Italy: My Ancestral Home

Honeymoon Romance Aboard Hawkeye

Italy: By Land and By Sea

I jump at any chance to go to Italy, I’m sure it’s in my blood. My Grandparents immigrated from Italy, traveling by ship on that journey of promise. I feel comfortable and at home in this country. The zest for life is obvious everywhere. Watch a young girl talk on her cell phone, gesturing dramatically with iconic Italian body language!

Artisan cheeses…also fun are neighborhood butcher and bake shops – they’re great!

Visit the shops and markets. Marvel at all the locally grown produce and hand crafted products. More fun still, and, of course, de rigour, find a little tratorria and linger over a quintessentially Italian lunch that combines fresh ingredients and age old traditions. (Follow the locals for the best deals and food!). Compliment lunch with a bottle from a plentiful selection of delicious local wines.

My advise to “Italian-Americans” – find your roots, meet your relatives. Go NOW, the dollar is the strongest it has been in years! One of my most memorable life experiences was finding my ancestral village. People running out of their doors to hug me, show pictures, my cousins reminiscing about my Grandparents. Amazing to be so far from home and somehow be at home too!

Other fond memories of the Italians…

Italy, woman, love in Italy

Strolling elegantly in the evening promenade, men with hands neatly behind their backs, ladies with graceful arms poised like dancers. They dress for the daily ritual, so very dapper, something we don’t see very much in America. Then there’s the voyeuristic joy of street love – in this Catholic nation, nice girls do not bring boys home, or to their apartments, so it gets “pretty hot’ right on the street. Pause in a crowded square to look around, youthful love is always in the air, and likely visible right next to you!

Italy by Sea

Italy Aeolian Islands vulcano yacht charter

Yachtsmen have limitless options. The Italian peninsula is bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east. Most of the coast is lined with incredibly beautiful cliffs, and islands scattered offshore offer hypnotic landscapes.

Explore stunning islands

For yacht charter Italy is spectacular, with many picturesque islands just offshore. Most everyone knows the Isle of Capri, but Ponza and Ischia are favorites to me. The Aeolian Islands, just to the north of Sicily, and the Pontatines off the coast of Naples, are also high on my list. The big islands of Sicily and Sardinia both beckon as superb destinations in themselves for week long charters.

Cruise the coast

Italy, Portofino Harbor,

The Italian Riviera and San Remo are fun and lively. Portofino is a sophisticated enclave, the smaller towns of Santa Margerita and Rapollo are charming. Genoa is a lively seaport with fabulous art, architecture and history. The entire coast of Cinque Terre is a World Heritage site. Small, traditional villages with picturesque harbors nestle beneath towering cliffs. Keep your camera close, the landscape is just breathtaking. Further south, the storied Amalfi Coast is a living masterpiece.

Italy, A Village in Tuscany
A side trip to Tuscany is always astonishing

Italy by Land

A little off the beaten path for a yacht charter are the true “Bucket List” towns of Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice. Easy and worthwhile side trips. (Venice is also a point of embarkation for a cruise down the coast of Croatia, another amazing place to charter, but that’s a story for another day…)

My recommendation? Let Select Yachts help you plan a “Surf and Turf” vacation. Spend a week or two cruising Italy’s coast, diving, snorkeling and playing in the clear, blue sea. Disembark in Civitavecchia, the harbor of Rome, or Naples, convenient to Florence, and immerse yourself in the wonders of Italy’s interior! Plan to spend as much time as you can, because there is just too much to see. Once you are “hooked” you’ll want to return again and again, so launch your Italian adventure now!

Select Yachts experts can arrange your Italian private yacht charter, and also assist with villas, land tours and logistics for the mainland. Do give us a call!

Explore: Italy Yacht Charter

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