Slow trip
21 slow days of food and wine: Vietri sul Mare, Siracusa, Bardolino, Imola, and Grosseto
Spring arrives differently in each of Italy's five wine and food regions, and this itinerary moves through them in April and May when new wines are still settling in the barrel, olive oil from the previous harvest lingers in kitchen bowls, and the season's first vegetables have just begun their push through restaurant kitchen doors. From the ceramicists of Vietri sul Mare down the Amalfi coast to the baroque towns around Siracusa, then north through the Veneto's lake country and across to Emilia-Romagna's flatlands before ending in Tuscany's maremma hills, the route traces wine and agriculture as a geography, not a checklist. Each base town sits close enough to smaller communes to be walked to in an afternoon, where you'll find the cooking that feeds locals rather than tourists.
21 days · April or May · food & wine-first · easy walking
Vietri sul Mare
Vietri sul Mare, 9 days
Base yourself in Vietri sul Mare and make these your day trips.
5 towns · qualifying pool of 26 from 46 candidates
Coastal towns in the provinces of Napoli and Salerno. Limone Costa d'Amalfi IGP, UNESCO listed, and wine territory.
Getting around
Rent a car for this corner. Vietri sul Mare, your base, is on the rail network. Only 1 of the 5 towns have a railway station; the day trips assume driving.
While you're there
- Pompei — Festa della Madonna del Rosario di Pompei (Supplica), MayMay 8 and first Sunday of October worldwide noon recitation of Bartolo Longo's Supplica at the Marian sanctuary founded in 1876.
- Amalfi — Regata Storica delle Antiche Repubbliche Marinare, MayHistorical regatta and parade rotating between Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice commemorating medieval maritime rivalries.
Day 1 · Arrive in Vietri sul Mare
Settle in. Vietri sul Mare is your base for the next 9 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Pompei
First outing. Head to Pompei for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Vietri sul Mare for dinner.
Day 3 · Day trip to Ravello
Out again, this time to Ravello. Same rhythm: leave after breakfast, return for evening in Vietri sul Mare.
Day 4 · Day trip to Amalfi
Out again, this time to Amalfi. Same rhythm: leave after breakfast, return for evening in Vietri sul Mare.
Day 5 · Day trip to Furore
Out again, this time to Furore. Same rhythm: leave after breakfast, return for evening in Vietri sul Mare.
Day 6 · Day trip to Positano
Last day trip in this corner, to Positano. Make a day of it, then back to Vietri sul Mare.
Day 7 · Day in Vietri sul Mare
A slower day. Stay in Vietri sul Mare. Walk side streets, find the market, take a long lunch.
Day 8 · Day in Vietri sul Mare
A slower day. Stay in Vietri sul Mare. Walk side streets, find the market, take a long lunch.
Day 9 · Day in Vietri sul Mare
A slower day. Stay in Vietri sul Mare. Walk side streets, find the market, take a long lunch.
Siracusa
Siracusa, 4 days
Base yourself in Siracusa and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 11 from 26 candidates
Coastal towns in the provinces of Siracusa, Catania, and Messina. UNESCO listed and historic city centers.
Getting around
Siracusa, your base, is on the rail network. 3 of the 4 towns in this corner have a railway station, so a car-free version of this corner is realistic. Check Trenitalia timetables before you commit a day: rural frequencies run thin, especially on Sundays.
Your timing
April and May sits in this corner's best window: open, temperate, and short of the crowd months.
While you're there
- Noto — Infiorata di Noto, MayFive-day third-weekend-of-May flower-petal carpet art along Via Corrado Nicolaci using 400,000 petals, with Baroque costume procession and parallel Primavera Barocca events.
Day 1 · Arrive in Siracusa
Settle in. Siracusa is your base for the next 4 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Noto
First outing. Head to Noto for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Siracusa for dinner.
Day 3 · Day trip to Catania
Out again, this time to Catania. Same rhythm: leave after breakfast, return for evening in Siracusa.
Day 4 · Day trip to Lipari
Last day trip in this corner, to Lipari. Make a day of it, then back to Siracusa.
