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The complete guide to Siena

When to visit Siena, where to stay inside the walls, and what to eat, with a reading of the Campo, the Duomo, and the living contrade that day-trippers never see.

By The Editors

/ 30 Jun 2026

Piazza del Campo empty at dawn with the Torre del Mangia and Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

How to experience the Palio di Siena: a complete practical guide

When to go, where to watch, and how the best seats are really secured for the 2 July and 16 August 2026 races. Almost everything that makes the day unforgettable is decided months before you arrive.

By The Editors

/ 29 Jun 2026

Empty Piazza del Campo and Torre del Mangia at dawn, seen down a Siena lane, where the Palio di Siena runs

The Palio di Siena: a year of devotion, ninety seconds of war

Twice each summer a Tuscan city covers Piazza del Campo in earth and runs a bareback horse race that decides nothing and means everything. Understanding the seventeen contrade is understanding Siena itself.

By The Editors

/ 26 Jun 2026

Crowds packed in Piazza del Campo below the Torre del Mangia for the Palio di Siena

Altitude and water: northern Italy in summer, from the Dolomites to the great lakes

A guide to the season the heat and the crowds never reach, from hut-to-hut walking in the Dolomites to the slow light of the Italian lakes.

By The Editors

/ 25 Jun 2026

Tre Cime di Lavaredo lit by alpenglow above a sea of cloud, the Dolomites in summer

The best Italian summer festivals and sagre of 2026

The season runs on two calendars: ticketed cultural festivals programmed years ahead, and the village sagre and patron-saint feasts a community holds for itself. A guide to choosing the right summer evening in Italy in 2026.

By The Editors

/ 18 Jun 2026

Thousands of string lights fanning over long tables of diners at a night-time Italian village sagra

The festa di San Giovanni on Lake Como: the night the island burns

Once a year the only island on Lake Como is set alight in red flares, a re-enactment of a real medieval night. What the fire commemorates, and how to watch the Lake Como fireworks festival from the water.

By The Editors

/ 16 Jun 2026

Fireworks of the festa di San Giovanni over the Isola Comacina and boats on Lake Como at night

The Mille Miglia: a history of Italy's thousand-mile race

How a thousand-mile road race from Brescia to Rome became Italy's most famous motoring legend, and why it now returns each June as the 1000 Miglia.

By The Editors

/ 6 Jun 2026

Vintage collage with a 1930s Mille Miglia program, a racing car at the Brescia start and a route map

Where to watch the Mille Miglia in 2026

A traveler's map of the 2026 route, from the Brescia start to the hill roads of Tuscany and Umbria, for the visitor who wants the race as the spine of a journey.

By The Editors

/ 3 Jun 2026

A 1930s roadster with lit headlights passes applauding crowds at dusk during the Mille Miglia 2026

The maglia rosa: why the Giro d'Italia dresses its leader in pink

The pink jersey of the Giro d'Italia descends not from design but from the pink paper of a Milan newspaper. The improbable history of cycling's most recognizable jersey, the men who made it, and the meaning that has gathered around it.

By Filippo Salvioni

/ 31 May 2026

Rear view of a rider in the maglia rosa with a buttoned back pocket, riding through open countryside

The road that reveals Italy: following the 1000 Miglia 2026

More than a classic car race, the historic 1000 Miglia route offers a rare, unpolished glimpse into the Italian countryside. Discover the vintage engines and timeless landscapes defining the 2026 journey from Brescia to Rome.

By The Editors

/ 28 May 2026

Vintage posters and program covers from the original Mille Miglia endurance races spanning 1927 to 1957.

Italy Blue Flag beaches 2026: the new entries, the certified regions and how to use the list

The annual Blue Flag certification has just added fourteen new Italian coastline destinations for 2026 including Lipari, Monte Argentario and Teulada. Here is what the list actually measures, where it concentrates, and which new entries are worth your attention.

By The Editors

/ 25 May 2026

Aerial view of Finale Ligure coast with medieval castle on limestone cliff above sandy beach and coastal road, Ligurian Riviera.

Passo Gavia 1988: the white hell of Giro d'Italia stage 14 and how it became cycling's most legendary day

Snow fell in June, champions wept, and a single Alpine pass, the Passo Gavia, rewrote cycling history forever. This is the story of the 1988 Giro d'Italia's Stage 14: the most brutal, beautiful, and unforgettable day the Corsa Rosa has ever seen.

By Filippo Salvioni

/ 23 May 2026

Vintage gouache painting of a cyclist riding up a snowy mountain dirt road during a severe Gavia Pass cycling ascent.