Palazzo BelVedere, the novelty of the Tuscan summer, begins the autumn season by opening the doors to its Home Spa, with massages with local essential oils, detox walks, chromography workshops, dance therapy, and much more.

A new hotel and spa

The hotel reopened on June 21st, restoring the splendour and elegance of Montecatini Terme's magical years of great spa tourism. Now, Palazzo BelVedere, the City of Waters' newest hotel, spa, and city retreat, is ready to kick off the autumn season by revealing what will become its beating heart: the Home Spa, or House of Wellness. 

Treatments to improve the quality of life

The Home Spa welcomes Palazzo BelVedere guests with a menu of treatments inspired by Hippocratic philosophy and European and Mediterranean Traditional Medicine. Packages range from three to 21 days, in collaboration with Lumen "The specific treatments, guided by a naturopath, aim at mitigating excess qualities (hot, cold, dry, humid), harmonising the constitution and improving the quality of life," said Milena Simeoni, Lumen's founder and didactic director.

A circular garden and a swimming pool

There are eight spacious cabins inside the Home Spa, each with its own private outdoor area and flooded with natural light. The Circular Garden - a green amphitheatre with aromatic herbs and plants, Pilates, yoga, and meditation sessions and a swimming pool create a context of peace and relaxation. There are two product lines used: BelVedere cosmetics and the Comfort Zone line.

For the autumn season, the hotel offers the A touch of Vitaliter package which starts at €958 for two people.

Wine Resort weddings in the beautiful Trapani area are the perfect way to celebrate this most important occasion. And it is customary to make a toast, a ritual of good wishes that, according to legend, dates back some 5000 years. The famous "drinking to the health of the living" probably began in Ancient Greece and continued in the Roman era, in honour of the gods and is associated with wine which was  a sign of good luck.

Wedding toasts in a truly unique setting

A wedding is a blend of love, life, and a desire for the future, and at the Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo Luxury Wine Resort in Marsala, glasses filled with grape nectar are raised in honour of the spouses in a truly unique setting. Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves and with views of the Mediterranean Sea in the distance.

Certified as one of Italy’s most beautiful castles

This ancient noble residence, certified by Residenze d'Epoca, Italy's official collection of the most beautiful castles and historic houses, is now a 5-star Luxury Wine Resort commanding the west coast of Sicily between Erice in Capo Boeo, with exceptional views of the Mozia reserve and the Egadi islands.

The noble art of hospitality

The Palmeri-Oneto family's motto is the noble art of hospitality, and they have transformed their estate with passion and professionalism. For a romantic wedding at sunset with a sea view at the Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo there is the option of having a civil ceremony or a symbolic ceremony on the estate's belvedere. But the estate has many locations available for intimate weddings or grand banquets with up to 400 seated guests who will delight in the exceptional culinary and wine experiences in the Baglio Oneto restaurant.

Luxury stays in 49 romantic rooms

Following the celebrations the newlyweds are hosted in one of the Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo’s 49 romantic rooms, where they will be able to enjoy some well-deserved relaxation with a luxury stay. Brunch, aperitifs at sunset, swimming in the pool, and shared moments in the solarium All this and more is waiting for the newlyweds!

In time for the start of the ski season, and the Val d'Ega is donning the finery of grand occasions. As the Christmas spirit starts to bedeck one of the Dolomites' most evocative and enchanting corners, lights, colours, and scents evoke a wonderful feeling of warmth.

Peacefully invading the shores of Lake Carezza, they create the setting for a seasonal fantasy: the traditional sustainable Christmas Magic at Lake Carezza market.

Ice and snow sculptures and a nativity scene

From November 26 to December 18, 2022, on Advent weekends, just 20 minutes from Bolzano, the valley’s wooden chalets will display typical South Tyrolean products. Ice and snow sculptures will evoke Dolomites legends, there will be life-size nativity scene and Christmas Alpine music and scents will accompany visitors on their journey into a fantastic winter world.



Free guest passes for public transport

The Christmas Magic market at Lake Carezza is accessible by public transport from Bolzano. Guests of the Val d'Ega receive a free Guest Pass ticket that allows unlimited use of all ski buses and public transport including city and suburban buses.

For information: www.valdega.com 

At Baglio Oneto in Sicily the key word is immersive. To fully grasp any experience it has to involve all the senses, and at Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo Luxury Wine Resort in Marsala, when it comes to food the level of authenticity is absolutely top notch. Because the ingredients are all sourced locally. As everyone knows, Sicily’s gastronomic traditions are a triumph of passion, and at Bagno Oneto the cuisine of excellence is a mix of flavours, cultures and millenary wisdom created with the extraordinary ingredients of this generous land. 

