In the medium term, the goal is to become the specialist broker for everything that moves on wheels”, and with 3,000 agency clients in Italy and 15,000 in Europe, Flexible Autos is now expanding into Latin America. 

“We are the only broker in Europe that sells exclusively to the trade”

"Through our 20 Italian suppliers for every search made online there are 300 cars, which is an amazing variety and availability," says Alessandro Patacchiola, managing director Spain Italy, France, Belgium and Portugal. “We are the only broker in Europe that sells exclusively to the trade, our site is closed to the end customer.  In the medium term our goal is to become the specialist broker for everything that moves on wheels. We give agencies what they need to stand up to online consumer sales. Anyone can find a cheap price online, but when there are problems you have to have the right answers and be flexible. Car rentals are complex, with endless small details that need to be explained and understood before making a booking.”  

Van, scooter and also camper rentals

The growing number of small local suppliers popping up in specific destinations such as Sicily and Sardinia is providing Flexible Autos with greater product availability

"and it certainly allows us to propose even more aggressive pricing for the high season. Now we are launching van rentals, and also scooters on the Italian and Spanish islands.  And there is the return of the camper, a product we launched during the pandemic. In the first two months of this year we have had more requests for campers than in the last three years.” 

Costa Toscana, the Italian flagship of the Costa Crociere fleet, is to return to Naples for the second year every Wednesday up to 22 November 2023.

Stopping also in Civitavecchia/Rome, Genoa and Cagliari

The itinerary, with a total of 43 stopovers, 10 more than in 2022, will explore some of the most beautiful destinations from art cities to beaches and beautiful landscapes, with stops in Naples, Civitavecchia/Rome, Genoa, Marseille, Barcelona and Cagliari. 

Visiting the famous Rione Sanità district

Costa Toscana will take its guests on a tour to discover Naples and its territory with expert local guides. One of the main novelties is a new tour entirely dedicated to the Rione Sanità district, which is scheduled to debut at the end of April. 

A 4-hour walking tour with a stop for fried pizza

The tour will be entirely on foot, thus ensuring maximum sustainability and without impacting on city traffic. The itinerary will wind its way through the streets of the district from Piazzetta Crociferi to Palazzo dello Spagnuolo; from Vicolo della Cultura to Totò's house; from the Cappella dei Bianchi with  Jago's Veiled Son' to the Basilica of Santa Maria alla Sanità, with its fabulous crib and to Palazzo Sanfelice. The tour will last some four hours in total, and will also allow visitors to sample some of the district's gastronomic delicacies such as pizza fritta, which is delicious fried pizza.

Costa Toscana has 21 different restaurants and food experience areas

The Costa Toscana, which entered service on 5 March 2022, is a true travelling "smart city", a state-of-the-art ship with furnishings, lighting, fabrics and accessories all Made in Italy.  On-board offerings include the Solemio Spa, dedicated entertainment areas, themed bars and 21 restaurants and food experience areas. For information: www.costacrociere.it

The new spring 2023 edition of Week-End Gastronomici (Gastronomic Weekends) in the province of Pesaro and Urbino features fixed-price local menus from April to June. 

Discovering local foods and wines in charming little towns

The new publication promotes the cuisine of charming hinterland towns and villages in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, featuring 46 local restaurants. The guide, now in its 40th edition, was presented this week at the ENIT headquarters in Rome.  

Every year the guide has a spring and an autumn edition

Dishes that are never banal, expressions of the culinary excellence of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, are featured in exciting menus in 46 different restaurants at promotional prices, which is the gastronomic format devised by Confcomercio Marche Nord.

"The secret of the success of these weekends, which this year run from Saturday 15 April to Sunday 11 June, is clarity and respect for the consumer. The new guide lists the menu, the type of drinks and the price excluding any service charge for each of restaurants on the weekends planned from April to June. Then we have the autumn edition with more restaurants in the hinterland," said Amerigo Varotti, president and director of Confcommercio Pesaro and Urbino-Marche Nord. 

 

“A way to shift tourist flows away from mass circuits” 

"Each restaurateur has the opportunity to make himself known to a clientele other than his regular customers, and visitors get a chance to try excellent menus based on local specialities at lower prices than those normally charged,” added Varotti. "This congruous and intelligent way of discovering Italy’s gastronomic wonders also helps to shift tourist flows towards lesser-known areas, away from mass circuits. It is a great way to allow visitors, and also Italians, to discover all about Italy’s gastronomic excellences," commented ENIT’s managing director Ivana Jelinic. 

Local delicacies like prosciutto, cheese and wines 

The Gastronomic Weekends are also a vehicle for promoting the PDO products of the province such as Carpegna prosciutto, Cartoceto olive oil and Urbino’s casciotta cheese, as well as wines like Sangiovese Colli Pesaresi, Bianchello del Metauro and Pergola Rosso DOP, among others. 

Air China has returned to the skies over Rome after three years, with the re-establishment of the historic route from Beijing. 