Bardolino
Bardolino, 2 days
Base yourself in Bardolino and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 7 from 14 candidates
Lakeside towns in the provinces of Verona and Trento. olive oil country and wine territory.
Getting around
Rent a car for this corner. Bardolino, your base, is on the rail network. Only 1 of the 4 towns have a railway station; the day trips assume driving.
Your timing
April and May sits in this corner's best window: open, temperate, and short of the crowd months.
Day 1 · Arrive in Bardolino
Settle in. Bardolino is your base for the next 2 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Brenzone sul Garda
First outing. Head to Brenzone sul Garda for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Bardolino for dinner.
More options in this corner
Malcesine
Province: Verona
The northernmost Veneto town on Lake Garda, where Goethe was nearly arrested for sketching the Castello Scaligero in September 1786.
Picked for: food and wine · lakeside
Trento
Province: Trento
The Alpine capital on the Adige at 194 metres, where the Council that reshaped the Catholic Church met in a castle still standing above the city.
Picked for: food and wine · plain
Riva del Garda
Province: Trento
The north tip of the lake at 73 metres, where the Trentino mountains close in on the water and a Habsburg port town stayed bilingual into the twentieth century.
Picked for: food and wine · lakeside
Imola
Imola, 3 days
Base yourself in Imola and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 8 from 23 candidates
Coastal towns in the provinces of Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara. UNESCO listed and Bandiera Blu coast.
Getting around
Imola, your base, is on the rail network. 4 of the 4 towns in this corner have a railway station, so a car-free version of this corner is realistic. Check Trenitalia timetables before you commit a day: rural frequencies run thin, especially on Sundays.
While you're there
- Ravenna — Ravenna Festival, MayMay-to-July festival of opera, symphonic music, dance, theatre and jazz founded 1990 by Cristina Mazzavillani Muti, with Riccardo Muti's regular appearances.
- Cervia — Sposalizio del Mare, MayAscension Day reenactment since 1445 where the bishop throws a ring into the sea to calm storms, marking the salt-harvest opening.
- Ferrara — Palio di Ferrara, MayWorld's oldest palio, codified in 1279, run on the last Sunday of May in Piazza Ariostea with four races: boys, girls, donkeys and horses, between the eight contrade.
Day 1 · Arrive in Imola
Settle in. Imola is your base for the next 3 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Ravenna
First outing. Head to Ravenna for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Imola for dinner.
Day 3 · Day trip to Cervia
Last day trip in this corner, to Cervia. Make a day of it, then back to Imola.
More options in this corner
Sasso Marconi
Province: Bologna
A 128-meter pre-Apennine town at the confluence of the Setta and Reno, renamed in 1938 for the radio pioneer whose family estate stands in its Pontecchio frazione.
Picked for: food and wine · plain
Ferrara
Province: Ferrara
A Renaissance capital planned on a grid rather than grown by accident, small enough to cross by bicycle in twenty minutes, and ringed by walls that still stand whole.
Picked for: food and wine · plain · Palio di Ferrara, May
Grosseto
Grosseto, 4 days
Base yourself in Grosseto and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 12 from 58 candidates
Coastal towns in the provinces of Grosseto, Pisa, and Livorno. wine territory, olive oil country, and Spighe Verdi.
Getting around
Grosseto, your base, is on the rail network. 3 of the 4 towns in this corner have a railway station, so a car-free version of this corner is realistic. Check Trenitalia timetables before you commit a day: rural frequencies run thin, especially on Sundays.
While you're there
- Massa Marittima — Balestro del Girifalco, MayTwice-yearly crossbow contest (fourth Sunday of May and 14 August) between the three Terzieri with medieval parade and flag-wavers in Piazza Garibaldi.
Day 1 · Arrive in Grosseto
Settle in. Grosseto is your base for the next 4 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Massa Marittima
First outing. Head to Massa Marittima for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Grosseto for dinner.
Day 3 · Day trip to Piombino
Out again, this time to Piombino. Same rhythm: leave after breakfast, return for evening in Grosseto.
Day 4 · Day trip to Castagneto Carducci
Last day trip in this corner, to Castagneto Carducci. Make a day of it, then back to Grosseto.
More options in this corner
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