Italy Beyond the Obvious

Castles with kids: How to choose a castle and ensure the kids love it

Most of the trips I plan for families include a castle, because every parent knows that kids love castles! If you'd like to put a castle on your Italy itinerary, here are some tips on finding the perfect castle, and making sure the kids get the most out of the visit.

 

Choosing your castle

• Italy has hundreds of castles, so unless you have a specific one in mind, you likely will not need to rearrange your itinerary to include a castle - just pick one of the ones near where you're going anyway. Check this list of castles in Italy, or if you're going to be in Tuscany, consider doing one of the six Chianti castle routes (each with several castles).

• Then do an internet photo search to narrow down your list.

• If you want to visit the inside of the castle, check that it's actually open to tourists, and its opening hours. Expect to pick up the phone: many castles don't post a lot of information online. If you can't get through to the castle itself, call the tourist office of the biggest nearby city or town. 

• Once you're in Italy on your way to the chosen castle, give them a call to double check the castle is indeed currently open.

• If the castle allows it (ask), bring a picnic.

How to make the most of your family castle visit

The key to making sure the kids enjoy the visit is to ask them lots of questions. When I worked as a tour guide in an art gallery, we always used this approach with our elementary school tours. When I did guided tours - for adults - of castles and forts (both in Italy and Canada) we told people what they were looking at, with lots of information. We adults like facts. Kids, however, like to imagine, so make the most of it. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Ask the kids why they think the castle was built. Do they see a moat, or is the castle built on a hill? Do the kids think they could climb those high walls? (and if they did, what might happen?) Help them conclude that it was built for protection, then ask why did the people who built it need protection? Were they protecting money, their horses, their video games, themselves? Ask the kids what they might want to protect in their lives. 

• Ask them who they think built the castle. Would someone have to have lots of power or money to build a castle like this or could anyone do it? How long do they think it would take to build a castle like this (you just want them to realize that it would have taken a long time).

• Ask them to find the parts of the castle. Is there a moat, a ditch or a drawbridge? Why would those be useful? Are there towers or lookout "holes" in the walls and what would those be used for? How do you think they defended their castle? Here's a diagram of the parts of a castle if you want to learn proper terms before you go, and here's an interesting list of Medieval weapons.  

• If you visit the inside, ask them to keep an eye out for where the stables might have been (look for iron rings on the walls used to tie up horses), where the living quarters or kitchen might have been, where the guards would have stood, and where the bathrooms are :) Do they think it would be fun or comfortable? Ask them whether they'd like to live here.

• If you can climb up to the castle's highest point, ask them how far they can see. Ask what they think the watchmen would have been looking for (and did they have binoculars)? Can you see other castles from here? (often castles communicated with each other if they saw invaders). If so, ask the kids why people had to protect themselves from their neighbors (history lesson: Italy has been a unified country for less than 150 years, so castles protected themselves from "foreigners".) 

Keep a pen and paper handy because sometimes their minds come up with the most incredible ideas! Have you visited castles with kids or have additional questions to add (or disagree)? Please let me know in the comments!

Photo of the Castle of Fenis in the Aosta region by Elizabeth Buie

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Seven weeks of travel in Italy

How would you spend your time if you had seven weeks to travel in Italy? My husband and I had that opportunity before we moved from Milan to the USA, and because I get the "what should I see in Italy" question so often, I thought I'd share what we decided to see on that particular trip, and why we chose each place.

If it had been our first trip to Italy, I would have started with something along the lines of Jessica's (aka Italylogue's) fabulous two week detailed Italy itinerary (which as she explains you can easily stretch out to 3 weeks or more). But after 5 years in Italy I'd done all that, so our itinerary became a mix of places neither of us had been (Dolomites, Isola della Maddalena, and Ischia), and places I'd been but my husband hadn't.  

 

 

The Dolomites  We started at the end of June, and spent a week hiking in the Val Gardena in the Dolomite mountains. Why we chose it: We both love hiking, and July is the perfect month to visit the Dolomites, because it's warm and not as crowded as August. Some of the most incredible hikes I've ever done were on this trip - and I grew up hiking in the Rocky Mountains.

