Experience On The Road is a new playful vision of the city created four years ago by Riccardo Butera.

Games, puzzles and team challenges 

This experiential reality allows people to discover any part of Italy while having fun with activities such as city treasure hunts and various kinds of games. Proposals range from city game experiences that can be themed, to puzzles and mysteries to be resolved, and from customized and exclusive experiences in villas, yachts, castles, hotels, non-hotel and limousines, to fly & game experiences, game tour experiences and team challenges at weddings.

“Our core business is hen parties and team building”

“We have few competitors because ours is a customer-oriented service, which we constantly support digitally,- says Riccardo Butera, owner of Experience On The Road. -The game experience allows you to experience and visit a city with new eyes. Our core business is hen parties - for which we have created ad hoc packages, including engaging challenges and quizzes - and corporate team building.”

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Mystery tours and treasure hunts in the Langhe, Chianti or Monferrato allow competitors to challenge each other in an enthralling game that can be played individually or in teams, using one's own cars to reach the final destination. There are various stages leading to the solving of the mystery adventure, which is packed with enigmas and missions assigned through a dedicated app.

For groups, families, friends and couples

Then there are the Barbaresco tours with tastings, itineraries through Italy's most beautiful villages and small towns, as well as Vespa, e-bike and quad bike tours. There are also outdoor experiences and escape challenges in numerous Italian regions and cities, “especially in Milan, Rome, Venice and Bologna - continues Butera", and companies can propose them as gift experiences.
In short, for anyone who wants to discover a city while having fun in a group, as a couple, with family or with friends, there is certainly no lack of choice.

The Emilia region has a programme packed with summer events and excitement.

From picnics to mushrooming

The Treasures of Emilia, the Land of Slow Mix takes in Parma, Piacenza and Reggio Emilia and offers exciting hikes through the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, bike tours in the hills, picnics in vineyards, events in art cities and  villages as well as in some 50 castles, in a concentration of cultural, natural and food and wine experiences.  There are excursions to learn about mushroom gathering in the Guadine Pradaccio Reserve with mycologist and environmental guide Antonio Rinaldi, who also leads visitors on moonlit night walks. The vineyard walks with wine tastings at Monte delle Vigne are a classic that is repeated every year, as are the picnics in the Ziano Piacentino vineyard with the Civardi Racemus agritourism.

Tabiano Castle

A zipline and hot-air balloons

A new evening tour is of the Garden of Acetaia San Giacomo with a themed dinner to discover the traditional balsamic vinegar of Reggio Emilia, and there are guided e-bike routes in the hills to discover local wines - all organized by Comoda Bike 2 in the Piacenza area. In Emilia you can take climbing courses with La Pietra alpine guides on the iconic Pietra di Bismantova, which also fascinated Dante, so much so that he mentioned it in his Divine Comedy. For adventure lovers there is the zip line at the Cerwood Adventure Park, the largest in Italy and, for the more daring, experiences in hot-air balloons with Volare in Mongolfiera in Carpineti.

Falconry, quizzes and a photographic exhibition

Also on the programme are the Green Days in the Castles of the Duchy with breakfasts in the roof garden of the Sanvitale Fortress in Fontanellato, nature visits to the Vezzeno Gorges and experiences under the stars at Gropparello Castle, as well as falconry shows with eagles and owls at Tabiano Castle. Then there are the immersive Challenge Experiences at the Castelli del Ducato: competitions and quizzes to be solved in 32 villages, squares and art cities. Not to be missed is the 19th edition of Fotografia Europea in Reggio Emilia. Up to 9 June this is a programme of exhibitions, conferences, installations, meetings, projections and shows, with photographers and artists reflecting on the theme "Nature loves to hide."

Biking and racing-car routes and events

There are also many sporting events, dedicated above all to biking. Not to be missed is the 1 June return of the Ingorda, 80 kilometres from Parma to Busseto on the Food Valley Bike cycle route. On 22 and 23 June there is the La Polverosa cycle race. And for motor lovers, from 21 to 23 June there is the Vernasca Silver Flag, for collectors of racing cars. 

Masseria Montelauro is the new entry for summer 2024 from Uvet Hotels. 

The farmhouse building dates back over a thousand years

Opened last 26 April, the Salento property has 29 rooms, including a junior suite, with a ceiling in Lecce stone and a view of the orchard. Situated in the open countryside in an olive grove, the complex has a vegetable garden and an orchard typical of an Apulian masseria farmhouse. Built in the year 1000, it was first a place of meeting and prayer for monks and later became the monastery’s herbalist shop. It was renovated in 2001 thanks to a project that rigorously maintained the typical characteristics of local rural buildings. It has an Historic House designation and has received the Fabbrica del Paesaggio award from UNESCO.

The restaurant has a menu with local specialties

Guests can enjoy the swimming pool, the lounges and the flowering pergolas. There is also an area dedicated to wellness for facial and body beauty treatments. The Fimmine Restaurant specializes in traditional Salento dishes with an international touch. The menu is sourced from local producers or from the adjacent vegetable garden and orchard.