Three classes and continental menus

An Airbus 350-900, a state-of-the-art, silent and eco-friendly aircraft, is in service on the route, and the innovative, high-quality cabin interiors further enhance the in-flight experience for passengers in all classes: economy, premium and business. On board there is a wide range of continental menus and an entertainment programme in Italian.

Daily flights from Beijing and Hangzhou

"With this flight, - states a note from the Chinese airline, - Air China boosts its offer with daily flights to Rome from Beijing and Hangzhou, the ancient city described by Marco Polo as the most beautiful place in the world. Hangzhou is very close to Shanghai, and using the high-speed rail link it is less than an hour away."

18 weekly Air China flights from China and Asia to Italy

Considering the increase in frequencies operated at Milan Malpensa airport, with direct flights from Shanghai, Beijing and Wenzhou, Air China offers 18 direct weekly frequencies between China, Asia and Italy. In fact, the carrier connects many destinations in Asia in particular Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia as well as others.

The Borsalino Museum, which has just opened in Alessandria with a café and a gift shop, is in the historic Palazzo Borsalino in the Piedmont town.

Enhancing Alessandria’s unique cultural heritage

Inaugurated on 4 April – the 166th anniversary of the Foundation - the new museum is a collaboration between the city of Alessandria and the Borsalino Foundation, and commemorates and pinnacle of Italian excellence in the production of hats. Redeveloped while preserving the identity and spirit of the building, the museum spreads over a total of 620 sqm of exhibition areas, and includes a café and a gift shop. The mission of the Borsalino Museum is to enhance the profound historical and cultural heritage of Alessandria, adding to the region’s many tourist attractions.

Hat production techniques and artisan secrets

The museum is a dynamic and innovative space that invites visitors to discover the culture of Italian hat making. The itinerary - from 1857 to the present day - is an emotional journey that starts from Antica Casa, a multimedia installation that traces the main stages in the history of the hat manufacture. Manifattura is the area dedicated to the hat production processes and techniques as well as to the many secrets of Alessandria’s artisans. 

Legendary Borsalino hats that captured the Big Screen 

Galleria features a display of more than two thousand hats, organized into eight fascinating narrative itineraries for an experience like no other in the world: Twenty Hats that Changed the World; Travel with Borsalino; Legendary Panama Hats; Borsalino and Women; Hats that Captured the Big Screen; Divine Hats; Borsalino for…, and Borsalino & Other Stories.  The museum itinerary is completed and highlighted by themed video installations. Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays from 10.00 to 19.00.  

  

Cefalù is one of the most beautiful towns in Italy, and one of the most picturesque destinations in Sicily. Located on the northern coast, in a strategic position about an hour from Palermo, it has a millennial history.    

Daniele Tumminello, mayor of Cefalu'
“Our identity and our image in the world is the Cathedral that dominates the old town, which in turn is dominated by the Madonie mountains, and we have been a UNESCO site since 2015,” says Cefalù’s mayor, Daniele Tumminello. 

"The rest is obviously done by nature, and then there is the historical beauty of the city.” And also the warm welcome the townspeople reserve for visitors, which is something that dates back centuries, “but took on new meaning at the end of the 50s when the Club Med first opened.  Last year we recorded 811, 000 overnights against 784,926 in 2019.”

Foreign tourism accounts for 63.7% of arrivals to Cefalù, with France and Germany in the lead and a significant presence of American, British and Swiss visitors, with Italians accounting for 36.3% per cent annually. “While many of our visitors use the city as a door to discover the surrounding area, being a port city Cefalù has a unique appeal and a wide range of accommodation of all levels, and currently we are investing in upgrading many facilities like the waterfront and adding new parking areas."  

At the ITB Cefalù has been promoted through images, typical products, and brochures that tell of the history, places, and experiences that the city offers in terms of culture, nature, food and wine. The aim being, added mayor Tumminello, to consolidate the annual presence of Germans and other loyal visitors, while reaching out to conquer new international markets.

“For Trenitalia’s Regional Division this post-Covid year promises to be a turning point,” said Regional Business Director Sabrina De Filippis. “With the recovery of international markets, and the increase in demand for proximity travel, we are looking to surpass the volumes of 2019.”

More than 6,200 Trenitalia Regionale trains operate daily on the network from the north to the south of Italy, and the aim is to focus on shared and integrated modes of transport including buses to continue journeys to the more remote parts of the country. “This allows our passengers to discover many beautiful and lesser-known parts of Italy. Due to the success of our train + bus LINK services we are now also integrating our train connections with ferry services to many of the most evocative islands in the Mediterranean.”

With the emphasis on sustainability the new Regionale trains, like the hybrid Blues, consume 30% less energy than the previous generation, and both in terms of technology and on-board services they are able to meet the needs of an increasingly wide and diverse range of travellers, from families, to bikers, including those who travel by e-bike, thanks to the on-board charging stations.

Superfast Ferries is part of the Attica Group, and is a leader on routes to Greece and Italy.

