Season 5, Episode 8 | The Heart and Soul of Italy: Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Lazio
Episode summary
In this episode of the Bella Italy podcast, hosts Brian and Anthony explore the central regions of Italy, focusing on Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. They discuss the unique characteristics of each region, the importance of local experiences, and the culinary delights that await travelers. The conversation emphasizes the value of slowing down and immersing oneself in the culture, rather than just ticking off tourist attractions. Trivia questions and fun facts about Italy are interspersed throughout the discussion, making it both informative and entertaining.
Takeaways
Traveling well in Italy requires understanding its regions.
Umbria is often overlooked but offers rich experiences.
Tuscany is known for its wine and food diversity.
Rome and Florence are popular but not the only destinations.
Local experiences create memorable travel moments.
Italian cuisine is simple yet flavorful, focusing on quality ingredients.
Travelers should seek out local dishes unique to each region.
Avoid tourist traps by exploring lesser-known towns.
The importance of slowing down to appreciate the journey.
Traveling in Italy is about the experience, not just the sights.
Episode Transcript
0:00
Welcome to the Heart of Italy's Popular Regions
Hey guys, welcome back.
You're listening to the Bella Italy podcast.
Everybody, we are back around again, Anthony and Brian.
0:18
Brian and Anthony coming at you with the Bella Italy podcast.
Welcome back to the mic.
You are in the studio today.
Look at you.
0:26
Speaker 2
Yes, we are and I am excited about this subject because it's probably one of the most popular, you know, region slash macro regions that we're going to talk about.
Obviously some of these regions most people don't go to, but I definitely think we're going to talk about some that are most high on customers are clients thoughts, but a couple of our probably not don't even know the names or have heard of them.
0:50
So we're excited to, you know, go over these and see how it resonates in regards to these particular readings we're going to come.
1:08
Speaker 1
Yeah, it should be fun.
This is this is the main artery that we have so many requests to to know more about and to come out and over here to Italy and try out.
So if you're joining us for the first time, Bella Italy podcast, I'm Brian, your host and Anthony over here is the president, CEO of the Italy with Bella travel company out of Nashville, TN.
1:35
And this this podcast is just kind of the natural overflow of the information and the the process building and the conversations that we have with people just like you that want to come over and enjoy Italy.
1:51
Some of them for the first time, others are are multi, multi trippers coming over here with us.
But it is hard to avoid getting into Rome.
It's hard to avoid that main artery as we're talking about getting into Tuscany, some of the most iconic places that that comes to mind.
2:12
You know, it's just hard to avoid Florence, for example, or Rome when you're thinking of Italy.
Those those are two of the biggies that that come to mind.
On average, let's say it the inverse way.
How many calls do you have with prospective or returning customers that are are saying I don't care about Rome, I don't care about about Florence?
2:35
How many of those do you have?
2:38
Speaker 2
It's probably 1 out of 10 that don't care about Rome.
And some people just hear from their friends.
I have to go to Florence because they said it's the best city in Italy.
But one out of 10 and one out of 10 for Florence too that don't care about either.
2:54
But even like we had a call the other day and the customers like we wanted to Lake Guard of Verona.
We want to stay away from crowds, but we got to go see Rome.
So I'm like, all right, you're going to be all the way up in Bolzano on top of Lake Garda, but you have to go to Rome.
Yeah, we fly into Rome and we just head up to the lakes.
3:09
I'm like, all right, you know?
But no, it's very.
3:12
Speaker 1
Hops.
3:12
Speaker 2
It's a jump.
It's a rare occasion.
It is a rare occasion that one of those two are not mentioned on a first call.
3:21
Discovering Italy's Overlooked Gems and Macro Regions
And to be honest with you, you know, you've been talking about some of these regions today.
Umbrea and Marquet never mentioned, you know, very, very really, it's the opposite of, you know, you know, we don't want to do that.
We're going to skip over those two as we pass by in the train and wave to them, you know, so.
3:40
Speaker 1
What pretty countryside.
I can't wait to get where we're going though.
3:43
Speaker 2
This Is this still Rome?
Are we in Florence?
But they don't realize that passing through the heart of Italy when they go through the green heart of Umbria.
So, and you know how much I love that.
3:54
Speaker 1
And I know, I know you've had a house there and it you got friends and family there.
It's, it makes sense to want to go back and to feel in that countryside, the, the lesser, the lower slopes of Tuscany, as we call it in Umbria, Marque lots, you know, you know, for those, maybe you're, you're joining us for your first time or you, you've heard just the last couple of episodes in this season.
4:21
We're in season 5 of the Bella Italy podcast and we've been talking about traveling well for the last couple of seasons.
In season 5, we've been digging a little bit deeper about how to be a traveler and not a tourist when you come over so that you can really enjoy.
4:40
It takes a lot of money.
It takes a lot of time, takes a lot of investment, a lot of waiting.
There's frustration because it's Italy and you're going to, you know, there are delays and things that don't work, right.
And, you know, even in the north, I'm looking at it from down here in the Deep South where, you know, we expect things not to.
4:59
When it does work, it's like, oh, wow, what happened?
It's so strange.
5:03
Speaker 2
Just don't expect it two days in a row.
5:06
Speaker 1
The bus showed up or the train is on time, but in the north you, you do tend to expect, but there are those hiccups and you got to get used to that there.
There's some, you know, expectations to wrap around the reality here in Italy.
And, and so as we're getting deeper into the season though, we started talking about the macro regions of Italy.
5:28
Maybe you've, you know that Italy is composed of all of these regions.
We have basically 20 regions, some are even autonomous or semi autonomous regions, but 20 in general is the, is the headcount nowadays how they're slicing it up?
5:44
And out of those 20 regions, we can consolidate a little bit into groupings just like we do in the US We have, you know, Anthony, you're originally from the upper Northeast or New England area, you've got the southwest, you've got the upper northwest, etcetera, etcetera.
6:01
We have our, our ways of, of talking about the plains or the, you know, central that kind of thing.
But in, in Italy, we've kind of done the same thing where we've grouped together because it makes it easier to talk about.
But there's also some cultural, historic and also food related reasons.
6:23
You know, just because somebody puts a line around a region and you're 5 yards over or two meters over on the other side of that line.
You know, historically it may not have existed, but it's been cut up for certain economic or, you know, socioeconomic reasons.
6:40
OK.
But as we group these macro regions together, we're, we're learning a little bit about the zone, about the area, just like on this last episode, the last two episodes we've talked about the upper northwest and the upper northeast and why there are some similarities, the borders with other countries and things like that.
7:00
Now we're getting into the heart of the central part of the peninsula and there aren't other countries bordering now just water.
You've got C on one side, C on the other side, and yet there are some distinct, you know, variations and linguistic and all, all of that comes to bear, which makes it really fun to cut up Italy in this way and talk about these big central regions.
7:29
So with that said, that's kind of your primer to get into today.
