’d best just not assume that it gives you special permissions to enter the ZTL.
On the right is a sign designating a pedestrian zone…like our pedestrian malls. Supplemental information suggests that there are three exceptions.

A ZTL Anecdote

For brother-in-law Craig’s birthday, we went to dinner on the shores of Lago Orta, in the town of Orta, at Locanda di Orta — we just figured that we orta do that! We drove on a road through the town that was so narrow that once again, we had to fold in the side mirrors and creep down the ‘street’.

The sign emphatically indicates (both signs actually) that going forward is a ZTL for 24 hours a day

Upon entering Piazza Mario Motta (not to be confused with Iron Chef Morimotto, by the way), we were surrounded by Saturday evening strollers with frowns on their beautiful Italian faces. One gentleman kindly informed us that “You are not supposed to drive here”. We had to backtrack down that same very skinny road to park in a lot at the edge of Orta.

What we failed to see, and what we would not have known at the time even if we had seen it, was the sign in this photo, which I have just now captured from Google street view. Plain as day, there’s a ZTL sign — two actually — prominently displayed. And, see the camera on the pole in the upper left…this was in the fall of 2018, so we may still get a ticket in the mail!

Google now tells us to avoid driving into lakeside Orta

We had used Google maps to plan our route to the restaurant, located just off of previously mentioned Piazza Mario Motta and we faithfully followed it to our Saturday-evening doom.

Now, I can see that said Google map actually indicates that you should not be driving along the route designated, where it plainly says (in Italian), “Start of Limited Traffic Zone”. Live and learn…and now, you’ve learned!

This ZTL in Riva del Garda was accessible with our rental for check in and check out…the car was then lodged in a parking garage

Summary

Now you have some idea of what it would be like to drive in Italy, thanks to two, seasoned, long-time Italy residents.

I hope we haven’t scared you off of the idea, because that is the only way you will see some magnificent countryside. Just learn a few important signs and stay within the speed limit…in kph…and you will do admirably.

In the next installment of Driving a Car in Italy, I will assume that you’ve decided to give driving a try, and I’ll give you some tips on car rental, maps, ferries, permits and other things to make your journey more enjoyable.

A special thanks to Pam and Elizabeth for their insight. Pam Mariani and her husband John’s family moved to Italy in the 1970s to start a wine producing business just south of Montalcino, Tuscany…the home of Brunello wines. Their pioneering adventure paid off and Banfi is now one of the largest wine producing companies in the world. Elizabeth Koenig has faithfully served as Banfi’s Hospitality Project Director since 1982…hospitality that we have experienced and enjoyed first hand.

As you drive those charming Tuscan roads, if you hear a honking horn behind you as you negotiate a narrow curve in the road, that will be me letting you know that I want to pass…just like an Italian!!!

Ciao for now,

Steve

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