In the Vortex: Discovering Italy

People come to Italy for various reasons: some coalesce for a triumphant pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome; others swagger through the streets of Venice, awaiting the world-famous carnival; and others still sidle to the train that will take them to Lake Como.

Yet there’s a secret fourth group of people—affiliates rushing to the Italian capital to attend SiGMA & AGS, two enormous events taking place on November 2 at Fiera di Roma. For many attendees, this is not the first time; they may have read our previous guide and followed the landmarks mentioned in the text, interspersing our recommendations with their own preferences. Yet Rome is only one chapter in the Italian narrative, and we take it upon ourselves to present a bigger picture and invite you to venture forth, beyond the capital’s well-documented splendour.

Fear not, hypocrite lecteur, the journey won’t take long: enough to escape the gravitational pull of Rome but not enough to leave its orbit. We’re merely discovering a handful of cities and towns whose cultural, historical, and gastronomic identities merit attention in their own right.

Recreational Experience

Whenever we write guides and articles devoted to attractions and tourist sights, we follow a comprehensive structure: city — place — description. This time, however, we split the narrative into three parts, each highlighting the most salient point of each destination.

Recreational experiences are the first on the list for a reason: we know full well how stressed, overworked, and occasionally exhausted affiliates tend to be, so we want show you two places where you can recharge your batteries and give your mind a well-deserved respite.

Tivoli

Tivoli may not be the first destination that comes to mind when you trace your finger across cities and towns of Italy, contemplating where you should go for a quick excursion, but, surprisingly for some, this tiny place is a veritable treasure trove of antiquity, architectural splendour, and bucolic landscapes, exactly the kind of scenery you may have admired from afar while staring at eminent paintings in famous museums around the world.

Yet Tivoli is actually worth your time. First of all, its cultural significance is hard to ignore: the density of historical monuments almost compels us to mount a ‘Historical Experience’ plaque on the town itself, but that is slightly beside the point. There’s another hallmark that rivets our attention, and that hallmark is the pastoral setting of the place. All majestic villas you are to witness with your own two eyes, Villa d’Este, Villa Gregoriana, and Villa Adriana, are situated in an exceptionally picturesque, so breathtaking a spot that you may find yourself mesmerized, palsied, unable to move a limb. While it does sound like a figure of speech, we must warn you: it is not. Wherever you start, you eventually bump into the Grande Cascata di Tivoli, as if the town itself wishes to evince its major gem, concurrently forcing you to stop for a moment and unwind. Once you grow accustomed to the thunderous roar of the waterfall and regain control over your limbs, you examine a once-elegant structure above the Grande Cascata—the Temple of Vesta, a tholos dramatically positioned upon the acropolis of the ancient Etruscan and Roman city.

We could go on forever—the list of Tivoli’s attractions is inexhaustible—but we should stop right here to let you retreat into the tranquility of a small Italian town, imbibe the proverbial dolce vita, meander through the narrow streets, and admire the art of history seeping into your bones.

Ostia

Unfortunately, Suburra didn’t kick up quite as much of a fuss outside Italy as it perhaps deserved, but if you’re a devoted fan, you must’ve enjoyed the views of the Rome that never stares back at you from greeting cards at a souvenir shop. Ostia has its charm—but it isn’t the luster Rome brandishes in press and books.

Back in the day, Ostia was an ancient port of Rome; nowadays, however, it’s a resort—and a huge archaeological complex, which proudly boasts its remains to those willing to see. But again, the historical aspect is not what we are after: Ostia is almost preternaturally tranquil. When you wander through the town, you—almost against your will—reconstruct the quotidian existence of the inhabitants long gone. You walk along the main street, occasionally spotting the remarkably preserved mosaics; a few more steps, and the Rocca di Ostia, a Renaissance fastness, built by the future Pope Julius II, sprouts before your eyes; then you saunter through the Baths of Neptune, and imagine the merchants, sailors, magistrates, and ordinary citizens ambling hither and yon, shouting, greeting each other, or quarreling and waving hands.

Perhaps this is what constitutes the curious paradox of Ostia: it is by no means devoid of magnificence or historical significance, yet it scarcely feels monumental; it doesn’t dominate the space with the same imperial gravitas as other Italian cities. But maybe this is why it makes you feel at home and helps you envision yourself chatting with the denizens, pausing beneath the Mediterranean sun, or exchanging gossip with a neighbour.

Historical Experience

You can’t escape history when you’re in Italy, but some places feel more culturally charged than others. After hours of extensive research, after evenings of poring over maps and books, the writer of the article is ready to present two cities that require your undivided attention.

Naples

We won’t be lying, Napoli is here for a reason: the author of the article was so infatuated with the bust of Vergil that she traveled all the way from Rome to witness the eighth wonder of the world. You understand the significance: one hour by train!.. A price well paid. Yet we must warn you before we continue: Naples is chaos incarnate, and the apparent absence of rules is enough to goad your madness into the surface. If you’re convinced your forbearance can withstand the onslaught of total pandemonium, keep on reading.

Chances are you’re already familiar with the city: Gomorrah, a TV show and a book, has swayed global opinions and shaped public perception with a few brushstrokes that created a dark, gloomy portrait of a city notorious for its unforgiving underworld. Yet ordinary tourists are unlikely to bump into a bulky gangster vying with his sworn brother.

