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Three Flavors Three Italian Cities

Three Flavors Three Italian Cities

FROM THE ALPS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN, THREE QUINTESSENTIAL ITALIAN CITIES WITH THEIR UNIQUE SIGHTS, SUNSETS AND TASTES.

IN THE FOOTHILLS OF VESUVIUS: NAPLES

Situated on the shores of one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful bays, Naples is a city as old as written history. One of Europea’s most fascinating cities with its unique culture, it is also the capital of Italy’s Campania region.

With extensive coasts and steep streets running down to the sea, Naples is a city that lives cheek by jowl with the water. Possessed of magnificent museums and churches, it is chock full of domes and semi-circular pediments. Its streets meanwhile are choked with Vespas, which make you feel the city’s energy.

Thanks to a tourism boom in recent years, the city has enjoyed a renaissance with new venues opening one after the other. Pedestrian zones have also been created in the most popular districts. Indeed everything, from Santa Lucia with its luxury hotels and posh restaurants to the Posillipo Peninsula with its luxuriant greenery, has a new face.

DON’T MISS

• The Isle of Capri.
• Shopping on the Piazza Martiri.
• Sunset on the Via Caracciolo.

TIP

Motor scooters, aka ‘motorini’, are a fixture of Naples’ streets.

You feel the city’s energy in your bones as they whizz by.

THE EASTERN RIVIERA: GENOA

Founded on a narrow coastal strip at the northeastern end of the Italian peninsula, Genoa boasts a magnificent marriage of mountains and sea. You will encounter traces of its long history at every step in this city known in antiquity as ‘the lady of the sea’.

An important commercial harbor in ancient times, the city became a financial capital in the 16th century. After touring Genoa, you can branch out to the coastal settlements known as the Eastern Riviera. Terraced for cultivation, the slopes along the coast are covered with vineyards and olive orchards. Golfo Paradiso is full of coves accessible only by boat.

Life in the small seaside towns like Cinque Terre flows as slowly as you could wish. And Sestri Levante, tucked between two coves, is charming with its old fishermen’s houses. In short,  the pleasures of the sea are plentiful in Genoa. The choice is yours…

DON’T MISS

• The Art Nouveau buildings on the Piazza de Ferrari.
• San Lorenzo Cathedral.
• Strada Nuova Museum.

TIP

The Genoese are justly proud of their pesto sauces, whose taste depends on the basil and the quality of olives used.

MEDITERRANEAN HISTORY: ROME

Italy’s ancient capital, Rome is a magnificent city that has managed to combine the future with its resplendent past. Numerous monuments of the Roman Empire, one of the greatest the earth has ever seen, are within walking distance of the city center.

And squares of stunning beauty punctuate the nearby area. Piazza Navona, known for its street artists, is just one of them. To see the Vatican and its museums, you only have to go as far as St. Peter’s with its pool boasting the sculptural masterpiece of the great Roman sculptor Bernini, who lived in the 17th century.

You can tour a whole host of diverse venues in Rome from the famous Spanish Steps to Roman temples, stately cathedrals and Baroque palaces.  And discovering a tiny restaurant in one of Rome’s old quarters like Trastevere and sampling the Mediterranean cuisine is just icing on the cake.

DON’T MISS

• The Colosseum.
• Trevi Fountain.
• The Spanish Steps.

Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul to seven cities in Italy: Rome, Naples and Genoa, as well as Milan, Turin, Venice and Bologna. For information: www.turkishairlines.com

TIP

While in Rome be sure to try the ice cream, called ‘gelato’ in Italy.

Roman ice cream comes in dozens of flavors and tastes delicious thanks to the quality of the milk and fruit that go into it.