A 100-room resort hotel in Erice close to Trapani

The Baia dei Mulini Resort & Spa, on the seafront at Erice in the province of Trapani, also reopened on 30 April. This resort hotel has 101 rooms, including two suites with views of the sea, the swimming pool or the garden. There is a large private beach with sun loungers and sun umbrellas and a small playground, as well as an outdoor swimming pool, tennis and beach volleyball courts, a poolside bar, a spa and a restaurant.

The Valtellina valley is an elite destination for active holidays in the northern Lombardy region.

The Valtellina valley borders with Switzerland

The Tour of the Castles, one of Valtellina Turismo's new entries for 2024 is 33-kilometre cycling route that alternates between dirt roads and singletrack through vineyards, apple orchards and chestnut groves. With its two national parks and seven nature reserves, the Valtellina naturally lends itself to active holidays.  The destination, which borders with Switzerland, and was recently presented in Rome, offers numerous opportunities for bikers thanks to its many cycle paths, to which are added special itineraries such as the Sentiero Valtellina: from Lake Como to Bormio, 114 kilometres following the course of the river Adda. Or the Valchiavenna cycle path: 40 kilometres from Lake Como to Val Bregaglia, and the Raetica Classica, a ring-route that straddles Switzerland, which can use public transport and/or bicycles.

Valtellina Ph credits: Stefano Cattelan

Wine bike tours and races on Giro d’Italia routes

Also available to cyclists is the Wine Bike Tour as well as the Bormio 360 Adventure Trail, a mountain bike route in ten stages around the Bormio area. Also of note are the area’s five bike parks. In addition to this, there is a full calendar of events, including the Enjoy Stelvio Valtellina: a non-competitive event with no obligation to register, aimed at cyclists and hikers, which in 2023 saw the participation of over 23,000 people. After the stages in which Livigno was the protagonist of the Giro d'Italia, as starting and finishing location, there are also numerous official races in which the Valtellina valley is the protagonist of two-wheeled sport, in all its forms.

Religious routes and summer activities

The area is also ideal for trekking thanks to its religious routes, itineraries linked to the First World War and those on suspension bridges, with over 70 refuges available, including the highest in Lombardy. Families will enjoy the eco-fauna observatory in Aprica and the Malga experience. Created by the Sondrio and Valmalenco district to promote the area's numerous mountain pastures and encourage tourists to discover them during the summer, it also issues a guide showing all the mountain pastures in the valley with brief descriptions and indicating  how to reach them.

Food, wine and thermal wellness experiences

Then there are the food and wine experiences along the Valtellina Wine Route, as well as a calendar of food events until October. The wellness offer is also important, with the Qc Terme Bagni Vecchi, Qc Terme Bagni Nuovi and Bormio Terme. There is growing anticipation for the Winter Olympic Games scheduled for 6-22 February 2026, during which the Valtellina will host the men's alpine skiing and men's and women's ski mountaineering (an Olympic discipline for the first time) as well as snowboarding and freestyle competitions.

Michelin has introduced keys, a replica for hotels of its time-honoured restaurant three-tier star rating system. The tyre manufacturer first published its famous restaurant guide in 1900 and down the years, as well as listing restaurants, the Michelin Guide began to recommend hotels, of which it lists over 5,000 worldwide today. 

So, is a Michelin key like a Michelin star?  Well, not really, because what Michelin has done is to take the crème de la crème - the palaces, the most exclusive resorts and opulent five-stars, all with dizzying price tags – and more or less elevating them to six-star level. The first country to get the new Michelin key designation was, bien sure, France, followed by the United States and Spain, while the anonymous Michelin inspectors have just published the Italy guide, and Japan will be added later this year.

In France the selection process gave three-keys to 24 properties. And while the United States got eleven and Spain got five, Italy was given eight three-keys: JK Place on Capri, Castello di Reschio near Perugia, Casa Maria Luigia in Modena, Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany, Il San Pietro in Positano, and the Aman and the Cipriani, both in Venice.

Want to join an ItaliAbsolutely fam trip to Messina and Reggio Calabria?

We are offering travel specialists an exclusive opportunity to unlock the magic of Messina, Sicily’s City of the Strait and Reggio Calabria, which is home to the magnificent Riace bronze statues.  From 23 to 29 (da confermare) June, the Municipalities of Messina and Reggio Calabria, together with ItaliAbsolutely, will host Meet Turismo Stretto di Messina. This exclusive 6-day fam trip with two workshops is a unique occasion for discerning travel professionals to discover two of southern Italy’s most appealing cities.