Founded by Greek settlers and subsequently absorbed into the Roman world, the city accumulated layer upon layer of history before passing through Byzantine, Norman, Angevin, Aragonese, Spanish, and Bourbon hands. That explains why Naples is such a chaotic place: it is, naturally, a palimpsest, which preserves sigils of antiquity, medieval Christianity, royal extravagance, and modern Neapolitan life. That same statement explains why Neapolitans have strong and good coffee—even though they tend to add their local flavor. For example, you can drop by Caffè del Professore to taste their trademark nocciola coffee and find a street overlooking Mount Vesuvius: we’re telling you, this is the experience of the century, and you will never be able to forget these minutes, permeated with salt air and filled with the distant din of throngs of people.

Following the track the author once took, we recommend taking a cable car, rising up the cliff, and visiting Castel Sant’Elmo to see the vast panorama of the city unfolding before your eyes. Once you feel the outlines of Vesuvius printed on the back of your retina, you’re free to set off and explore the city on your own: count Scaramuccia mentions, attend the Santa Chiara Monastery, book a tour to clamber the volcano, or sprawl over a chair, enjoying a gargantuan pizza accompanied by a glass of Aperol Spritz.

Pompeii

Pompeii is an eerie antithesis of Naples: its heart has stopped beating, and the crowds of antiquity have been reduced to archaeological traces. It’s not that hard to find a place in Italy where the past latches to the soles of your feet, but in Pompeii you realize the fragility of human existence—and come to terms with your own mortality.

Depending on your childhood memories and interests, you probably imagine Pompeii either as a village or a relatively small town with a few homes scattered on both sides of the road—at least this is the picture you saw in a book found on your grandmother’s shelf. In reality, however, Pompeii wasn’t a provincial settlement—before the eruption it was a flourishing Roman city with villas, temples, shops, baths, theaters, and other public spaces. You can still discern inscriptions scratched onto walls, some exhibiting outright effrontery, others significantly more tame; then you spot thresholds of private houses, counters of thermopolia where hot food and drinks were sold, and the grooves carved by countless cart wheels. The further you stray into the city, the more difficult it becomes to think of Pompeii as a collection of ruins. It is frozen in time, just like many archaeological remains—potsherds, fabrics, bones—yet it has a rare visceral effect that makes you contemplate the relentless flow of time and implacable natural forces we are unable to transcend.

Inspiration Experience

Let us finish the article on a lighter note: existential contemplation has its merits, but only when indulged in at the appropriate hour. After all, it’s hard to contemplate the transience of existence when Italy is standing before you in all its aesthetic splendor, boasting masterpieces by Caravaggio and Bernini.

Viterbo

Viterbo is a warm-up before the artistic marathon: it does not bombard you with masterpieces at every turn or demand that you queue beneath the gaze of some universally recognizable genius. Instead, its aesthetic appeal accumulates gradually: a medieval façade here, an ornate fountain there, a narrow stone alley opening unexpectedly onto a sunlit piazza!.. Essentially, it astounds guests with architectural coherence and medieval character that has transcended centuries of changes and emotional upheaval.

As for Viterbo’s artistic character, it is best evinced in its medieval quarter. Frankly, in some places it doesn’t even look like Italy at all: pointed arches, weathered stone, fortified towers, and elegant profferli—it resembles a French city that survived another battle with the English and withstood a siege. But no, this is Viterbese architecture at its finest; a theatrical costume it keeps wearing to this day, as though the city has stubbornly refused to relinquish its medieval persona. If you are looking for inspiration, this is perhaps the point: you do not necessarily need a museum full of masterpieces when the street itself has become an aesthetic object.

Florence

When Florence is involved, words are not enough: you must experience the presence of old masters watching your every step. Inspiration here is not an abstract concept; it has become an almost physical presence summoned by generations of geniuses—Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, the mighty Leonardo, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, and others.

It is nearly impossible to offer the best route: you’re riven between various sights at once. Should you stop by the Uffizi Gallery and admire Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Primavera? The gold in the locks will arrest your eye, and you won’t be able to leave until you engrave every curl, every curve, and every line into your memory. Maybe you should go for the spiritual experience and visit the Florence Cathedral, climb high enough to take in the panorama, and get acquainted with the layout of the city? Seems like a way to form a connection with Florence and dissolve in the abundance of red roofs plastered along the horizon.

Or perhaps Michelangelo’s David is the real gem, that towering marble embodiment of Renaissance idealism stored in the halls of the Galleria dell’Accademia? You surely can’t afford to miss that: the scale and precision of the sculpture are mind-boggling, perplexing, and stunning. Yes, you know that Renaissance artists did not merely produce beautiful objects, but seeing it in person fortifies the core idea: it was an obsessive investigation of what the human body, intellect, and imagination could achieve.

See that? We aren’t nearly done, but this is the essence of Florence: inspiration is perpetuated here; you only need to know where to look. It lingers in the proportions of a Renaissance façade, hides in the shadow cast by an ancient palazzo, resurfaces in the curve of a marble shoulder, and waits patiently in the quiet corners of a museum, listening to your subtle steps echoing in the halls.

Wrapping Up

To tell you the truth, this must have been one of the most complicated articles we’ve ever written: Italy is an amalgamation of flavors, experiences, and cultures, each revealing a unique character and distinctive hallmarks found in one region and never quite replicated in another.

Yet nothing has been more gratifying than discovering that, despite all these differences, every place we explored has its own way of telling the story of Italy. Beyond the Eternal City of Rome lie Tivoli and Ostia; venture farther, and you end up in Naples and Pompeii; another train, and you’re back in Viterbo, Florence, and countless other cities, waiting to expose yet another side of Italy.