“Our ferries are like small cruise ships”

“Our Group also includes Blue Star Ferries, Hellenic Seaways and the tour operator Webtours, and we connect more or less all the Greek islands with ultra-modern ships, some of which have been recently delivered," says Webtours Director Chiara Morandi. “Our ferries are like small cruise ships and when customes board they already feel they are on holidays. They are equipped with sophisticated services and restaurants, and some have swimming pools; it is a different way of travelling.” 

Agencies get quotes and see availability in real time 

"The agencies that work with us use a priority channel. On our website they have a dedicated area where they can request quotes and see availability in real time.  And we are always there for them with the direct assistance of our call centre,"  

Passenger services all year round

Webtours has a wide range of packages and tours for the Italian and Greek islands, and not just for the summer months. 

“Our ships sail all year round. In the spring and autumn months, over national and bank-holiday weekends and at New Year there are solutions not only for sea breaks but also for packages featuring archaeology, culture and history, and an excellent choice of accommodation and tours for every type of traveller." 

For carefree, barefoot holidays in Sardinia the choice can only be Aquadulci Hotel in Spartivento, Sardinia. 

A hotel in local stone set among bougainvilleas

More than a hotel, Aquadulci Hotel is a place of the heart where you can take off your shoes, stroll down to the sea, and toss all those tensions to the winds. Nature reigns in this small world: the low property in local stone appears to want to hide among the bougainvilleas so as not to disturb the wonderful landscape just a few metres away.

Pink flamingos and high sand dunes 

The property, in the town of Spartivento on the Bay of Chia about 40 minutes from Cagliari, offers crystal clear waters with emerald hues, high sand dunes fringed by Mediterranean scrub, and the unique spectacle of pink flamingos as you walk barefoot along the wooden walkway connecting the hotel to the beach. This is a refined and intimate sanctuary where you can regenerate and pamper yourself, with rooms and suites (some with a private garden, others with a terrace overlooking the sea) in soft colours, furnished with locally handcrafted furniture and fabrics that invite you to relax.

Aquadulci Hotel 

Regenerating massages and a menu of local delights

Enjoy the large swimming pool in the garden which is dotted with palms and olive trees; indulge in regenerating massages and treatments with organic essences of native plants in the bamboo gazebo and sip an aperitif in the outdoor lounge area. The raw materials and excellences of the island are the protagonists in the Aquadulci à la carte restaurant: from Sant'Antioco lobster and the catch of the day to Villagrande ham, and from Cabras bottarga to Camona di Pula tomatoes. The traditional pastas are made by hand daily as are the pastries that delight the palate at dessert time, and for the rich breakfast.

Water sports, riding, tennis and golf

This is a place made for lovers of the sea, a privileged starting point for discovering hidden beaches and coves on foot or on an old sailing schooner. For those looking for an active vacation, the hotel rents bicycles and organises mountain bike excursions, riding, kitesurfing and windsurfing courses, tennis, and golf at the nearby 18-hole course. Prices start at €79 per person per night with bed and breakfast starting on 20 May 2023. 

Mother and child holidays, whether it be in an art city like Florence or a nature paradise like the Italian Dolomites, are becoming increasingly popular.

Slow down and take a break for Mother’s Day 

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, now is the perfect time to slow down and spend quality time with loved ones, booking a getaway to make sure that both mums and their little, or not so little ones, feel really special. 

Pizza, pasta and palazzi in Florence’s Hotel Continentale

Famed for its food, artwork and architecture, Florence is the perfect mother and child city break. Located in the historical centre, Hotel Continentale is just a few steps from the Uffizi Gallery, Piazza della Signoria, the Cathedral and Palazzo Pitti. The property is a glamorous boutique design hotel, which revisits the vibrant style and spirit of the 50s, and the La Terrazza roof terrace has stunning views over the River Arno and the Ponte Vecchio. 

Hotel Continentale Florence

Visit the Salvatore Ferragamo museum and flagship store

After a day filled with sightseeing, guests can relax in the hotel’s beautiful small city spa, White Iris Beauty. For guests staying at a Lungarno Collection hotel, entry is complimentary to the nearby Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, also home to the fashion house’s flagship store. The museum celebrates the life and work of the shoemaker to the stars and showcases the designs for famous clients including Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn.  Hotel Continentale offers rooms starting from €292 per night, based on two adults sharing and excluding breakfast.

Hotel Sassongher

Ski, hike or sauna at Hotel Sassongher in the Italian Dolomites  

Ski, hike or sauna at Hotel Sassongher in the Italian Dolomites in the charming setting of the little village of  Corvara with its traditional architecture and authentic restaurants. In winter guests can explore the Dolomiti Superski Area, where beginners can gently cruise down wide slopes whilst advanced skiers have their pick of testing trails. In the spring months the flora and fauna come alive and the terrain is perfect for hiking, and after an active day guests can unwind in the rooftop jacuzzi and sauna.

Fun, local foods and live entertainment in the evenings 

Every evening the Hotel Sassongher hosts live entertainment, and guests can enjoy local delicacies in a choice of three traditional Stubes,  one of which dates back to the 16th century. Hotel Sassongher offers double rooms from €270 per night, based on two adults sharing a Comfort Room on a half-board basis.