We're talking about the central regions.
We're talking about Tuscany, Umbria, La Marque and Lazio.
Of these 4, you know, I'm sure Umbria comes to mind as as your favorite, right?
7:49
Because you've got, yeah, you've got some soil underneath, underneath your fingernails, let's say from, from this area.
7:56
Speaker 2
I think, I think Umbria is my favorite because it's still not saturated with tourism, right.
If I was to say, you know, obviously you know, Tuscany has a little more wine diversity.
Obviously, I didn't even think it has food diversity.
It's bigger in a sense where if you come out from Luca where it's definitely different than going to a Cortona or a multiple Giano.
8:19
You know, I fell in love with Umbria because it's a little more classic.
You know what I mean?
It's the I always say it's the Tuscany light.
I guess you would put it right.
And I'm of the type that, you know, I want it to be a little less touristy and a little, you know, cheaper and a little easier to, you know, not be around crowds, But you know, it does.
8:39
You know, you go to you get chingale in Tuscany, you get chingale in in Umbria, right.
Obviously it might be different pastas on the chingale and you know, but you know, I like Umbria.
Like you said, it's the it's the, I'm going to say it's the redheaded stepchild, but it's Umbria is just there.
8:54
You know you Passover when you go from Lazio to Tuscany.
8:59
Speaker 1
You know what I mean?
It's an Umbria.
Hello.
We recognize that you're there.
9:05
Speaker 2
You know, it's funny, I'll even talk to friends that live in Cortona on the border.
I'm like, hey, have you been to, you know, my town in Umbria?
Have you been to Chita della Piave?
No, I've never been.
I've, I've heard about it.
And it's like you could see it from looking on.
You could see the town from the hill.
9:21
You know, you stand in Cortona.
You could see the lake.
They just don't go there.
You know what I mean?
It's it's crazy.
But no, I Umbria is special to me.
It's it's dear to my heart, but you know, I love Tuscany too, you know, But you know, it's, I mean, we're talking about Italy again.
9:37
I keep going back to that.
Even Latzio, you go to Latzio.
When you think of Latzio, most people think of Rome.
But I was just in Latzio and I'm sorry, I'm rambling over here.
I was just in Latzio in February for the month of February and our friends will live in Rome.
9:53
So listen, let's take you out into V Turbo, take you out into Tivoli and above Titoli, it is Tivoli, it is Charetto Laciale in the middle of nowhere.
And I thought it was an Umbria in Tuscany.
And people don't even realize that, you know, Latio, if you get into those hills and it's beautiful, it's unbelievable.
10:14
And you're like, am I in Umbria and you don't even realize it.
So I think, you know, once again, we go back to, you know, we cannot pigeonhole any of these regions, but they're all beautiful.
And I love the other thing is when I talk to clients like we want to go to northern Italy, I'm like, well, what's northern Italy?
10:31
Well, Tuscany and Umbria, I'm like, that's not really the north, you know?
And it's, I've always fascinating by that because they look at Sicily being the South, right?
But yeah, so, yeah.
But I, you know, this is special to me.
This is probably one of my more excited podcast because of, you know, of, you know, just being our home there and all of that.
10:50
But yeah, Ombre is my favorite.
10:51
Speaker 1
Yeah, if you're if you're going to cut it into two sections, North and South.
I mean, we have the Mason Dixon line in in the United States.
We're from Tennessee, you know, Tennessee, Kentucky kind of get this line across.
Okay, North and South yeah, you, you could say Rome and up is north Roman S is, is the, the South.
11:14
You know, you could say that I, I think you do a little bit of a disservice.
But you know, again, it's just how you slice the pie and we're slicing up into these macro regions because it helps us to process, you know, this area of Italy.
11:29
What does it have to offer?
Why should I, you know, try to extend my trips there a little bit longer rather than just doing the big ticket items, the big names that come to mind?
It's like when somebody goes to the US from Italy, they land in New York and they're either going to go to LA or Miami.
11:47
OK, well, there's a lot of ground in between and a lot of beautiful places that you should slow down if you have the time, if you have the money and and the expertise to do so and enjoy.
And, and we're seeing that we talked about it before.
A lot of Italians now are wanting to do Route 66 because that they're trying to do that very same thing of slow it down and see the real rural America.
12:12
Test Your Knowledge of Central Italian History
So it's funny you say that.
Imagine if I told an American that you're going to go to Italy, you're going to fly into, I don't know, Myan.
Oh, by the way, your next city, you're going to take a six hour flight.
12:26
Speaker 1
Over.
12:27
Speaker 2
So I can't believe I didn't even think of this.
You're talking about Italians coming over for a two week trip, going to New York for four days, five days, and I'm going to take a six hour flight all the way over to the other side of the country.
It's just mind blowing, right?
American would never do that.
12:42
Go to Italy and say, yeah, we're going to put you on 6 hours.
You know, I mean, to them, they're cutting out the Greece portion of the trip because it's a 2 hour flight from Rome to Greece.
You know what I mean?
So it's just it's it's like, I never thought about that.
Wow, An Italian will come over and fly 6 hours to go to the next site because that's what.
12:58
Speaker 1
They know.
And without that expertise and the ability to slow down like talking about on this season, yeah, you're going to skip over those things.
And unfortunately, you miss the beautiful places in between.
13:20
So it brings us to the trivia portion of of this episode.
Anthonys favorite part of this I don't understand.
13:29
Speaker 2
How do we approve this portion?
Where did this come from?
I did not see any notes like.
I'm looking at the notes for today's call.
There's.
13:36
Speaker 1
Nothing on trivia.
13:38
Speaker 2
I am in the notes I don't I am looking at.
13:40
Speaker 1
It's not we don't put it in the notes.
I can't have you looking ahead and and there's.
13:46
Speaker 2
Nothing the right.
13:47
Speaker 1
Answer.
I didn't hire you for this.
Alright, let's go.
This is bonus, bonus.
All right, here we go.
A couple of a couple of trivia questions just to kind of get the the the pump primed a little bit as we get into some of these regions and and cities.
14:08
All right, so first one up Rome before Rome.
Here's the question.
Which ancient civilization occupied much of central Italy before the rise of the Roman Republic and heavily influenced early Roman culture?
14:24
Is it the Greeks, Phoenicians, Etruscans or the Celts?
14:30
Speaker 2
Etruscans.
My final answer.
Etruscans.
14:32
Speaker 1
Final answer Doesn't need to phone a friend, doesn't need a lifeline.
I have no.
14:38
Speaker 2
Friends.
And then none of my friends are that bright to know the answer.
14:44
Speaker 1
Etruscans is right, yeah.
In fact, many Roman religious rituals and even there the city planning ideas that went into a lot of what you see today and recognize as a Roman city.
And the symbols came from the earlier Etruscans at the Romans built on and and it's fascinating.
15:04
You know, I love, I love, love, love Italy for this reason.