An aristocratic residence with 47 guest rooms 

Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo is a handsome baglio fortified farmhouses in Marsala which is just a hundred kilometres from Palermo’s international airport. This ancient 18th-century aristocratic residence, built to produce wine and oil, is now one of Sicily's most renowned wine resorts and it has 47 guest rooms that were renovated in 2020. From Baglio Oneto you can enjoy the most beautiful landscape in western Sicily over the sea and the Egadi Islands.

Exclusive cooking classes

But back to the kitchen, where meat and fish dishes, fragrant vegetables and fruits, enhanced by the nectar of olive oil and home-produced wines are a dream for food lovers. Who can now put themselves to the test by taking one of the extraordinary cooking classes organised at Baglio Oneto - on request - and conducted by highly experienced chefs. 

A gastronomic journey of excellence

Guests follow the preparation of authentic Sicilian dishes, learning how to identify ingredients and details, such as the most suitable pasta format to accompany a particular sauce and how to enhance the flavours and appearance of each delicious dish. The course is organised on request and is a journey through gastronomic traditions that becomes a journey within a journey in this beautiful corner of Sicily.  

Sustainability and the spread of green hotels has evolved into a broad commitment held dear by an increasing number of people. Even when on vacation.

Here are some properties that care about the future and providing authentic experiences – without any kind of deprivation.

Gradonna **** S Mountain Resort Châlets & Hotel  

The eco-resort Gradonna **** S Mountain Resort Châlets & Hotel, located in the degli Alti Tauri Nature Park, just over an hour's drive from San Candido, is surrounded by mountains and woodlands. It is the ideal refuge for a full green immersion without having to renounce anything. It has received coveted awards for its sustainability, including the Green Luxury Award 2014 and Europe's Leading Green Resort 2015.

Zero-emissions heating

Located in the heart of the park, this hotel combines the concept of responsible travel with redefined luxury to provide an authentic experience. Starting with the spa, which has 3,000 sqm of wellness areas and four swimming pools, all of which are heated by self-sufficient wood chips with zero emissions. Then there are saunas and steam rooms, as well as quiet relaxation areas with comfortable water mattresses.

An endless network of trails

From the hotel and the chalets scattered throughout the woods, you can also set out on your own along the endless network of trails or on guided nature hikes with the Hohe Tauern National Park's Rangers. There is also the ski-in, ski-out experience in the winter. Prices: €125.00 for the Klassik double room until November 1st, and from €394.00 for the Chalet Klassik (for 4 people).
For information: www.grandonna.at

Schneeberg Family Resort & SPA. A super green family hotel near Bolzano

The Family Resort Schneeberg is located in Val Ridanna, 18 kilometres from Vipiteno, and is framed by the Monte Giovo mountainn range, the Stubai Alps, and Monte di Neve. The hotel relies on a hydroelectric power plant and a wood chip plant to power the property, while supplying surplus energy to the valley.

An adults-only area with a pool

It recently opened a new 2,000 sqm Adults-Only area with an indoor infinity pool and a natural bathing lake, and there is a menu of treatments based on herbs and local products. There is also the Family Acqua Park Bergiland, which has water and tunnel slides, a baby pool, and an adventure corner, as well as a mini-club and an indoor and outdoor playground for those travelling with children. Prices start at €99 per person per night for an All-Inclusive Light treatment. Children under the age of three are free. 60% savings between 3 and 6 years. There are numerous discounts available for all other age groups.
For information: www.schneeberg.it

Plunhof Hotel.  Sustainability a few kilometers from Vipiteno 

The Plunhof Hotel is a special place in the heart of South Tyrol, a few kilometres from Vipiteno, with a warm and refined welcome. And the attention to sustainability is right down to the smallest detail in this certified eco-hotel.

Unrivalled wellness experiences

The Minera Acqua & SPA, which is on 4,000 sqm, is an unrivalled wellness experience with saunas at 80-100 ° and with a Turkish bath,  a bio and infrared sauna, an outdoor salt pool with hydromassage with heated spring water, and an indoor water world with a 20-metre-long pool and a relaxation pool. And outside there is a salt lake. Prices start at €1,019.00 per person for seven nights until November 20, 2022, with The Pleasures of Autumn offer.  Cooking classes, wine tastings, and trips for cheese tasting are also available.
For information: www.plunhof.it

Wood, stone, glass, design. Four spacious water-front refuge suites in the Siusi Alps, half an hour from Bolzano in Italy’s Alto Adige region, the Gatschhof luxury suites and spa are in an old farmhouse converted into a temple for exclusive, unforgettable holidays. 

