custom travel itineraries to italy

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CUSTOM TRAVEL ITINERARY TO ITALY – click here!

($200 for a basic TRAVEL ITINERARY)

CUSTOM TAILORED ITINERARY:

$300.00 – 5 days  /   $600.00 – 10 days  /  $900.00 – 15 days

(other prices can be customized in choose your own package, contact me at: rebecca@romepix.com)

A custom Itinerary: example: 5 days / $300 : Multiple cities, resorts, hotels, any time frame, focus on specific interests and pursuits, tailor made precisely to your tastes and desires. One hour phone or Skype consultation is available by request, but there are unlimited email questions and requests which tend to satisfy most trip goals. Whatever you prefer. I can design your DREAM TRIP TO ITALY. (Rome – with Daytrips).

(including the general:) cross section travel itinerary for Italy including Rome, Florence, Venice, Capri and Amalfi Coast, Naples and Campania and Sorrento, and 4 day trips per city!

What to do, see, eat, drink, and where to stay on trips designed for: 24 hours, 1-2 days, 3 days, 5 days. 7 days, 10 days, 2 weeks, and longer.

Art and museum and architecture recommendations: what villas, buildings, and churches to visit for architecture, art masterpieces like Caravaggio and less well known works, Latin masses, Byzantine decor, choral recitals, special holiday galas, masses in a variety of languages, hidden histories of patron saints, churches built on top of ancient Roman and Etruscan ruins, Gothic churches, and major pilgrimage sites.

How to get past ALL the lines in Rome and Florence for museums.

The five museums in Rome you cannot skip!!

Best times to visit the cities versus the seaside spots.

How to walk the 3000 year old pathway of Classical Antiquity in one day in Rome.

The BEST ROMAN (AND GREEK!) RUINS in ITALY (especially in Rome) in fascinating, historical detail with maps, and a clearcut and fascinating set of walking tours through Pompeii!

Secret spots of Roman Emperors on beautiful islands.

For every budget: Hotels, air bnbs, apartments, rental villas, convents and monasteries for pilgrims, and hostels!

Slow Food Italy: eat authentic Italian cuisine by region, eat seasonally, what wines to drink where and when, the best gelato, cocktails in Rome and Naples, the best cafes in Rome, Florence, and Naples. Best seafood, best chocolates, top ten tea rooms in Italy. How to drink Italian wine and order any local dish with confidence in Rome. Shopping for deals for made in Italy bonafide artisan goods, olive oils, spices, pastas, and more. The best desserts and the best pizza in Napoli. How to get Neapolitan pizza in Rome cooked in a 500 year old oven. The local watering holes and bookshops and supermercatos – for half the cost of tourist spots. How to break your cafe bill in half like a local. FRUGAL BUDGET TRAVEL that is elegant and authentic!

30 best spots to photograph Romantic Rome and top five spots to watch the sunset. Photography tips for capturing the beauty and color of Rome. Swimming day trips from Rome and Naples. Shopping artisan goods: gourmet foods, wines, liquors, sandals and shoes, fashion, hand painted tiles, coffee beans, art, perfume, monastic and convent handmade products, spice markets, cooking schools, souvenirs and mementos. Limoncello and vineyard visits.

Easy to follow, informative, beauty-focused historical art walks of Italy.

Literary and cinematic fun and glamorous mini-tours of Rome, Florence, and Campania.

Top ten in depth profiles of the best villa art museums with museum cafe reviews and garden walks.

Top ten fountain hopping romantic walks at night in Rome.

Tons of events and easy to navigate for mums and dads with babies and children in the Family Guide To Italy.

A respectful and realistic guide to traveling in style and comfort in Italy with physical disabilities.

The Elder guide to traveling in Italy during your Golden Years.

How to see Italy solo (safely and with fulfilling solitary and group ideas).

How to see the big things in Rome and throw in a few off the beaten path sightseeing (and eating) without exhausting yourself.

The honeymooners and lovers romantic itinerary.

Students in Italy (how to get cultured and still have fun AND stay safe while you study in the beautiful country of Italy).

Green eco travel! Hikers and swimmers and nature lover things to do and experience.

(Major and minor) food allergies and sober travelers: the most in depth guide you can find on how to eat and drink beautifully and healthfully in Italy in any city or town without getting sick or centering a trip around alcohol. Support group meetings, 12 steps, and recovery guides, medical contacts, recommended doctors and psychologists and help lines in Italy.

Historical Italy: Etruscans, Romans, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Counter Reformation, Romantic Poets and Artists Era, Victorian, Fascist Era, 1950s/1960s renaissance, Modern 21st Century Italy.

Holidays in Rome.

Seasonal delights and attractions.

The most up to date information on Holidaying in Rome.

