Read some of these recent interesting articles about Italy:
O sole mio - NY Times
Read all about it
Tuscany
By Adam Begley (NYT)
Published 31 May 2009
A novelist’s memoir of escaping dreary England for Tuscany, to relish the landscape, the weather, the food and, most of all, the art.
The idea behind this memoir seems simple: a prizewinning author of six novels and a previous memoir, books praised for their witty and sophisticated prose, scoops up her husband and two children and escapes dreary England for Tuscany, where she will relish the landscape, the weather, the food and, above all, the art. As someone who periodically escapes England with the same destination and delights in mind, I was eager to read “The Last Supper: A Summer in Italy,” by Rachel Cusk, hoping to see cherished sights through fresh eyes.
More Details: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/books/review/Begley-t.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
Going to Lake Como - NY Times
By DANIELLE PERGAMENT,
Published: June 25, 2006
WHY GO NOW Lake Como has had its share of the spotlight recently. A phalanx of television crews drawn to rumors of celebrity weddings will do that. And perhaps you've heard that George Clooney also lives there.
But Lake Como - 30 miles long and 1,350 feet at its deepest - is more than the sum of its celebrity interlopers, reclusive Swiss billionaires and their bashful Italian mistresses. It is also home to some of the most impressive scenery and food in Italy . And thanks to strict laws against development and genetically modified tomatoes, there's little fear of that changing anytime soon.
Except in the town of Como itself. The best thing to do after arriving is to leave. The farther you get from the drop-off point of tour buses, the more charming the scenery becomes. Head up the west side of the lake to the villages of Cernobbio, Laglio and Tremezzo, or venture up the opposite shore to the even quieter towns of Faggetto, Lario and Lezzeno. And if you can't decide, jump on a ferry and go straight up the middle, hopscotching among the towns on both sides.
For some, the promise of Mr. Clooney steering a boat, shirtless, while Mario Testino snaps pictures of him, will be reason enough to jump on a seaplane to Como. For others, it's the villas and gardens in full bloom, blue waters warmed by months of sunshine and menus bursting with perfectly ripened tomatoes.
More Details: http://travel.nytimes.com//2006/06/25/travel/25goingto.html>