Travel Italy: Vacation Packages, Tips, Tours of Italy

The island of Pellestrina, in the Venetian lido, hosts its annual Regatta on next August 1st. The Pellestrina Regatta coincides with the colourful celebrations of the Madonna dell’Apparizione held on the island on Sunday, August 1st.

It offers a chance to visit one of the beautiful islands located in the Venice Lido , featuring narrow canals and houses painted in bright, cheerful colours.

When: Aug 1st 2010 (annual) - time: 4.30pm
Where: Pellestrina - Venetian Lido (about 1 hour from Venice by ferry).

Those who are visiting Florence in the last week of July, have the chance to experience a trip into the Middle Ages.

The town of Vinci, Leonardo’s hometown, around 40 km from Florence, is hosting the Unicorn Festival.
It is a medieval festival featuring elves, witches, duels, magic shows, archery contests and Gothic music.

When: July 24 - 25, 2010 (annual)
Where: Vinci (surroundings of Florence)

- How to get there
By rail: take the Florence - Pisa train, get off at Empoli station. From there, take bus — Copit line — to Vinci.

Details of Unicorn Festival can be found on http://festaunicorno.com/.

The Opera Festival, annual lyrical festival of Tuscany, offers a series of performances from June through July in Florence and Siena.

The locations for the 2010 Opera Festival include The Boboli Gardens, possibly the world’s greatest example of Italian-style garden, located in the ancient heart of Florence and the San Galgano Abbey, splendid ruins of a Middle Ages Abbey, located in the surroundings of Siena.

When: June 7 - July 31, 2010 (annual)
Where: Boboli Gardens (Florence) and San Galgano Abbey (Chiusdino - Siena)

Festival details and programme can be found at festivalopera.it.

Umbria Jazz, held annually early July in Perugia, is one of the major Jazz festivals in Europe.

It offers free daily open-air concerts featuring top international performers.

A 10 days of great music from morning until late at night, hosted in venues — squares, streets, theaters located in the historic district of Perugia — that are an attraction in themselves.

When: July 9 - 18, 2010 (annual)
Where: Perugia
Find out details and programme of the festival at Umbria Jazz Website.

The summer sales season kicked off in some of the cities in Italy. On July 10 you will have shopping sales season ongoing throughout Italy.
Below is the starting date of summer sales season in Italy for each of the regions. Keep in mind, earlier is better to grab the best deals.

Lombardy (Milan): July 3; Lazio (Rome): July 3; Tuscany (Florence, Siena etc…): July 10; Umbria (Perugia, Assisi etc…): July 7; Veneto (Venice, Padova etc..): July 3; Campania (Naples, Capri, Amalfi Coast…): July 2; Liguria (Genoa, Ligurian Riviera, Cinque Terre…): July 9; Emilia Romagna (Bologna): July 7; Piedmont (Turin): July 3; Sicily: July 10; Sardinia: July 3; Marche: July 7; Apulia: July 2; Friuli Venezia Giulia: June 15; Trentino Alto Adige: July 15; Valle d’Aosta: July 10; Molise: July 10; Abruzzo (L’Aquila): July 10; Basilicata: July 2; Calabria: July 3.

If you are visiting Rome or Tuscany or Umbria, we suggest to visit a couple of fashion malls featuring hundreds of designer stores all in one place. There you can get the best bargains when it comes to shopping designer items.

Below are the links to the handiest fashion malls in Rome and Tuscany (see the stores you find there and how to get there).
“Castel Romano Designer Outlet” is located in the surroundings of Rome (15km away from city center); “Valdichiana Outlet Village” is a very handy one for those who are visiting Tuscany or Umbria.