Pilgrimages. Sojourns. Art meccas. Study art in a workshop at the Florence School of Academic Art. Take a cooking class. Go to a vineyard and attend a wine tasting. Attend a classic music concert on a rooftop designed by Borromini, overlooking the Bernini fountains and cupolas of the ancient Piazza Navona or attend an intimate opera performance in a room full of Caravaggios. Follow the footsteps of the English and German Romantics. Take architectural walking and driving tours.

Maps and many images to utilize to make your holiday to Italy fun, easy, off the beaten path, and unforgettable!

And much much much more! email rebecca@romepix.com for questions.

“Chasing Beauty In Italy”

My “Chasing Beauty In Italy” BOOK

(The Second Edition, 2019 is available now!)

purchase here:
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THIS IS MY LOVE LETTER TO ITALY

(& to beauty, art, history, architecture, nature, slow travel, cuisine, & Romanticism!)

My bestselling travel book “Chasing Beauty In Italy”

NOW THE UPDATED SECOND EDITION FOR 2019 WITH 50 ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS, MEMORIES, MEMORIAL STORIES, ROMAN AND ART HISTORY, (CAFÉ, RESTAURANT, and ROMANTIC WALKS OF Rome GUIDE), EXPANDED MUSEUMS GUIDE, CINEMA AND TV IN FLORENCE, AND MUCH MUCH MORE.

THE TYPE SETTING AND THE ART AND DESIGN OF THE BOOK HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REVAMPED TO FEEL LIKE AN ART BOOK GUIDE TO ITALY.

ALL BOOK PURCHASES WILL COME WITH AN EBOOK COPY AND A PDF.

PREVIOUS PURCHASES WILL BE SENT THEM THIS WEEK.

PLEASE NOTE: THE BOOKS SECOND EDITIONS ARE AT THE PRINTERS AND WILL BE SHIPPED OUT LATE NEXT WEEK FROM THE PUBLISHERS.

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CHASING BEAUTY IN ITALY:

129 PAGES,

RICH COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS OF ITALY AND ITALIAN CULTURE:

LANDSCAPES, CAFES, RESTAURANTS, HOTELS,

SCENIC VIEWS AND HISTORICAL WALKS,

LITERARY SPOTS,

CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE,

AND SHARP ART REPRODUCTIONS

ALONG WITH TRAVEL ITINERARIES,

HISTORY, STORIES, MAPS,

AND A CULTURAL GUIDE OF OFF THE BEATEN PATH RECOMMENDATIONS –

IN BETWEEN MUSINGS AND MEMORIES OF ITALIA.

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Read BOOK SAMPLES AND EXCERPTS: https://www.romepix.com/blog/

My first novel length book on Roman Italy; exploring 20 years of love, passion, art, and loss chasing beauty in the eternal city and (all over the cultural hot spots of Italia).

ORDERS DO SHIP OUTSIDE THE US!

SHIPPING IN USA $5.00

Canada and Mexico FOR $7.00 SHIPPING FEE

EUROPE / AUSTRALIA / NZ / THE WORLD: $10.00

See and read MORE BOOK SAMPLES AND EXCERPTS here: https://www.romepix.com/blog/

for daily European Art History & Western Culture: follow me on twitter: @romepix

for more ITALY photos and books: romepix.com

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beautiful and inexpensive art prints of italy

Interested in buying any of my images of Rome or in Italy?

The site sends professional lab large prints or posters direct to you.

You can make cards & books too. http://romepix.smugmug.com

Don’t see an image you wanted? Let me know, I add daily. rebecca@romepix.com

Have a poster printed of the Eternal City Rome. The Ruins and the Roman Forum shot on fine art portra 400 film with cupolas and marble and a sweeping view of Roma. Frame or tack up a stunning 16″x 24″ inch poster at the incredible price of a mere $79-$95!

Beautiful 12″x18″ Fine Art Roman Print of Venus / Aphrodite at the Vatican Museum. This is a GORGEOUS statue. 12″x18″ Glossy Shiny Kodak Endura professional paper finish, brighter than Matte only $40 PERFECT for framing or hanging on its own as wall art.