Art and nature

A few steps away there is the Gallaria, which is an exhibition space and a gourmet restaurant for exclusive events. A glass cube with stunning views of the Sciliar mountain range it houses Sylvie Blum's superb fine art erotique, Giorgio Butini's Michelangelo-inspired works, but also sculptures by Irma Hözl, ancient and contemporary masterpieces together in a fascinating play of contrasts. And the 12 Arabian thoroughbreds housed in elegant horseboxes are also allowed to roam free among the works.

Ph Credits: Jochim Schmeisser

Four dream suites 

The dream of Stephan Pramstrahler - owner of the five-star Romantik Hotel Turm in Fiè allo Sciliar - Gatschhof and Gallaria are set in wondrous natural surroundings and the Alpe di Siusi ski resort can be reached by private shuttle bus to the cable car, to enjoy kilometres of slopes where the Dolomites are of legendary beauty. The Gatschhof's four dream suites, all different in size and character and meeting the highest expectations have private saunas and relaxation corners, a gym area and unique furnishings. 

Breakfast and dinner are served in the suites

Corax is the largest on 192 sqm with a large bedroom with bath and shower, a TV room set into the rock with a fireplace and a circular deigner sofa, and with a second bathroom with freestanding bathtub. Pica, the smallest, is ideal for a couple looking for an unusual getaway with exquisite design elements.  Bubo is spacious, airy and informal and Tetrix is on two floors has a terrace with a pergola, and a fireplace.  In the mornings, breakfast is served in the suite, as is dinner with the Gallaria chefs amazing guests with a cuisine that is stellar, simple, exquisite, and extraordinary. 

Creattivando’s the Funny Pesto Experience workshops are experiential events for adults and children in selected venues in the historical center of Genoa.

They are a unique way to learn the techniques and methods for making genuine Genovese pesto in a mortar.

Understand pesto and you’ll understand Genoa and Liguria 

Pesto sauce is the symbol of Genoa and to make it you need basil, pine nuts, a mortar and a pestle. “But pesto is also a passion, and we want to transmit this to our guests, - says CEO Cristina Robello.  - Discovering the traditions of pesto is a unique way to understand Genova and the Liguria region which is rich in art and history and is set between the hills and the sea.”

At the workshops what you make is what you eat 

Creattivando’s cooking workshops start with buying the fresh produce in a local market. The attention to detail and selection of ingredients are key elements, leaving nothing to chance to make sure that each time it is a truly unique and unforgettable experience. But it is also about more than pesto, as there is the chance to learn how to make many different traditional Genoese dishes from cappon magro to fresh pasta, to anchovy pies, pansoti with walnut sauce, canestrelli, trofiette and corzetti and “what you make is what you eat.”  

“We work through the net and tour operators with individuals and groups”

“We started Creattivando in 2013, firmly believing in the Genoa and Liguria brands, and over 1,000 visitors have confirmed that our model is on-target,” says operations manager Mario Clavarino.  “We work through the net and tour operators and have flexible formats.” Clients are individuals, couples, families and groups, and the pesto experience can be completed with a lunch or dinner as well as guided tours of the city and visits to historical buildings.

The exhibition Cagli and Federico - archive documents and paintings by Giovanni Santi in the Church of San Domenico in Cagli, in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, is open until 30 November.  Giovanni Santi was the father of the Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio.

Promoting the province of Pesaro Urbino

The exhibition is organised by the Municipality together with Confcommercio Marche Nord, as part of the tourism promotion and enhancement Itinerary of Beauty (Itinerario della Bellezza) project of the province of Pesaro Urbino. With the support of deputy mayor Benilde Marini and Confcommercio’s director Amerigo Varotti, it is part of the  Cagli and Federico celebrations to mark the 600 years of the birth of  Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino. 

Raphael’s father painted the Tiranni Chapel

The church of San Domenico was chosen as the exhibition venue both for the quantity and the quality of the paintings it contains, and for its link with Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi. In fact it contains the paintings Santi did for the Tiranni Chapel among which a head depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.