You know, I I was just this last weekend in Tarmina.
You've been there a couple times down here in Sicily, famous because of the White Lotus and other.
And yeah, in his first presidency, Trump came over and they actually had to build up.
15:24
Not.
15:25
Speaker 2
Known for anything else?
Some.
15:26
Speaker 1
Of the roads so that the the royal motorcade could get from Catania up to Tanmin and back.
But anyway, has a longer history than HBO and whoever's president nowadays.
But yeah, I looked at the the amphitheater there.
15:45
And you know, what I love about this particular place is you can see the different layers.
You see the bricks and the stone, and, you know, you're looking through the erosion in certain columns, and you can actually see back not just centuries, but also the evolution of the different civilizations who built up and kept on and, and, and progressed.
16:10
And so, yeah, here we have the Etruscans.
All right #2 the second one.
Not all Tuscan is the same.
All right, here's your question.
Chianti Classico is produced in the area between which two major Tuscan cities is it Pisa and Luca, Florence and Sienna, Arezzo and Cortona, or Sienna and Grosseto?
16:42
Speaker 2
Sienna and what was what was it?
Sienna and what?
16:45
Speaker 1
Florence and Sienna Bradissimo.
Very well done.
Excellent.
You know I.
16:51
Speaker 2
Failed my SOM test so.
16:54
Speaker 1
I if we, if we were in any other context, I'd show you my pin.
But wow, we've already done that before.
Let's go on Rome's original power center.
This is interesting.
Which of Rome's famous seven hills?
17:12
Now you've been to Rome how many times?
24, 2640?
OK, good.
I just want to set the expectations because if.
17:21
Speaker 2
I get it wrong.
You're going to put it you've been there 40 times, you should know the exactly.
17:26
Speaker 1
I'm setting you up for success.
No, I don't think.
17:29
Speaker 2
That's what you're looking for.
Which of?
17:32
Speaker 1
Rome's famous seven hills was considered the political and religious heart of ancient Rome.
Is it the Aventine, the Capitoline, the Palatine, or the corinnial you?
17:49
Speaker 2
Aren't killing me.
17:50
Speaker 1
I'll just say that it makes sense when you think about it.
Aventine, Capitoline, Palatine, or Querennial.
18:01
Speaker 2
I'm going to say Capitoline, but I have no global Yeah, you.
18:04
Speaker 1
Got the hint?
You got the hint.
It's capital Capitoline.
Yeah.
This is this is where the Temple of Jupiter stood.
And yeah, this is, this is.
Yeah.
If you go to Rome, remember, there are seven hills.
They're all important.
18:19
And they each played a part in the the evolution of Rome as a as a city.
Umbria.
Let's go over to Umbria.
And this is Umbrian spiritual geography.
Which Umbrian town is most closely associated with Saint Francis of Assisi and has become a major pilgrimage destination.
18:42
Assisi don't even give.
18:43
Speaker 2
Me the mic, go right there, yeah.
18:48
Speaker 1
Spello or Orbieto Gubio, I love, I love a lot of these towns and the truffles and all of that.
But yeah, there are a lot of and, and we do have, we have a lot of clients that come over looking for Saint Francis of Assisi and and take a pilgrimage rather than tourism.
19:07
And the last one, coastline surprise.
Here's the question.
Which central Italian region is known for offering both Apennine mountains and a lesser known Adriatic coastline?
No hint.
It has mountains and coastline.
19:24
So.
19:25
Speaker 2
For my friends and the mountain people we call them, it would be the region of Marques.
19:30
Speaker 1
Marques, yes, often described and I found this curious.
Tell me if you agree.
I I've heard Lamarque described as Italy in miniature.
Italy in miniature, I would say that.
19:47
Speaker 2
Because it has everything.
It has the, IT has the coast, it has the mountains really close to each other.
19:53
Speaker 1
Yeah.
19:53
Speaker 2
Wine, you know.
You know it has brackish water.
Brackish water, yes.
20:01
Speaker 1
The necessary ingredient in creating Italy in miniature it's.
20:05
Speaker 2
I feel when you go in the water in Marquet, I feel like you're in what do you call Center Hill Lake.
20:11
Speaker 1
Yeah, or, or a Whirlpool because of the clashing of the of the tide and the waves and.
Yeah.
Everything all right?
OK, Well, well done.
Kudos to you.
An extra star by your name today we get we get the juices flow in there.
20:29
And now we need a little bit of a break.
20:32
Exploring the Unique Food and Wine of Central Italy
Let's talk about a little bit of just the evolution, the culture and history, linguistic identity of this, the central mega group macro region.
20:48
A lot of people when they think about Italian food, they think about food from Bologna.
We talked about that last time and from Naples.
And so we're really talking about the macro region that exists in between those two polar opposites.
21:09
I'd say I, I don't think you could get as opposite as Bologna and Naples in, in terms of culture, in terms of identity and food and linguistic and, and all of that.
So we're, we're right in between these two polar opposites here.
21:26
How do you, I know you've spent a lot of time in Umbria and in Rome in particular, even a month at a time and, and just imbibed culture.
And how do you picture when you think of Tuscan, Umbrian and especially Lazio, Roman food?
21:44
What?
What comes to mind?
Just to help people out with some of the even if it's a stereotype, what comes to mind about this area?
21:52
Speaker 2
So first of all, you think about when we, you just mentioned Bologna and Naples, when people in their mind, they're not thinking wine.
So I think of Tuscany, I think of the vineyards, I think of vino, right?
That's, I mean, obviously all San Jovesi, Brunello, obviously Chianti Classico, you know, everything.
22:13
San Jovesi's predominant.
I don't think of that when I think of Umbria.
I don't think of when I think of Rome.
Rome, you know, Rome has great wines.
Well, you don't.
You know, most people are not doing wine tours and tastings in Rome or in Lazio.
But in Tuscany, it's wine and food, Cypress trees, the hilltops, right?
22:31
And.
22:31
Speaker 1
And, and you totally could, though.
I mean, you head north, you head north of Rome and you're in wine country.
You totally could.
But it you're right, it's not the first thing that comes to mind for a lot of people.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Even like.
22:45
Speaker 2
Ovieto.
Ovieto is in Umbria, owned that great white wines.
People don't.
You know, know that and you've been Umbrea for Multifaco, for Sagantino, you know, another varietal that probably 99% of our people don't know or, you know, maybe even Psalms don't know.
23:02
But yeah, I think, I think when I think about it, I think it's Tuscany itself is the quintessential rap gift wrap.
23:13
Speaker 1
Italy.
23:14
Speaker 2
Because of the Etruscan history, because of the Roman history, because of the wine, because of the food, the beauty, the landscape.
It's every the Renaissance.
So I think Tuscany, if you were encapsulized Italy and put it in a bow, most people see it, believe it, think it.
23:31
Is that all right?
Even in the Coliseum.