Beautiful 8×12 Portra Fine Art Film Print of Capri from the ruins of an Emperor’s palace. 8×12 Metallic – lustrous Kodak Endura professional paper – only $18.00 or rich 8×12 Lustre, Glossy, or Matte $17-$17.50

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the wild beauty of Capri

DHyhZ37VwAA22qG.jpg-largeCapri is an island known for glamour, and while there is plenty of that in the air and along the charming pedestrian lanes of Capri Town and upper Anacapri in the haute couture shops, Grande Dame hotels, and restaurants… the true Capri is found off the beaten path wandering silent side streets and hiking in wildflower, woodsy meadows until you reach stunning 360 degree views of the cliffs below and the sea. This view above is of the famed Faraglioni Rocks; coastal and oceanic rock formation eroded for many many years by waves. Faraglioni is possibly from the Greek pharos or Latin pharus (“lighthouse”) and is correlated to the Spanish farallón. Some locals have told me it means the wild strawberry, for its similar shape to the tiny, bittersweet berry.img_1944There is a sublime pleasure in wandering around the island on your own and discovering ancient overgrown paths hinting of ancient Roman history of the Neapolitan isle. You can hike the “back way, the 19th century way” from the Villa Lysis to Tiberius’ most visited ruins, the Villa Tiberius. It is a little treacherous at times but completely satisfying to climb where many have tried before you. The clean scent of the sea is carried on the wind as is the perfume of lemon trees and bergamot and roses and freesia warming in the sun all day. capriblueThere are so many different breath taking views on Capri that I recommend staying for a few days if you can. A day trip can be a lovely experience if you retreat from the crowds and do something spontaneous and pleasurable at a slow travel pace, but nothing beats waking up hours before the day-trippers descend and exploring the magical side of this Campania treasure. Each turn is unexpected but you never feel truly lost. Unexpected joys are found in a simple moment of beauty – it transfixes and transforms your heart and even how you decipher beauty, see the world, view love, and even how you look at yourself. Have a glass of wine or tea and look at all the beauty of nature around you, and feel the timelessness of Italia, and the bittersweetness of the shortness but intensity of our own lives. Take a bite of something, share a smile with a stranger, warm your face and body under the gentle sun, and breathe it all in slowly. The days last forever here. 34

There is a wealth of natural beauty on Capri which mingles perfectly with the scattered ruins of Roman Emperor villas and important Greco Roman fragments in museum villas with enviable views in outdoor cafes and winding gardens. Have a lingering lunch of local food on Anacapri (La Rondinella has great vegetable antipasto, salads, seafood, pizzas, pasta, and wine, and is reasonably priced). Stopping at the Villa San Michele museum is wonderful and something I highly recommend. It is one of the places I am happiest in. The Villa was owned by Swedish writer and doctor Axel Munthe and you can see my tour of his gorgeous gardens and Roman marble portico. See the galleries here and here. Don’t leave the garden without looking out to the sea for one of the most beautiful views of the ocean and neighboring islands in muted greens and blues.  Not too far away is the Casa Rossa, with a 1st Century Hera statue and four ancient nymph statues from Tiberius‘ swimming cave, the Blue Grotto, where Caligula and Augustus were also purported to have swam.

Next post I’ll be writing about the Greek Revival Villa Lysis and the hike up to the Roman ruins of the Villa Jovis!

 

La Rondinella restaurant

Via Giuseppe Orlandi 295, 80071 Anacapri, Island of Capri, Italy +39 081 837 1223

Villa San Michele museum

Viale Axel Munthe, 34, 80071 Anacapri NA, Italy

La Casa Rossa museum

– Via Giuseppe Orlandi, 78, 80071 Anacapri NA, Italy

Images shot on Portra 400 analog film and Velvia film slides.

rebecca-starr butler    alovelettertorome.com / romepix.com

 

A monastery in the clouds

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One fall afternoon in Naples the clouds snuck out from behind the Pantheon-like San Francesco di Paola Church as I stood in the main square in the sunshine.

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Approaching the large, Bourbon Piazza del Plebiscito from the Santa Lucia waterfront district is one of the most dramatic views I’ve ever seen in a city. There is an old monastery on an ancient hill and from this vantage point it looks like the Certosa di San Martino is floating on clouds.

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A closer look as you come upon the piazza.

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Caffe Gambrinus (Oscar Wilde’s old haunt and one of my favorite cafe-bar-tearooms) and the gleaming dome of the Galleria Umberto I, a strikingly beautiful marble-covered shopping atrium.

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All photographs shot in Naples, Italy October 2013 and were shot on velvia 35mm film slides by Rebecca Price Butler alovelettertorome.com retrofocus@mac.com

if you find yourself in naples…

When you go to Naples, go to the top of a beautiful hill and enter the serene parco Capidimonte and stroll through large hedgerow pathways. You’ll find a glorious fountain covered in thick hanging moss and mariner figures. There is a lovely view of the hills of Naples nearby. The fountain is decaying, partly buried under the thick growth of moss and greenery. I couldn’t possibly love it more. After you wander around and linger on the grounds, go into the museum. See wonderful pantings and sculpture. Go to the second floor for the three Artemisia Gentileschis currently available for public viewing. Dream of returning before you’ve even left. Fall in love with beauty all over again.