"This head of St Sebastian is by far the most beautiful work of a much under-rated painter, Giovanni Santi Raphael’s father, - said Amerigo Varotti. - It was found in the 1800s under the lime with which they had covered the interior of the church back in the 1500s at the time of the plague. There are also showcases displaying interesting original writings of the Montefeltro family sent to the bishops of Cagli”. The exhibition can be visited until 30 November every day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The entrance ticket is €3. It is also possible to purchase a €6 discounted cumulative ticket that also allows entry to the Fossombrone Art Gallery.  For information 

Towns of Italy, which defines itself “experience makers” is the new name of the experential tour operator Florencetown founded in 2006 by Luca Perfetto and Urbano Brini which thus expands its range of action from Florence to other destinations throughout Italy. 

From cooking lessons to Vespa and museum tours

The company offers authentic experiences for small groups and individuals, and is dedicated to a medium and high inbound target. From regional and Italian cooking lessons with professional chefs, to Vespa and bike tours and tours with expert guides of the main museums, from the Uffizi to the Last Supper.

"We are experience makers on a national scale," says CEO Luca Perfetto, "and this differentiates us from all the others in a highly fragmented sector that in recent years has seen the emergence of many small local operators. A sector where today, all too often, there is a lot of improvisation and little professionalism.”

Looking for local operators in Southern Italy

Towns of Italy directly and professionally produces everything it offers and therefore has direct control over its entire supply chain, thus guaranteeing authentic, local and high quality products. The company aims to be a unique operator offering experiences throughout Italy, from Florence to Milan, Rome, Venice to Sicily, and negotiations are already underway to acquire local operators, especially in Southern Italy.  "For us the tourist experience means putting the traveller and the local culture at the centre, so that the induced activity generates a positive impact on the local social fabric, working directly on the territory, with respect," adds Luca Perfetto. 

A partnership with Arno Travel and ItalyXP

Towns of Italy has from minivans to Piaggio Vespas, and from bicycles to vintage Fiat 500s, and also three cooking schools in Florence, Chianti and Milan, with a new opening planned in Palermo, with professional chefs as part of the team. Together with Arno Travel (its own luxury division) the newco set up the To Italy Group last May together with ItalyXP - whose founder Saverio Castilletti is now chairman of the Group - with the aim of becoming Italy’s top experiential tourism operator.

Condé Nast Johansens' Awards for Excellence 2023 for Europe and the Mediterranean region include 23 Italian hotels.

Italy has hotels in 13 of the competition's 18 categories, with as many as three finalists out of three in some cases. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner celebrating the guide’s 40th anniversary on 7 November 7, 2022, at the Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel in London.

Categories with Italian finalists

In the Best New or Recently Renovated Hotel category: Feudi di San Gregorio - Wine Estate, and as Best House, Villa or Serviced Apartment category Buonanotte Garibaldi and Castello di Monsignore. Among the names competing for the Best Small & Exclusive Property there are Speronari Suites in Milan and Villa Spalletti Trivelli in Rome. 

Best Value and Waterside Hotels

For the Best Value Experience there are the Borgognoni Hotel and the Petroia Castle in Umbria, while for the Best Waterside Hotel there are the Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel & Suites, located on the coast of Sardinia and the Grand Hotel Fasano & Villa Principe. 

Best Urban and Green Practices properties

The Elizabeth Unique Hotel, in Rome, is among the finalists for the title of Best Urban Hotel. And three Italian properties are competing for the Best for Green Practices & Sustainability: Borgo Pignano in the San Gimignano countryside, the Susafa farm in Sicily and the Venissa Wine Resort Hotel in the Venice lagoon. The Black Truffle Lodge in the Umbrian countryside and the Toscana Resort Castelfalfi are candidates as Best Immersive Experience. 

Best Hotels for Weddings and Celebrations

For the Best For Families among the finalists there are the Punta Molino Beach Resort and Thermal Spa in Ischia and the Color Hotel Style & Design in Veneto. Venice again appears with the Ca 'Sagredo Hotel among the finalists for the Best for Weddings, Parties & Celebrations together with the Torre a Cona Wine Estate immersed in the Tuscan countryside. 

Best Spa and Best Countryside hotels, and Best Breakfasts 

As a finalist in the Best Breakfast category there is the Madama Garden Retreat in Venice, and the Palazzo di Varignana Resort & Spa near Bologna is a finalist in the Best Countryside Hotel category. Finally, among the Italian finalists in the Best Hotel Spa category two hotels are nominated: the Parco dei Principi Grand Hotel & Spa and the Esplanade Tergesteo - Luxury Retreat.