23:34
Speaker 1
Comes into our into our books, into TV series, into movies, it, you know, staying Olive Garden where where this is unraveling really quickly my Tuscan.
23:49
Speaker 2
Spices, my Tuscan soup, my Tuscan chicken now.
23:54
Speaker 1
You're, you're tipping over some sacred cows.
We're going to get some hate mail because of this blowing up myths left and right.
That's what Anthony does.
Where's my Tuscan bean soup that I had at Panera before I came over with my kale?
24:12
Speaker 2
No, but you know, that's what I think of when I think of these, right.
And I think of that's the predominant 1.
I think Lotzio is just a lot of people just focus on Rome.
They don't focus on the out.
We already talked about that.
24:27
But I think overall, you know, I think about out of all the macro region it is, it is definitely the Tuscan region, but the similarities are really close.
I mean, you're talking about truffles across all three regions.
You're talking about, you know, porcata or you're talking like nobody has their own version of porcata.
24:47
Obviously Tuscany has it and obviously a lot to, you know, we would say that too.
So in the food it does, it does have a broad touch across the Mediterranean diet across all three of those regions, not as not as fish.
25:02
Speaker 1
Heavy, exactly.
But yeah, because we would experience that here in Sicily.
You know, you, you got your, it's, it's your bread and beans and your, your truffles and the heavier meats, you know, savory meats.
But you know, you get into Florence, famous for its steak.
25:19
And we've talked about that before.
If you, if you come to Italy and you want steak, go to Florence.
Don't come to Palermo for steak.
You come to Palermo for spleen.
You know, there are different reasons that you would, that you would look for certain things in certain areas.
25:36
But yeah, you're absolutely right.
What what's interesting, last time I was up in Rome and then traveling down the coastal from from town to town, what, what was so fun was to see some of these staple just, you know, iconic Roman dishes that then have the seafood mixed in instead of, And so then they become instead of, you know, something with, you know, the, the pork base, it becomes a fish base, but it's called the same thing, which, which is so funny because it's not what comes to mind, but it makes perfect sense because
26:14
you're in, you're still in the same region.
And so the, the dishes, how the dishes are constructed is still the same, but they're based on the ingredients that they find.
And if you're at the coast, you're going to put seafood in it.
If you're up in the hills, you're going to put pork or you know, something else into it would make sense when you think about it, and it's not something you think about because you don't find it on the menu at Olive Garden.
26:37
That's our favorite point of reference in the States is talking about can't wait.
26:42
Speaker 2
Hopefully open your gift card for Olive Garden they sent you.
Thank you because you keep.
26:46
Speaker 1
Mentioning it, come back to the States, it's Brian at.
26:49
Speaker 2
Italy with Bella if you want to send them an Olive Garden card.
No, buddy, I even think about the States.
It's like I'm in Nashville, you know, Can you imagine?
Like I always look at these seafood restaurants where I have a lot, but I would never, ever go to I would never get lobster or, you know, fresh bronzino in, in, in, in, in Nashville, right?
27:13
You could, but you.
27:14
Speaker 1
You would you would you would have to lower your expectations on on how it's going to taste.
And yeah, and again, a filet.
27:21
Speaker 2
In Rome, you know, same thing.
No, but I think, I think, you know, I think a lot of times when you talk about these regions, they do meld a little bit.
And, you know, they do, you know, there are differences, you know, but I think, you know, you're going to get a really full, full cultural experience, you know, from history.
27:44
And we're going to talk about that a little bit, I think.
But the food, obviously me and you always leave with food for some reason.
27:50
Uncovering Lazio's Countryside and Renaissance Roots
We don't do it.
Let's talk.
Let's talk about the late linguistics.
Yeah, I don't think people are that interested.
But when we talk about, don't mention it.
Yeah, they have an Umbrian dialect.
Oh, that's nice.
Let's move on that.
I don't, but yeah, we don't care about it.
28:05
Are they going to talk to me in an Umbrian dialect?
And I don't care when I'm there.
What am I eating?
Sauce.
28:12
Speaker 1
Or gravy.
That's all I need to know.
28:15
Speaker 2
No, all of that's.
28:17
Speaker 1
Important.
And, and you're right, you don't, you don't notice the difference, you know, staying in your house.
We did a couple years ago and then went back and stayed in the, in the countryside and we took day trips, you know, here or there to some of the places that, that you've talked about Montalcino or you know, getting up in the little hill towns.
28:36
And it may be on the Tuscany side, it may be on the Umbrian.
You don't notice the difference if you're in Sicily and you go out of Sicily, you, you have to take a boat or, or, or a plane or lately you can actually, there's a guy, a French guy, I think he did this high wire.
28:56
No, he's Estonian.
He was an Estonian guy this last year did a high wire across the Strait of Messina.
So there's a third way now that you can get across.
I think some people have tried to swim.
That was really dangerous, but high wire, not so dangerous.
Apparently he fell a couple times, but he made it, you know, because he's got the little thing that kind of helped him.
29:17
But all that to say, you notice the difference when you go from Sicily into Calabria or over to Sardenia, you notice the difference.
There is a different look and feel and swagger and dialect and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
29:32
A lot of times in these central regions you're not going to, and that's why you're saying it.
It's Lazio is kind of this it Rome has taken all of the glory because all all roads lead to Rome.
But Lazio has so much.
29:48
Some of our partners who have been on the podcast before, like Eva in Rome, go back and listen to her episode in the fourth season.
If you want to find out a little bit more.
We did 2 episodes with our great guide and partner of ours friend for years now.
30:04
But she's become a huge proponent of getting people out of Rome city center so they can experience still some of the Roman lifestyle and Roman impact of the culture and history and food and all of that.
But you're you're experiencing lots of all and not many people do that.
30:24
Speaker 2
So it's funny you say that you were mentioning about the Sicily piece, but what I remember years ago, and I give it a little anecdotal story, my friend Vittorio, where our house was, we don't have it anymore.
And he's a good friend of mine.
He's like, hey, let's go out to dinner.
He had the night off and he go, we're going to go take you to a place in Tuscany.
30:42
So you're driving on the Zumbrian roads and it's potholes and, you know, it's farm lands and it's mom and pop shops and all of a sudden hit Tuscany and we're driving and hey.
30:52
Speaker 1
It's paved.
30:54
Speaker 2
The landscape's a little better and there's some money.
30:57
Speaker 1
Here.
30:58
Speaker 2
Yeah, he's like, he goes, Anthony, this is what happens.
They market it, they sell it and they have more money.
Umbria doesn't market themselves and you don't see it.
So it's funny when you go over that line, maybe the languages might be closed, so the food might be closed, but you definitely notice you're in Tuscany when you're from Umbria.
31:13
What?
I mean, my, my, my suspension is different.
So I mean, we're driving on this windy Rd.
He goes, I'm like, this is beautiful.
Because yeah, they have BMW commercials you'll see that are on this road in Tuscany.