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Charles III of Bourbon era fountain detail, Capidimonte Park, Napoli, Italy, autumn 2012 (digital)

the café experience in naples

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Espresso served hot, rich, never bitter and with a creamy head, like a caffeinated, non-alcoholic guinness. No-one will ever convince me that coffee is better anywhere other than Napoli, Italia. They have their own sweet and savory versions of coffee drinks, their quality roasts are never acidic or dull, they would never dream of serving up a cappuccino Roma-style – lukewarm with 20 minute old foam – but are hot, foamy and always fresh. They have this divine beverage: nocciola, espresso with ground roasted hazelnuts and a little sugar made into a hazelnut cream.

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I have to restrain myself in Naples cafés otherwise I would stalk the café barkeeps and photograph and video their coffee making and ask them a hundred questions on their process in really bad Italian.

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A wonderful thing about Naples cafés are their wonderfully low key, around the corner neighborhood places to imbibe espresso and the most luxurious, art nouveau paradise, extra fancy grand caffes to choose from. REMEMBER IF YOU WANT THE CAFE SOCIETY EXPERIENCE AND YOU WANT TO SIT AROUND AND LUXURIATE YOU WILL PAY FOR THE PRIVILEGE. IT IS WORTH IT DAMN IT – AFTER A LONG HOT DAY OF WALKING EVERYWHERE OR IF YOU ARE FEELING LIKE A SPENDTHRIFT OR HAVING A ROMANTIC ASSIGNATION OR HOPING TO HAVE ONE OR MEETING FRIENDS. OTHERWISE, AND READ THIS CLOSELY, STAND… STAND… STAND… S T A N D… AT THE BAR AND PAY HALF – H A L F – THE PRICE (WHICH MEANS YOU CAN DRINK TWICE AS MUCH). ALSO: NAPLES IS WAY WAY WAY WAY CHEAPER THAN MOST OTHER PLACES IN ITALY BUT THE FOOD IS INSANELY AMAZING.

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DON’T BE SO AFRAID OF NAPLES PEOPLE! I AM JUST SOME AMERICAN BROAD WHO USUALLY DOESN’T PASS FOR ITALIAN AND I AM NOT SCARED.

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Granted the city has it’s grotty grubby moments like any ancient city or city with an employment and crime issue but if you have your wits about you, stick in touristy areas at night, stay out of ghettos, see the old Greek neighborhood Spaccanapoli, hang at Piazza Plebiscito day or night, hit Caffe Gambrinus, get chocolates at Gay Odin on (noisy, dusty, busy but family filled Via Toledo) and see some goddamned art and sculptures at Archeologico and Capidimonte. By the way, all this is only the tip of the iceberg.

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There are so many funny, hilarious, crazy, cool moments in Naples, just go already. And drink the coffee for god sakes. Do I have to keep convincing you?

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Seriously, all of these drinks are so good all other coffee should bow down to the coffee in Naples.

spaccanapoli – off the beaten path naples

FH080007It’s “that” street they always tell you about if you find yourself in Naples.

FH080008For people watching, craft shopping, cafe hopping and snapshot taking, you can’t pick a more fascinating and colorful place than the Old Greek section of Naples.

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Another half hidden gem in a Neapolitan alleyway.

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I wonder what this one means, what it is for and how old it is? Also I love graffiti that states the obvious.

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Interesting graffiti.FH080019

This guy was hiding in the most unlikely corners around the neighborhood.FH080020

Commentary on the papal conclave me thinks.

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This is certainly one of my favorites.

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Gorilla boy is back.

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Naples, where the vespas and motor bikes look even cooler when parked against peeling grafittied walls.

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Just your normal everyday missing chunks of a rather old building. This sign means nothing, paint it.

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Hiding behind corners gets surprise shots and weird angles.

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Off the beaten path Napoli.

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The inside of a building half torn down.

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Open shuttered windows and laundry hung about everywhere. Modern life layered onto to history.FH080025

A church at the end of another road. More graffiti and more arches to walk under.

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Naple’s newer creatures.

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The side entrance, dramatic to me, no big deal to the locals.

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I’m trying to decide if this is rude or not.

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Can a city qualify as cool on one incredible nonchalant chatting spot? It should.

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I just follow the crowds to avoid them.

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I followed the sound  of New Orleans jazz music and found this delightful bunch.

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The layers, the layers, the layers… I go on and on about it but Napoli is a city of layers!

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Gentile.

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It’s the forbidden peeks into private gardens and courtyards I love best.

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The spooky Purgatory Lane.

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Vico del fico al purgatorio. An abandoned dusty baby’s pram that wasn’t there in October at the entrance of the dark and musty Purgatory Lane. Nope, not at all like a horror movie.

All photographs are 35mm film, Pro H and Kodak, copyright Rebecca Price Butler, of alovelettertorome.com