What's good about italy?

Question

i'm going to Italy the end of this month with my parents. We're taking big hikers backpacks with all our stuff in and staying in a different hotel every night.

We're moving about (ie. Pisa, seeing all the sights to see in pisa, staying there, next day going to rome... sort of like that)

Is there anything you can't go to Italy without seeing or trying (food wise) or buying (souveniers or typical Italian stuff) do they sell nice things out there for a 16 year old (friends 16th birthday when i get back, so could look for a present...random...i know!)

It's very different to what im used to - going to greece, chilling by the pool and im not looking falward to it as its my dad's idea of an 'exciting' holiday (he takes us to see ancient things in greece.. the kind where there used to a church there but now there's only a brick remaining that your not even aloud to touch.. FUN!... not.)

Suppose it will be a good experience though,but what do I NEED to see,& not afford to miss,basically?..

Answer 1

Everything!!!..I'm half Italian from Calabria..so if your going down south..Tropea..Paola and Cosenza (where I'm from)..are amazing places to visit...Italian cuisine is also the best..ice cream and pizzas are like no others!!..and of course Italian men!!!..have a great time!..ciao:)

Answer 2

Italian cuisine , i love the pizzas

Answer 3

Hi! I'm Italian, I live in a country near Rome. You must try Italian food: spaghetti alla carbonara, fettuccine al ragu, gnocchi di patata are typical Rome's pasta. You can eat to Trastevere (one zone of the city)... it's a funny zone and food  is very good!

Answer 4

less fat chicks?

Answer 5

Food, weather, people, Venice, Rome, Florence, Naples, Milan, Capri, Como......

Answer 6

nothing

Answer 7

Florence.  The Uffizi.  Dante's house (okay, not much to see, but it's Dante's house).  Shopping there is fun.  (So is shopping in Milan.  Wow.)  Clubbing there is fun.  (If you're 16, you're good on clubbing.)

Answer 8

good:

less litter

less vandalism

less alcoholics

bad:

mafia

Italian men are often quite short (doesn't bother me though)!

Answer 9

Hey the duomo catherdral in milan is amazing and surrounding by amazing shopping aswell so you could leave your dad to look at that and go and wander round such shops as versace!  There are great markets held all over the place everyday of the week great for picking up vintage clothing.  Lake Como is an hour or so north of miland and is where George Clooney stays so you might come across him and it is beautiful there! Torino or turin is around two hours from milan and is a really nice city again full of shops.  You get decent prices on leatehr goods their and brilliant accessories such as jewellery.  With regard to the food it is all brilliant a lot of cured meats though like pepporoni which are wuite strong but well worth a taste!  Pisa apart from the tower is a bit run down and there is not huge amount to do so maybe treat it more as a day trip than a place to stay.  France is also easily reachable if you fancy going to monaco for a day out - a well worth while trip!  Also venice is somewhere everyone should see lots for your dad and you there! have fun x

Answer 10

Great climate

Super food

Tasty wine

Nude beaches

Friendly people

History in stone

Museums

Answer 11

Hello! I'm Italian.

Well, you MUST see Rome. I've never ever been there (living in Milan), but I'm trying to go there sometime in the future. And, of course, you cannot avoid to eat a REAL PIZZA: in Italy it is totally different than anywhere else because here is where it was born and, trust me, nothing it's good like an Italian pizza! (I ate one in Ireland and it was anything but good as an Italian one!)

Then... mmm... You may go also in a restaurant where they make pasta by themselves. Like, not bought pasta, but real made pasta. You MUST eat "Pasta col pomodoro", pasta with tomatoes, it is the "typical" Italian dinner pasta!

If you have any questions, you may contact me through my email on Yahoo! Answers. Have a wonderful stay here in Italy!

Answer 12

Italians are the nicest and most hospitable people you could meet. Just get your Dad to stray off the tourist track!

Whilst I doubt this is on your itinerary, one of my profoundest experiences in Italy was a visit to a restaurant in Aosta. It was well over 2,000 years old! Sitting there, eating traditional cuisine, on stone benches and tables bearing the wear of millenia, in a cloistered garden was quite an event!