They're not doing BMW commercials in Umbria because it would.
31:32
Speaker 1
Be a car wheel.
31:33
Speaker 2
Exactly.
So you do.
You will notice that.
You will notice that.
31:38
Speaker 1
From a.
31:38
Speaker 2
Economical sense All right, that's pretty funny All right, the.
31:41
Speaker 1
Look and feel right.
Your car will thank you for being in Tuscany instead of in Umbria.
31:59
I mean, it is it is the you mentioned this opening today's show talking about the green heart.
It's been called the heart and soul of Italy.
It's been called the heart of the Renaissance.
Just talking about this macro region all together, these four together, there's so much green.
32:19
And I think that's one thing that's shocking to me a lot of times coming up from Sicily into the heartland here, not, not into the plains and you know, along the, the PO River Valley, all of that, but into the heartland a little bit farther S, you know, from Rome and then expanding around.
32:40
There's so much green and it, it's shocking.
It's shocking to me from my Sicilian roots down here, how green it'll.
And so the, the, you know, the, the name, the little moniker here, it, it fits, it really does.
32:56
But it, it's birthplace of the Renaissance, you know, famous people, Dante, for example.
And that's why the Tuscan dialect is touted as being the most correct, you know?
33:10
Speaker 2
Of.
33:12
Speaker 1
Oh boy.
Linguistically, if you want to speak proper, a lot of, you know, and a lot of expats that come into Italy, they will move to Tuscan for the better roads for their BMWs, but also for the dialect and learning the language.
You know, I, I learned the hard way, way, way down here in the South where they don't speak so much the Italian, they speak of the Sicilian.
33:37
Speaker 2
Sicilian, but.
33:41
Speaker 1
You know, I, I do want to, I want to talk about one place.
I want to get some feedback from it because we're, we're going to talk about the, a little bit of the, the, yeah, we can talk about the history of the culture and the linguistics a little bit, but I want to focus our, our attention on some of these cities.
33:59
Florence, you know, when somebody is on a call, you're on a call with a potential client or somebody's coming back and they're like, I want Renaissance.
We, we know enough that you can find Renaissance outside of Florence.
34:17
You go up to Bologna, you can go up to my, my stomping grounds in Montva.
You've got the different families.
You can, you can get Renaissance in Venice if you want, but when you're talking about the birth place of the Renaissance and, and where you can see kind of the purest form of that, sure.
34:39
You, you need to go to places like Florence and Sienna.
I want to ask you about Sienna because I I know we have, we have some differing viewpoints on another famous town like Pisa that we love to throw under the bus.
34:54
Then we'd love to.
You don't have to listen.
34:56
Speaker 2
To some surprise.
And then we'd like.
34:58
Speaker 1
To run over it again and there's two cities.
35:02
Speaker 2
Then we do the.
35:03
Speaker 1
Room, room, room.
35:05
Speaker 2
Peel out on its head, pizza.
35:07
Speaker 1
Little pizza, poor, poor little pizza.
But Sienna, this is this is a a town.
I I really do love the appeal.
I really hate the crowds and it's smaller and so you feel that more compact.
35:26
It's disconnected, so not as easily traversed when you get into like disconnected in the sense of the train station.
And then, you know, it has that kind of another town that we really like.
Is Cortona really small?
35:41
It's has that little bit of a disconnect, but that's also, it is also a plus.
That means that less people are are just going to show up and jump on and off a train and, and do a two or three hour kick and then, you know, continue on.
But Sienna, give me give me some gut feedback on on Sienna.
36:02
Is it a place that you love or loathe?
The side.
The side before the story I.
36:11
Speaker 2
Think, I think what happens is, is when you go to Florence and you see Florence, the walkability, what it all has and you go to Sienna.
Now my favorite, you know, I love the the walled city of Sienna.
I love the walkability of it.
It is like a Lucca.
36:27
Speaker 1
With the wall, yeah, almost like a.
36:29
Speaker 2
Lucca, like almost a Lucca.
Yeah, but it's Lucca's smaller, obviously Sienna's.
Sienna's actually a big wall town considering obviously it's small compared to most cities, but it does have its charm and it has a lot of history.
But when I think of history from my perspective, I'll take Sienna in for the day.
36:46
I'm not staying there multiple days.
I'm a little disconnected, like you said, where Florence is more connected in Central with the trains and all of that.
Sienna is, you know, it's got a lot with the polio, you know, obviously it's known for that.
It's known for the Duomo that it's my favorite horse.
37:02
Speaker 1
Racing for those that recognize the Polio horse race, it's known.
37:05
Speaker 2
Has been around for 750 years and it happened in July and August great, great history just the the character of the people there because of the history there and the the.
37:19
Speaker 1
Some of our partners may push back on that.
I'm thinking of a couple outside of Cortona that hates hate Sienna.
Yeah, what a.
37:28
Speaker 2
Rivalry.
People from Arezzo, the province of Arezzo and the people of Sienna like 500 years ago had a war and a battle and they still hate each other, which is amazing to me.
You know, like they, I have a lot of stories and you ever want to talk about.
It's fascinating to me.
37:44
I don't understand how you could hate another town.
It's 500 years ago.
37:49
Speaker 1
And they could tell.
37:49
Speaker 2
By the dialect too, which is crazy to me.
And they're both in Tuscany and we talk about that all the time.
I love it.
I think the food is fantastic.
They have their own food culture and pastry culture, but it's definitely a city you should see because of, because of the Duomo there, because of the piazzas.
38:08
The, the, I think it's the most fascinating, most beautiful Piazza in all of Italy is the, the Piazza in, in the, in the main square there.
And I, I think it's a great city.
I just don't think it's a city that would go over multiple days, you know, but I think it's something you have to see.
It's definitely better than Pisa and it's definitely better than San Gimignano.
38:26
I still scratch my head about San Gimignano.
I've been multiple times that don't get it.
I know it's cool because of the towers and you know, it's pretty cool, but you know, I'll take a picture and leave it's.
38:36
Speaker 1
Photographic, but maybe you don't want.
38:39
Speaker 2
Yeah, sorry and.
38:41
The Impact of Crowds and Influencers on Travel
And that's that's kind of the the how do we say it?
That the thing that makes the the process broken over here is there are so many places to go and photograph, but you wouldn't necessarily want to stay so long.
38:58
But that in itself is part of the problem in, in terms of tourism here in Italy, the thing that breaks the process is that the they're used to having the influx.
39:13
It's like a Positano, you've got this influx where the town more than double S every day during high tide, low tide, you know, this kind of thing.
And it's just in that arc of the center of the day and at night it, you know, not it's not a ghost town, but it it's relatively calm and peaceful and and like it normally might be, you know, but you most people don't see that.
39:38
Most people don't see a Sienna that's real because like you're saying, you may do just do a day trip there.
And I think it's unfortunate.
I think there's, there's a lot to be said for a Sienna and let let's call them some of these B player Saria B OK, so not Series A, but series B cities like a Cortona.