To join this event write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

THE PROGRAMME

23 JUNE Day 1 - Messina

-  Arrival of participants at Reggio Calabria Airport and/or Catania Airport

- Check in at hotel, free time

- Welcome drink and presentation of guests

- Opening conference to introduce the buyers to the magic of the places they will be visiting. Taking part: the mayor of Messina Federico Basine, Sicily’s regional tourism councillor Elvira Amata, Messina’s municipal tourism and cultural councillor Vincenzo Caruso, Messina’s municipal productive activities councillor Massimo Finocchiaro; Speakers: Alberto D’Alessandro, Sabrina Busato and Pietrangelo Pettenò

- Dinner and overnight

24 JUNE Day 2 - Messina

- Breakfast followed by a unique experience on a local feluca fishing boat to discover how swordfish are caught, followed by a visit to the fishing village of Ganzirri

- Lunch at the Lido Club Le Dune or similar

- After lunch the participants can swim in the Strait – weather permitting – before enjoying another experience together with the Ganzirri Lakes operators to see how clams and mussels are farmed, followed by a walk in the old town.  

- Return to the hotel

- Dinner followed by a visit to the cathedral, the treasury and the belltower

- Overnight

25 JUNE Day 3 - Messina

- Breakfast followed by a visit to the MuMe regional museum to admire works by  Antonello da Messina and Caravaggio

- Visit to the Puntal Ferraro Fort. The buyers can try out an offroad vehicle on former military roads and, those who feel fit enough, can take an e-bike on the Peloritani mountain track.    

- Before lunch there will be a visit to the Casa di Cura Don Mincio Restaurant to try their famous Il Pane alla Disgraziata sandwich with crusty bread, pickles and local cheese -  considered the world’s first fast-food  -  and then on to admire the view of the Strait from the Sanctuary of the Two Seas – Dinnammare

 - After lunch visit to the Museum of Ancient Crafts in the village of Gesso 

- Back to the hotel and departure for dinner around 19.45

- After dinner visit to the Shrine of Christ the King

- Return to the hotel and overnight

26 JUNE Day 4 - Messina

- Breakfast and departure for a visit to the Messina Brewery where the master brewers will recount the story of the famous local beer

- Departure for Fort Cavalli, one of the most beautiful lookout points on the Strait, followed by a guided tour of the military museum   

- Lunch and return to the hotel; free time

- Departure at 18:00 for the Palacultura for the plenary closing session of the event preceded by B2B meetings between the buyers and local operators   

- Dinner and overnight

27 JUNE Day 5 - Reggio Calabria

- Breakfast

- 08.00 pick up at the hotel and transfer to Reggio Calabria;

- Arrival at the Museum of Reggio Calabria, welcome coffee and a visit to the Riace bronze statues  

- 12.00 A stroll in via Marina, and a quick cocktail and ice cream in Cesare. Piazza Italia, F. Cilea Theatre, Art Gallery, Palace of Culture, Greek and Roman Walls, Aragon Castle

- 18.00 Return to the hotel

- 19.30 Sunset cocktail on Reggia Calabria’s promenade  

- 20.30 Fish dinner with music and videos about Reggio Calabria

- 23.00 Return to hotel and overnight

28 JUNE Day 6 - Reggio Calabria

- Breakfast and transfer to the Locride area

- Arrive in Gerace and visit

- 11.00 Transfer to Bova and visit

- 13.00 Typical lunch with local products in Bova’s square  

- After lunch departure for Pentidattilo with visit; visit to Palmi

- Sunset visit of Scilla with dinner in Chianalea

- Return to the hotel and overnight  

29 JUNE Day 7 - Reggio Calabria

- Breakfast

- 09.00 Workshop in the Hotel Altafiumara Costa Viola starting with a round table to present the companies attending, followed by the B2B appointments  

- 09.30-12.30 B2B appointments followed by a light lunch with local products  

- 14.00 End of the event and transfer to the Airport

*The programme may be subject to changes
*The event is sold out. Please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to participate in our upcoming fam trips in Italy.

Horseback excursions in Tuscany’s Maremma but also in Sicily and Sardinia with Elesta Travelling Passion.

Riding through breathtaking landscapes 

Discovering rugged panoramas and breathtaking landscapes, travelling across plains and hills, past vineyards and coastlines, in a context rich in history, natural wonders, gastronomic specialities and traditions. From Tuscany’s Maremma, land of the butteri horsemen, to Sicily and Sardinia, Elesta Travelling Passion presents its new horseback tours, in collaboration with Horse Touring.

From Florence to Siena and on to Chianti 

The first tour proposed by Elesta departs from Florence for Siena, the city of the Palio, where this ancient tradition is kept alive all year round with great passion and participation by the city’s contrade districts. It then heads towards the south of Tuscany, to the border between Valdarno and Chianti, for a three-day full immersion in the ancient traditions of the Maremma butteri.

A visit to Rome’s former papal stables

This is a different formula to the more usual excursions on horseback. Here the objective is to allow participants to experience a true immersion by carrying out first-hand the daily activities of herd management on a real farm. This is possible thanks to Ernesto Benini, founder of the Dimensione Maremma association, who not only prepares the horses, but also supports the riders, guaranteeing unique emotions. After the Maremma experience the trip concludes with a stop in Rome, where a visit to the Scuderie del Quirinale, the papal stables, will provide insight into the presence and role that horses played in history and in art.