The point is that Italy is full of these ancient nooks and crannies, where one can immerse in an ambiance, millenia in the making!

Answer 13

The Italian Girls....They Are Really Hot!! ;o)

Answer 14

You didn't say how long you are staying .... but there is too much in Italy to see it all in one go.

The best advice I have is where ever you go, keep your senses on alert.  Italy is full of .... life.

You will have no problem find a gift for your friend.  A note here, is that the leather work from Florence (Firenza) is exceptional, and often priced accordingly.

I am sure that your parents, and the walk, take you through the tourist areas that you are 'suppose' to see.  

Oh, and watch out for gypsies!  I had so much fun watching them work the crowds while I was in Milan.  They work in groups, at least two.  There where 3 working the crowd in a triangle formation when I watched them.  They hand around entrances and exists .... They were positioned outside of one of the main through fares to the Uffizi.

Have lots of fun!  And take lots of photos!

all the best

Answer 15

come to campania....

pompeii

napoli

herculaneum

costiera amalfitana

vesuvius

capri

ischia

palaces of caserta

salerno

pozzuoli

paestum

agropoli

all within easy reach of one another... spaghetti alle vongole for food and of course pizza and the wine...

the south is so much more beautiful than the north..

and use the agriturismo set-up. a bed and breakfast style hotel that also has a traditional restaurant atteached, cheap and the food is wonderful... there is one near where i live a 6 course meal and wine all for €18...

there is nothing in pisa except the tower and the cathedral, you'll be pushed to find something to do for a whole day, florence i don't find interesting as it's all medievel churches and religious paintings, and everytime you sit down for a meal or a drink someone with a violin pops up and busks for money..

whatever you choose Italy is beautiful and the people are very welcoming and in the tourist centres speak english, if you  go of the beaten track this becomes more of a problem,

buon viaggio e buon divertimento

edit

there are four types of train if i remember

regional

inter-city

express

euro-star

you pay for what you get if you want fast reliable and new trains eurostar covers that if you want cheap and cheerful but slow regional is the way to go

check out the site www.trenitalia.it  you can change it into english and all fares and train times are there

Answer 16

The culture, the scenery, the food, the weather.  Don't worry about not missing anything or you'll finish up just ticking the boxes.  Enjoy it, and if there's something you missed, go back next year.

Answer 17

go!!!!!!!l'italia è tutta bella ..ogni posto è speciale!baci dall'italia!

Answer 18

the food is generally great. pastas, pizzas, ice creams are all good italian foods that most people from here would like. there will be other stuff to try too. they do alot of stuff with olive ouil, but thats not a bad thing, its healthy.

the colleseum? leaning tower of pisa? some great sites but i can't really advise properly.

Answer 19

if you are near ischia/capri, take a boat to a restaurant called "la pace."  (you can only get there by boat!)  it is the best food i've ever had in my life, and i am used to very good food.  its casual, though; people eat in their bathing suits.  that is my favorite place.  

no matter where you go, definitely eat gelato (nocciola = hazelnut) is the best.  also, i love the yogurt (yomo brand, coffee flavor) (in supermarkets) is unbelievably delicious.  the bread is great over there too.  those are my favorites, but really all the food is outstanding.  

the old architecture is really beautiful...  also, your dad might enjoy seeing in the small towns they have "the procession" for "the feast of the Madona" on august 15.  the whole town trudges behind a statue of the madonna, packed like sardines and moving slow, chanting continuously, for hours on end, in the sweltering heat.  yeah, fun fun fun...  lol

EDIT: oh yeah, the gift for your friend.  i love buying bathing suits and lingerie in italy, bec the cuts are extremely flattering.  (the clothes too.)  get her some s**y boy-short panties.  ;)

Answer 20

I give you two alternative to Venice and Florence (both wanderful).

http://www.lavenaria.it/index_eng.shtml

http://www.illagomaggiore.com/?set_langu...