40:01
I think Verona is kind of in its own category nowadays where it's it's an AB player in between, but you've got you've got some of these like a Peru job.
I know we have mixed feelings about Perugia, especially when it comes to clients on the Italy with Bella side coming over.
40:20
It has its, it has its charm and I think it has a lot, there's a lot there beyond just the the chocolate festival and and some of the art.
You know, it's got its gritty places too, because Umbria just doesn't have as much money as Tuscany.
40:37
And so you see the the grittier parts a little bit easier.
They're catering.
40:42
Speaker 2
They're not catering to people, right?
You show up, it's it's, that's where business is.
It's a university town.
You go to Perugia, it's got a great little underground city.
As you come in, parkings are there.
You know, it's just it's, but you know, as you, as you talk, it's, it's and I hate to if Sienna didn't have the Taurus, it'd probably be like, wow, this is special.
41:02
That's why a lot of times I feel like the Tik Toks and the Instagrams of the world weren't around.
Even the even the Google wasn't around.
I would love for people just to show up and talk to me and Brian, listen to what they love, want, eat, see and then present.
But we can't do that.
41:18
People are getting presented every day, you know, and that's kind of a tough like Sienna wouldn't.
I don't know if I'd feel that way about Sienna or Perugia if it wasn't presented before us, you know what I mean?
That's what's happening.
It's getting presented, you know what I mean?
It's interesting.
41:33
Speaker 1
That you're saying that, yeah, 'cause I'm, I'm thinking in terms of clothes and fashion.
You walk by, you know, the window and you see a suit already, you know, put together with the shirt and the belt and the pants and the the shoes and everything together and you're like, I want that, you know, in instead of Then I look in.
41:51
Speaker 2
The miracle.
I don't look like that guy, it looks.
41:55
Speaker 1
Better on him I'm not tall, thin and handsome I.
41:58
Speaker 2
Am bold I do look like him because he has no hair and I have no hair the.
42:02
Speaker 1
Mannequin is also bald, but I don't think that's what people are looking for no, but you know you, you walk into a different kind of clothing store and they talk to you and you're they're like, OK, what are you what are you interested?
Well, I need a formal piece from have this dinner and I, I want I want this color spectrum.
42:21
I want this and this and this and they, they start to, they start to create this on ensemble made tailor made for you.
And, and I think that is the the difference that the Instagrams and the the influencers of the world have done a fantastic job of broadcasting their idea of Italy, But it may not be the one that fits you as a as a traveler.
42:47
It fits you as a tourist because it's going to be on the map, you know, on your tourist destination map, your top ten, your bucket list, but it may not be the one that fits you.
And I think that's what we're trying in this season.
So we're really trying to get people over that hump to, to see what about you?
43:04
Where do you, where do you want to go?
I don't know where to go.
OK, let's talk about what Italy has to offer and what your needs, wants and desires are.
Yeah, there's.
43:12
Speaker 2
Never a clean palate, you know what I mean?
That's the problem.
There's always this.
43:16
Speaker 1
Impression Back to food here.
There you go, Jack.
43:20
Speaker 2
No, no, not palette for the moment, but I'm talking a paint.
I'm talking a painting A.
43:23
Speaker 1
Painting palette so you know a.
43:25
Speaker 2
Lot of people come in and it's like, I see the house, I see the trees, I see the little kids in the yard with the playground, you know?
And I'm like, all right, what do I do with this?
You know?
Do you already have this picture in your mind where you're thinking Sienna or you're thinking, you know, Florence?
43:41
And like I said before, you know, they don't care about art, They don't care about food.
They care about, you know, hilltop towns.
Well, people don't even realize Florence is not in hilltop town.
It's in a it's in a bowl, you know what I mean?
So, you know, so it's, you know, these, these things, as you mentioned, Sienna, I said I would love Sienna without the crowds.
44:01
You know, you and me, we're not crowd people.
You know what I mean?
We want you know, you know, real, you know, at our age.
44:08
Speaker 1
No, no, we.
44:08
Speaker 2
Do love Naples.
We love the crowds.
We love the crowds in Naples.
We don't mind the crowds in Rome.
It's not.
It's the tourist crowd I don't mind.
We also.
44:16
Speaker 1
Know where we also know where to escape in those bigger cities.
We know where to escape to and how to manage that.
It, it, it's a little bit more difficult when you're in a bowl, like you said, if you're in a Florence or a Sienna or even a Cortona, if you've got, because of the disconnect, you've got to be well, it has to be well serviced and well planned and programmed into your stay to be able to manage that.
44:45
And for some people, it's just, it rubs them the wrong way.
And I totally get that.
I mean, we have so many people that go to Venice, don't find it to be special.
I, I forget we, we have, we've had so many clients, but I remember some of them talking about I got here to X, which is where they wanted to go.
45:04
It was what was in their mind that they wanted to go and I didn't find it special.
And either was it was it rained that day, there was a lot of crowds, it was dirty where they, you know, pulled in or what whatever.
And there were all these reasons for that.
45:20
But I'm wondering, do we, do we dismiss some of these other towns because they're just not in the in the window?
They're they're not what's on display, but they really should be because, because it fits what people are really.
45:38
And they would find it really special too, if they, if they, yeah, made it out there.
Go to the.
45:43
Speaker 2
Clearance rack when you walk in.
That's all.
Get away from the.
45:45
Speaker 1
Mannequins.
Italian.
You're talking about Sicily.
We're not there to.
We're not the clearance rack yet.
45:53
Speaker 2
El Paso is definitely in the clearance rack.
45:58
Speaker 1
My little town.
But no, you know when, when people come over and they're in this area now, you know, we're going to talk about itineraries for a second.
We we talk about doing a 10 day minimum, 12 to 14 days is kind of a sweet spot.
46:15
If you can handle 18 to 21 more power to you.
And if you can not look at that as a way to pack in all of your bucket list.
But to really hone into a couple of the towns that you would find special that are not in the window panes on some of these influencers channels and slow it down.
46:39
I think you're going to come away and we, we have proof of this.
You're going to come away having had an, a phenomenal trip.
But most people when they come over, they're thinking Rome and, and rightly so.
I love Rome, you love Rome.
It's hard to ever discount that it, it has it, we say in Italian ASU Pirke, it has, its why you know, it, it has its reason to, you know, and I love it.
47:05
If they do get out into some of the hillside, you really liked the lake areas around Umbria.
And we do have some hilltop towns there as well that people can look.
And then Florence, those are really, you know, that's that main artery.
47:23
If people are coming in to Venice, like we talked about on the last episode in the out of Rome or vice versa, they're hitting that artery, that sweet spot of that artery going north to South kind of at a, at a diagonal slant.
But what are we missing?
47:40
That's what I want to ask in a simple itinerary when we're looking at these big ticket items, what are we missing?
There are some lakes that are worth slowing down and looking at.