Tuscany  We rented a car and spent 10 days in Tuscany exploring the countryside. We also hit Siena, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, Montepulciano and Pienza. Why we chose it: It was partly a wandering-the-hills-of-Tuscany trip for photography (which meant early mornings), looking for fields of sunflowers and just waking up in the morning and doing what we felt like that day.

 

Naples, Pompeii, and Ischia  We spent 5 days in Naples, then hit the archaeological ruins of Pompeii and spent 4 days on the island of Ischia. Since it was high season, we chose Ischia over the island of Capri because there were fewer crowds. We rented motorinos on Ischia to get around, and loved Ischia's natural hot springs. Why we chose it: I like the balance of putting Naples, Pompeii and Ischia together, because you start with a big vibrant city, then visit an incredible must-see attraction (but with lots of tourists), and then end with off-the-beaten-track island beach time. 

The Amalfi Coast  We spent 4 days on the Amalfi Coast after driving on impossibly narrow and twisting roads over the mountain from Naples -- which I would not recommend for any couple ;) Why we chose it: I had been, and wanted to go back with my husband because it's such a romantic spot (or became romantic after we made up post mountain-crossing!)

 
 
 

Isola Maddalena, Sardinia  We flew to Sardinia and then took a boat to Isola Maddalena and spent a week exploring the island, lying on the beach, going for bike rides, and SCUBA  diving (I got my certification there). Why we chose it: With only a week, we didn't have nearly enough time to visit the huge island of Sardinia, so we chose 1 spot, saw it well, and relaxed.

Sicily  We spent 2 weeks on the island of Sicily, which I've written about before. Why we chose it: I had been to Sicily before and wanted to go back. Sicily is another great place for a balanced vacation. We climbed a volcano, lay on the beach, walked through Greek ruins, spent time in large bustling cities, saw incredible art, and ate and drank well. 

So that adds up to a little more than 7 weeks believe it or not! (We actually had more time off, and also took a week to go up to Switzerland and see the Montreux Jazz Festival, on at the end of July every year.) And after all that, am I satisfied? Well, yes. But my still-to-visit list in Italy is long, because when you go to Italy with a list of things to see, you don't come home with everything checked off. You come home with a longer list.

Photos: me hiking in the Dolomites, detail from the Nile Scene mosaic at the archaeological museum in Naples, view from Isola Maddalena of the bridge to Caprera. All photos by Sanjay.

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Le Gattare: Caretakers of Italy's stray cats

 

If you've been to Rome, you may have noticed the stray cats hanging out in the Colosseum or the Forum. Maybe you even visited the cat sanctuary located in Largo di Torre Argentina (photo above), where cats have called home since its excavation in 1929. Look for the cats, however, and you may spot a gattara, or volunteer cat caretaker. Historically older women, the gattare have been around as long as the stray cats, and I've noticed that recently they seem to be getting more positive attention, and not just in Rome. 

In the city of Monza, outside of Milan, a new course is being offered starting May 12th, to teach potential new gattare - or "feline colony tutors" - what and when to feed stray cats, how to treat an illness, and who to contact if the cats get sick, among other things.

The city of Genoa actually does a cat census, and estimates that there are tens of thousands of stray cats in the city, and 700 volunteer gattare. This article explains (in Italian) that the city thinks it's important to care for stray cats since their health or illness affects that of both animals and people in the city.

And, for Italians living near stray cats but not near a course offered on how to care for them, they can buy a Manual for Gattare (in Italian). 

It's noticing details like this that I think adds a level of richness to a visit to Italy, so keep your eye out and see if you can spot a gattara on your next trip!

Photo of Torre Argentina by Xiquinhosilva

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Summer concerts in Italy I'd love to see

Planning trips for other people means that I always have a running list of things - way too many - that I want to do on my next trip to Italy! In the category of summer concerts I'd love to see, here are some great ones I've been booking for other people recently.

