Amalfi Coast
We were staying on the coast so we did the typical tourist thing and took a boat tour of the coast, stopping in a few towns and seeing some great scenery along the way.
Capri
This is more than short pants, the island has twisting tight roads that lead to a crowded downtown full of shopping and restaurants that all boast incredible views. You can take a boat tour around the island to see grottos and caves offset by the striking blue waters.
Chianti
This is a large wine region in Italy that is home to one of the more well known varieties of Italian wine that your typical American restaurant will have on the table waiting for you.
Fiesole
This small town was just outside of Florence and close to our villa. We stopped here for lunch and to take a look around. There was an old auditorium and if I remember right you could see Florence from the top of the hill.
Florence
Sad that we could not spend more time here. As cities go, Florence is the real deal. Beautiful architecture, stunning galleries and just enough interesting things to continually discover as you walk through the town.
Maranello
Home to the Ferrari factory, I went to Maranello on a business trip, part of which was actually touring the factory and seeing how they make these high performance sports cars. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed on the tour.
Milan
This is a town that I have been to often on business. It is the hub of the Italian fashion industry and there is a lot of commerce, I have not had enough time to see all of the sites.
Nerano
This was our villa for the southern trip. With a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea, the location was to die for, but parking, well, that is another story. Great views, great facilities and so many great evenings with wine and food.
Orvieto
We stopped at this town on our way from Rome to Vicchio for lunch on the recommendation of a friend. They are known for a particular white wine so we had to stop and have some of that. There was a classic car show happing as we were there.
Paestum
This is another archeological site that boasts some well-preserved ruins. It lacks some of the amazing sites that Pompeii has, but if you have seen Pompeii already, this is a good runner up to have on your itinerary.
Pisa
Yes, it has a leaning tower, but outside of that it is pretty much your standard Italian small town. Early pictures from a long time ago.
Pompeii
One of the most interesting archeological places that we have ever been, it was worth coming back a second time to see how they are unearthing the remains of the destruction from centuries ago. The mummies were terrifying.
Rome
If you want the top 10 checklist of architectural landmarks in Italy, probably 8 of the 10 are right here in Rome, and right in the center of town.
Scaraparia
This is a small town that we stopped in for lunch and to look around. They are known for their cutlery.
Siena
This circular town is a maze of streets and alleyways that made it impossible to find the car that we had parked. One of the best restaurant meals of Italy was in this town and the large central area could be home to some huge events based on its size.
Sorrento
Sorrento is a nice little coastal town that was not far from our southern villa. We have been here a couple of times and it has remained picturesque, especially at sunset when the light catches things just right.
Venice
While people always view Venice as this magical, dreamy place, it was the place where we were most brazenly ripped off. As a tourist destination I was less than enthralled and the pictures, unfortunately were from a very early trip there.
Vicchio
This was the base of operation for our northern trip, we had an incredible villa in this little town. There was little in the town that was of value, but the villa will always stand out as one of the best places that we have stayed in Italy.