There's the the rolling countryside and the E bike tours.
47:55
Speaker 2
Slowing it down.
47:56
Embracing Serendipitous Moments and Local Experiences
I think the biggest thing people miss is the serendipitous days of being based in Umbria, Tuscany, right?
What I mean is if you're up to driving, it's easy to drive in those areas.
Those are the days they're going to be memorable.
I, you know, I always equate this to you get in the car, you wake up in the morning and you're in Cortona, multiple Ciano southern in southern right on the border of Umbria and you like get up in the morning, go, you know something, there's a farmers market I hear Wednesday in Panacale or Del Pierre.
48:26
It gives you the ability to be a local.
It gives you the ability to be, to take things in that most people will not take in.
You're not checking boxes.
I saw the church in Florence.
I went to Assisi.
I saw where he was buried.
48:42
I did this.
You're actually able to take it slow, take in what you see in the beauty of Tuscany in Umbria, stop in a town do do lunch at a little restaurant that was not on your agenda.
You know, step to the side of the road.
48:58
There's a truck stop in Umbria that I always stop in has the most amazing Porqueta sandwiches, right?
These are the things that you stumble across.
That's what I look at, right?
I look at is I just did Rome.
I know I'm going to do Florence and I'm going to leave out of Venice.
49:13
Stop, slow down, take a car, get a car service if you have to, you know, and just enjoy taking it in for three or four days.
It just bopping around and having no agenda because you're going to see history.
You're going to see the people that are real.
You're going to see the less crowd.
You're going to see things that 99% of your friends aren't doing.
49:32
We talked about this, the one percenters, right?
We don't want to be the one percenters.
We want to be the 2-3 percenters if we can, when we're going to Italy.
And I think that's huge.
And you even mentioned in the 10 day itinerary, if Florence is not that important to you, add a couple of days onto your Oviedo, Umbria, Tuscan area and then leave out of Florence before you fly out.
49:53
Or take a train to Florence for the day and come back if it's not that important to you to see it.
But what?
49:58
Speaker 1
If we know exactly what if we were to reverse the polarity on what most people do and make Florence the day trip, but you're staying out in the countryside and you're getting the rural experience, but you're getting the real experience.
Wow.
What would that do?
50:13
Yeah, I mean, go back to what you said.
50:17
Speaker 2
We go back to what you said.
People remember that.
They remember.
We took it.
We ran out of gas on the side of the road.
It was someone's house.
It was a restaurant there.
They helped us.
Whatever stupid stories they have, they're not remembering the the David.
They're not telling us a the David.
Oh my gosh, we're so tall.
50:33
And it was great.
No, they don't.
They don't tell you about that.
You know what I mean?
50:40
Speaker 1
No, but I mean, and it kind of plays into what we're saying about what's broken is that you make, you know, those things into the, the, how do you say it, just the day trip kind of thing.
But I, I actually, I think there's a little bit of merit there because most people will go and stay in Florence and miss 90% of what's around them in Tuscany because they hit that, that, that, you know, they put the tick in the box, they hit that bucket list item.
51:19
And, and there's so much more, you know, one, one of the things we, we didn't talk about on the last episode when we looked at the Northeast, getting up into Trieste and into Udine, I had, I had such an, an incredible experience last time up in that area, went up there with Leonardo a year or two ago, one of our team members here into Udinet and staying in city center.
51:44
He stayed out in the countryside because we like that comparison.
We like to know what are we, what are we getting?
What are we missing that we could, you know, suggest to, to other people.
Interestingly, I, I saw a graphic infographic come out today.
52:00
I was talking about it with my wife because we've been looking at the north for a while and the the quality of life here in Italy as far as cities have been rated and #1 on the list is something that I was just there two weeks ago.
52:16
Trento, just South of Bolzano, right?
Bolzano's number 2.
Udine is #3 as far as quality of life.
Then you got Bologna and Bergamo.
Those are some of my favorite towns and I but they're, they're ranking for quality of life.
52:36
They're they're clean, they're peaceful, people have good attitudes, they're welcoming, the food is good services work, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Yeah, on all of these different markers as you get down the list, there's really, there's really not a sadly, there's not a whole lot here in the South.
52:54
It's all up in the North.
It's a lot of, yeah, the, the 1st 2 episodes here as you get down into the central a little bit less.
But you know, I, I think the smaller towns are worth reversing that polarity.
53:10
Like we're talking about staying out in the countryside, staying in a smaller town, getting the more rural experience.
If you need to tick Florence off your, your bucket list chart, you can and make it a day trip and, and you know, and you're going to get away from the crowds and enjoy it all and you still get some of the great food.
53:30
The Simple Truth About Real Italian Dishes
And I think that's where we want to wrap up today, talking about food like we always do on these macro region episodes, because so many people do go with expectations.
We talked about that with Bologna on the last episode, and rightly so.
53:47
If you're in Lazio, then we're talking cacha Pepe, we're talking carbonara.
And, and you know, some of these dishes, by the time I remember, you know, 30 years ago, I, I worked in a, in an Italian.
54:05
I'm going to put that in air quotes for those that can't see it.
An Italian restaurant in the States.
What was the name of that?
54:11
Speaker 2
Restaurant, could you tell us?
54:13
Speaker 1
Well, yeah, as in Oklahoma as part of Matzio's.
And this, this restaurant was called Zio's.
Like your Uncle Zio's.
Yeah, Very.
Yeah, very Italian.
Anyway, I don't even know if it's still around anymore, but some of these dishes, the real ones that you find over here in Italy, they are shockingly simple.
54:34
We, we and I raised my hand.
I would take some of these dishes and like change it up and I want half this sauce and half that sauce and I'm going to add this and take away that.
And I butchered it.
I absolutely butchered.
This is in my infancy.
54:49
I kind of chicken.
54:50
Speaker 2
Did you put in this?
Did you put a lot of chicken in it?
I put a.
54:52
Speaker 1
Lot of chicken in it.
I put so much chicken, something I don't.
54:57
Speaker 2
Understand, but it's another that's another episode when you think.
55:01
Speaker 1
About Cacho Pepe, it's it's Pecorino Romano, it's black pepper and it's a little bit of water from the pasta.
You know, the boiling your pasta, it is so simple.
55:16
Or a carbonara.
I mean, for, for us, we think of carbonara as so creamy, but there's no cream carbonara.
It's egg yolk and pecorino and Guanchala, a little bit of black pepper, you know, But they, they're so incredibly simple dishes.
55:34
And that's what blows people away.
I think a lot of time when they come over, maybe it's their first time, especially in Rome, they have some of these famous dishes they've always thought about.
They, they've even had in their, you know, Olive Gardens back home and they come over and it's so rich and simple.
55:53
I mean, and an Italian is so proud when they can hold up on one hand.
The number of ingredients that you find in that dish, that's shocking.
It's shocking.
Yeah, it is.