 

• I'd love to see any concert held at Florence's Boboli Gardens June 7 through July 29.

• The Rome Opera will be performing Romeo & Juliet, Aida, and Rigoletto at the Baths of Caracalla July 1 to August 8. Tickets go on sale at www.operaroma.it starting May 12. 

• Puccini festival held in Torre del Lago, near Viareggio is on July 16 to August  27. Performances include Fanciulla del West, Turandot, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly.

• Verona Opera Festival. I've written about the Verona Opera Festival before and can't say enough good things about it.  

• Lajatico near Volterra. I'd love to hear any performance at this spectacular outdoor theater, but especially Andrea Bocelli's July 25th concert. 

• Lucca's Summer Festival is held during the month of July and includes more contemporary artists like Seal and Mark Knopfler.

• Ravello hosts a chamber music festival every summer, which has already started this year and goes through October. Note however that there are no performances in August.

• The roofless magical Abbey of San Galgano hosts an opera festival from June 26 to July 31.

I know the list above is the tip of the iceberg! What can you add? Please post in the comments.

Photo of the Verona Opera by Sanjay

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Five favorite Italian words

I was tagged by Melanie at the Italofile blog to write a post about five of my favorite Italian words, which I thought would be a lot of fun. So here they are, plus the reasons I picked them: 

 

Via!

Pronounced: VEE|ah

Via means "street" and several other things, but the "via" I love always has an exclamation mark at the end, and means "let's go!" or "we're off!". It's simple and short yet signifies the beginning of an adventure. One of my closest friends is Italian, and whenever we head off together somewhere, whether it be out for aperitivi or off for a weekend at the Ice Hotel in Sweden, we start with "via!".

Gnocchi

Pronounced: n~|OH|kee

Apart from the fact that gnocchi are yummy and a gnocchi board is one of the best Italian souvenirs, ever, the successful pronunciation of the "gn" sound in gnocchi represents an accomplishment with the Italian language. When I taught Italian, the correct pronunciation of this word accompanied students' happy faces, which is the reason I picked it. (Runners up in the same category: correctly pronouncing the rolling 'r' as in "arrivederci", the double vs single 'p' as in capello and cappello).

 

Campanilismo

Pronounced: kum|pun|eel|EEZ|moh

When I first moved to Italy, I naively thought that everyone in Italy must be cultured, sophisticated, and international - for the simple fact that they lived in Italy. (Okay, I was 17.) But many Italians don't see themselves as from Italy, rather they are from the town their family is from, and have an enormous pride and belonging to that place first and foremost -- even if they moved away when they were 1 year old. This is an important concept in Italy, and I understood it much better when I learned the word "campanilismo", which is from the word "campanile", meaning bell tower. So it sort of means loyal to your original bell tower.

Sciopero/i

Pronounced: SHOH|per|oh

The only Polish word I remember from my 10 day trip to Poland in 1994 is the word "brak", or "empty", which I figured out after about the 5th time I saw it written on a sign at a gas station. I was introduced to "scioperi", or strikes, in much the same way in Italy, and now when planning a trip to Italy for a client, I always check the dates of Italian strikes.

Umingacapí

Pronounced: oo|minga|cup|EE

This is actually Milanese dialect more or less meaning "I don't understand", and it's the only word of Milanese dialect (or any Italian dialect) that I know. Dialect is more commonly spoken in older generations, and most of my Milanese friends don't know much of it - but they all know this word. It translates into Italian as "non ho mica capito" which I need to point out is not quite the same as "I don't understand" ("non ho capito"). The "mica" adds a bit of attitude, so the speaker is often frustrated or annoyed while saying it, with accompanying hand gestures. But I love that this word is dialect, and it's amusing to see the look on people's faces when they hear a foreigner using it. I've never seen it written, so I wrote it above the way I think it would be written.

And I'm tagging Roberta K of Thinking Allowed and Sergio (who I don't think has a blog - leave your words in the comments please) for their five favorites!

Photo of bell tower in Bologna by Sanjay

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