Aielli & Benevento

Wine Harvest Escape …In Tuscany!This October, Aielli & Benevento is offering a tailored five-day break to unforgettable, scenic Tuscany…we offer private, custom touring for couples who wish to experience the fall wine harvest, taste some of Italy’s great wines and savor its outstanding Tuscan cuisine…

We sincerely hope you can join us for a once in a lifetime travel experience.

For food lovers and thriller readers alike, the book to pick up next time your in Barnes & Noble is “The Broker”. Written by uber–author John Grisham, much of the story passes with this fugitive wandering the streets of Italian cities, especially Bologna, trying to learn Italian and tasting the best food Italy has to offer. His next book soon to be released is believe it or not titled “Playing for Pizza, also set in Italy. Clearly, Mr. Grisham ama d’Italia!

When heading into greater Tuscany from Florence most travelers head toward Siena or the Chianti region. Often overlooked because it is west and opposite these destinations is the grand town of Lucca. The “Centro Storico” of Lucca is an enclosed city that does not permit non-local car traffic within its ancient walls. Lucca doesn’t get the attention of San Gimignano or Cortona but one won’t get shortchanged if looking for a good meal of Lucchese cuisine. Besides the café traffic around Piazza del Giglio, A& B suggests the following ristoranti: > Da Giulio, Popular trattoria, Via Conce, 45 (Pz San Donato) tel # 0583 55 948, Closed Mon. > La Buca di Sant’ Antonio, Most well-known trattoria, traditional Lucchese food, west of Pz. San Michele, Via dell Cervia, 3; tel # 0583 55 881, Closed Mon. Reservations recommended. > Da Leo, Via Tegrimi, I; traditional Lucchese food (near Pz. San Michele); Tel # 0583 492 236, Closed Sun. No credit cards.

Starting in September, Aielli & Benevento will be taking its FYI Andiamo e.newsletter online in the form of a weekly blog. We will present tips and suggestions on luxury Italy in this new format. Guests will also have the benefit of searching through past newsletters as well as past articles on touring . To let us know what you would like to read about in this blog devoted to private touring******Email: info@aielli-benevento.it.

First time visitors to Italy understandably want to see the country’s great sites from the Piazza San Marco in Venice to the Duomo in Florence to the Coliseum in Rome. We call this “Portrait Italy as Rome – Florence – Venice is a great introduction to Italy (Caution nonetheless: do not try to cover this journey as some Americans do going to these three cities in less than seven days!) For the more seasoned traveler, there is much more to be found in Italy. While the list is limitless, we offer these suggestions as places worthy of a visit but too often skipped… Ragusa (Sicily); Urbino (Marche); Parma (Emilia-Romagna); Bevagna (Umbria); Alba (Piedmont); Gallipoli (Apulia) and Bassano del Grappa (Veneto). We will provide more “inspiring but too often skipped” suggestions in future FYI Andiamo issues.

The famed Roman jeweler Bulgari has impressively expanded its business into the hospitality business with its gleaming Bulgari Hotel in Milano. A recent stay there was indeed an impressive treat but beware …breakfast, aka, colazione, is no longer the cheap meal of the day! When you order the “Bulgari” breakfast you get Iranian caviar with your eggs and lobster alongside the grapefruit and champagne. Add in some Muselix, yogurt and pastries and the bill comes to 170 euros or $231.14 as today’s exchange rate! This said, the rooms at the Bulgari are unmatched by any five star luxury hotel (the location is pretty good too, just off Via Manzoni, the designer shopping district and a skip to the House of Armani.

With exports like Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati there is not much argument which country has the better designers of sports cars. But you would think with the millions the US government has spent on airport security we could show the Italians a thing or two. Not so. Here’s the proof: Go in any US airport and you will find much of the TSA staff consumed with lugging those grey trays back to the front of the security line…this goes all day long, Sun thru Sat. Now, go to one of Italy’s major airports. No wasted grunt work for their security people. Instead, they have installed a simple but ingenious return path so the grey trays just get put on slide and pushed back to front. No fuss, no waste.

The “new Tuscany” as Puglia has been called of late is getting more and more attention. First a cover story in the NY Times Sunday Travel section then a recent WSJ article describing the heel of Italy’s boot as a Top Ten Euro bargain. We agree. From the Masseria style Relais Villa San Martino in the Baroque city of Martina Franca to the Palazzo del Corso in Gallipoli to the Patria Palace in Lecce Puglia is clearly a hot prospect. However, its capital city, Bari often gets overlooked in the mix. But as serious Italy lovers know any time one can combine the spectacular Adriatic coastline with a cuisine of pasta, grilled meats and seafood you have something special. RyanAir from London gets you to Bari/ Puglia for 50 euros!

******Email: info@aielli-benevento.it for details on 2008 adventures to Puglia.

Wine Harvest Escape (by Aielli & Benevento)Returning for its second year is A&B’s private touring experience, Wine Harvest Escape… Late September and all of October are ideals times to experience the magical lands of Tuscany and Piedmont. The pattern rows of vines begin turning autumn colors as the middle of October commences the grape harvest. Imagine yourself relaxing at a 500-year old, renovated five star Castello; enjoy gourmet meals and off-the-beaten path visits to medieval Hill towns, personal tours of famous vineyards all in the midst of unmatched landscape. Wine Harvest Escape promises to be an unforgettable week of luxury accommodations, exceptional dining and private custom touring.******Email: info@aielli-benevento.it for details on this autumnal adventure.

The recently unveiled Kempinski hotel near archeological Greek sites of Segesta and Selinunte (on western side of island) gets high marks from Aielli & Benevento. Emailing from the ubiquitous Blackberry, our undercover guest of the Giardino di Costanza could not stop raving about its private beach and spa. Suites start at 645 euros per night and include “rainforest effect” walk in showers and balconies overlooking olive groves and vineyards. This hotel is just an hour south of Palermo. To get brochure about A&B private touring in Sicily, click here (pdf).