Posts about Italy

This one's for the devoted riders who see the magic in every winding road. A well-planned cycling holiday in Italy will lead you through towns and tracks that don't always make it onto a typical itinerary, leaving room for many meaningful cultural encounters and memories that linger long after the ride is over.

Twice a year, the fashion world turns its attention to the runways of New York, London, Milan and Paris. Yet long before a collection reaches the catwalk, inspiration often begins elsewhere. Time and again, designers, photographers and creative directors return to the Mediterranean, drawn by its extraordinary light, centuries-old craftsmanship, dramatic landscapes and architectural beauty. From Sicily's gilded palazzi to the sculptural whitewashed villages of Greece, these destinations have shaped everything from haute couture collections to global advertising campaigns. As Fashion Month arrives once again, we explore the places that continue to inspire the world's most celebrated fashion houses—and the villas that allow you to experience them for yourself.

Set on a high, fertile plain in the centre of Puglia, the Valle d'Itria runs from Putignano in the north to Ostuni in the south, its wooded slopes, vineyards and olive groves punctuated by the coned roofs of trulli, cylindrical stone buildings found nowhere else. This Valle d'Itria itinerary spends four days moving through the valley's hilltop towns before finishing on the Adriatic coast.

With its Norman cathedral, honey-coloured old town and sweeping bay, Cefalù is easy to fall for. Yet some of the region's greatest rewards lie just beyond its medieval streets. Spend a few days here, and you'll discover a stretch of coastline shaped by mountain villages, archaeological treasures, contemporary art, age-old craftsmanship and landscapes that seem to shift character around every curve in the roads.

Western Sicily has a way of drawing you in gradually. Ancient temples stand alone among wheat-coloured hills, salt pans glow pink in the evening light, and vineyards run almost to the sea. Between them lie fishing harbours, hilltop towns, nature reserves and stretches of coastline that feel remarkably untouched by modern tourism.

The southernmost part of Tuscany is known as the Maremma. It’s not on most visitors’ radars, but it brims with authenticity, inspiring landscapes, and historic towns. This South Tuscany itinerary spends a week working through that lower half of the region: its coastline, its islands, and the inland hills that many skip past entirely.

Northern Tuscany distils so much of what makes the region irresistible. Renaissance masterpieces and medieval hill towns sit within easy reach of a coastline that stretches for more than 100 miles, where elegant beach resorts, dune-backed sands and hidden corners of the Tyrrhenian Sea offer a different rhythm altogether.

We wish Dua Lipa and Callum Turner all the very best after their much-talked-about wedding celebrations in Palermo and Bagheria during the first week of June 2026. The fact that the happy couple chose Sicily for a romantic, three-day, VIP-studded party should not come as a surprise, however, because the island has been attracting the great and the good for centuries. Read on to find out more about which big names have visited, lived in, and fallen in love with Sicily over the last 400 years.

Southern Sardinia spans a dramatic breadth, from the eastern shores of Capo Ferrato and Costa Rei across to the island of San Pietro in the far west. This is a region where layers of history accumulate: Nuragic stone towers, Phoenician ports, Roman amphitheatres, all set against a backdrop of green hills that taper down to crystalline coves and expansive stretches of fine sand. While the Costa Smeralda to the north draws a glamorous crowd, the south of Sardinia appeals to those in search of something simpler, authentic and more grounded.

North Sardinia has an alluring sparkle that draws travellers from across the globe. Along its northeastern edge, charcoal rockfaces cascade into water of almost implausible clarity, maquis-rich slopes perfume the air, and a coastline of chalk-white and pink sand and translucent inlets unfold in near-unbroken succession.

We pride ourselves on knowing our destinations inside out. Our villas are not just places to stay; they are gateways to a slower, more thoughtful way of travelling. From Sicily’s sun-drenched coastlines to the understated elegance of the Greek islands, our team spends time in every destination we offer. Somewhere between the early morning market visits and long, languid dinners, we’ve picked up an idea or two about how to pack well for a truly memorable villa holiday. Packing, as it turns out, is less about what you bring and more about how you prepare to experience a place. Here, we reveal our expert’s packing tips for stress-free villa travel: thoughtful, practical, and shaped by years of exploring the Mediterranean.

There’s something about a villa that invites romance. Perhaps it’s the privacy, the sense of having the world, or at least a very beautiful corner of it, entirely to yourselves. Or maybe it’s the way time seems to slow when there’s no shared corridors, no schedules beyond your own, and no rush for the pool loungers. This Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating the love stories that have unfolded across our villas: proposals and vow renewals, milestone anniversaries and quiet moments shared over long dinners under the stars. These are stories shaped by place but defined by people, and by the magic that happens when everything feels just right.