56:03
Speaker 2
Yeah, it's simple.
It is simple.
I mean, any that's all over Italy though.
I mean, really, it's four to five ingredients Max.
Even the pizza, think about pizza.
A pizza is simple.
We're not putting 70 ingredients like we do here.
I have a meat lover.
What's that mean?
I got 5 different meats, cheese and Peppers and mushrooms and you know, yeah, we can lose that.
56:21
You have one slice, you're done.
Yeah, there's there's a rule.
56:26
Speaker 1
Here's a here's a little hint for those coming over and ordering pizza.
You can ask some for some ingredient to be removed for to be left off, especially if you have some kind of an intolerance or you just don't like mushrooms.
God bless your heart.
You know why are you coming to Italy?
56:43
But OK, I understand some people don't like mushroom, fine.
But please please please do not ask to add ingredients that are not there, approved by the chef that they go together.
That's already been done.
Fascinating.
56:58
Speaker 2
When you tell an American, So what do they put on?
It has to be pork.
But they don't put meatballs.
No, they don't put chicken.
No, no, it's pork.
So you only put pork.
And people like what?
Yeah, they think about it.
They put pepperoni.
What?
Well, here we put pepperoni, but it's not pepperoni there.
57:15
They just pork and like, ohh, you know, and and like I got the chicken thing here is just that's another story.
Chicken on pizza.
Just it's it's get on pizza.
You might as well, you might as well slap your kid.
That's how bad I feel about that, you know?
57:30
Speaker 1
Or porqueta.
We can you because you mentioned porqueta a little bit ago.
This is slow roasted pork, my favorite.
57:39
Speaker 2
Rolled up.
57:39
Speaker 1
With herbs and garlic, crispy outside, juicy.
And yeah, there's so many things we talk about that Tartufo, the, the olive oil, I mean, even just the simplicity of certain things.
And I'm thinking about one that I found in La Marque along the coastline, but we have it down here in Sicily as well.
58:01
It's a, it's a fish Stew.
Well, bro, though, it's a broth.
Fish, fish broth.
How simple, you know, and yet savory and and delicious when it's done right.
58:16
And that's why you would want to try, you know, some of these dishes.
Of course, there's the the wines to pair with them.
We won't go into that.
We're a little bit out of time today.
But wrapping it up here.
58:28
Appreciating Local Flavors and Future Episodes
Is there anything else that comes to mind you have to eat if you're in this macro region area?
Well, I think.
58:36
Speaker 2
I think that's a good point and it's not about the food.
It's like anything else.
When you go to someone's home and when you go to a region, look at the history, figure out the history when you're there, but also take in the food, look at the menu and say, oh, this is different, it's local, try it, you know what I mean?
58:54
Maybe split it.
I mean, I think that's one thing you and I do.
And Marissa and people from our team, we don't go and get pizza in Venice or we don't go and get, you know, you know, risotto in Rome.
You know, we get it in that region.
59:10
So something I always want to say is if, you know, you don't go with Bella, when you go there, look at, look at what the history is.
What is the history of the people, the history of the food, the history of the city that you're in and, and, and, and immerse yourself in it and try it, You know, and I think we talk about the food and it's so simple.
59:28
The pasta and pasta in Rome, every kid likes it.
It's basically macaroni and cheese with pepper, focaccio Pepe, right?
You know what I mean?
So basically it is with no butter.
But yeah, I think, I think that's something we, you need to really think about when you go to these particular regions, take it in and, and know what you're and hopefully we can help you with that.
59:49
But I think that's what we need to do Appreciate.
59:51
Speaker 1
What?
What they have and yeah, let's nail this.
The coffin shut here.
A lot of people have to get X because it's on their list.
And they're going to get it wherever they go.
But instead of being afraid to go back home and they're like, well, did you have the this?
1:00:10
And you're like, no, I didn't, you know?
And you feel like you have that, that fear of, you know, keeping up.
And you have to, yeah, why not?
Why not go back having eaten something that's local that nobody has heard of back in your hometown and go back and talk about the that dish that you found that was exceptional on its own merits because it's something local and something traditional that is not served in Olive Garden.
1:00:39
That to me, that's where our, our thinking here.
And that fear or that anxiety or the social pressure and the Instagrammer and influencer, all that kind of thing needs to shift where we go in.
And we appreciate we're a traveler and we go and we appreciate what we find there.
1:00:56
Not a tourist who has to have their little checklist marked off.
Well, if.
1:01:02
Speaker 2
You think about, you talk about, I'm sorry, we're going to cut this short, but even talking about Pisa, why are you going to Pisa?
Because of the Leaning Tower.
1:01:08
Speaker 1
Just the you know.
1:01:10
Speaker 2
But why don't you go to Bologna where you have the food, the history, and there's some towers there that lean, you know, So these are the things.
These are the things like take, we'll take a picture of those towers and go have lasagna.
You know what I mean?
Not the ones that.
1:01:22
Speaker 1
That Mussolini poured a bunch of concrete in to try to fix and then made it worse.
No, I'm, you know, we, we do.
We enjoy throwing pizza under the bus and, and I think rightly so, but it does, it does have, it does have some merit for if, if you are going to be there, you know, spend more than three hours, for God's sake, you know, at least go in with an open mind and try to enjoy something other than the tower.
1:01:53
Come on, you know, do something that is going to enrich you as a traveler and not just, you know, ticking it off of your tourist list.
That's the point I think that we're trying to make.
Well, hopefully this this has been helpful for you thinking about traveling over here to to Italy.
1:02:12
If you're thinking about coming to Italy, do yourself a favor, go online Italy with bella.com.
Sign up for a free consultation with Anthony's wife Denise.
They're going to point you in the right direction.
Even if you don't come to Italy with Bella and there's no strings attached, you're not going to pay for a free consultation.
1:02:30
It's free.
But you know, even if you don't come over with us, I think you're going to come over better informed and better prepared to enjoy your trip when you come over.
And that's the point.
Hopefully that's been helpful to you in this season, yes.
1:02:47
Speaker 2
And and guys, you listen to this podcast, please give us a review, Give us feedback podcast at Italy with bella.com.
But we'd love a five star review.
And also the best thing for us is to get feedback and that we'd love to hear from you and we really appreciate you listening.
Yeah.
1:03:02
Speaker 1
Questions can be mailed over to Podcast at Italy with bella.com.
Feedback and comments are helpful because it it lets us know are we, are we hitting the cord?
Are we hitting the nerve?
So we can distinguish the two.
That's helpful for us.
1:03:18
But more most importantly is understanding the questions that you'd like a a response to.
If we can talk about something that's helpful to you, I tell you that's going to scratch an itch for us and we're going to be happier for it.
Hopefully you're happy too and you've enjoyed this episode.
1:03:34
And coming up next, we're going to keep heading South to the next macro region.
So we'll see you on the next episode.
That's it.
Ciao for now.
Ciao.
