Monte Calvo, or Bald Mountain, is the highest peak in Gargano. Just 1056 m tall, it has a rounded shape—something like an inverted bowl, so for me it looks like a hill. This karst mountain has no steep slopes (except the forest path), and its summit is a bit rounded, at least it seems so.
This is one of my main dilemmas while trekking in the Italian Apennines, especially in Abruzzo, where there’s a chance to see a Marsican Brown Bear: I’d like to encounter one, but I wouldn’t like being eaten by it. To be more precise, I wouldn’t like to meet it—but I would like to see it. Probably the majority of hikers
Just 30 km from the famous Matera lies its “uglier sister” Gravina di Puglia. Even if it’s so close, tourists generally skip it; many don’t even know Gravina exists, and it’s Matera that they have to tick on their “must-see” lists. Why sisters? Because, like Matera, part of the city was carved into the rock, so it’s somewhat similar to
Monte Sacro, an old abbey on the hill, is an interesting spot to visit. After a short hike in Gargano National Park, you can get to a little-known place, even by many locals. The Abbey of Monte Sacro (Abbazia di Monte Sacro) stands on a hill about 847 meters high; as everywhere in Europe, at the beginning there was originally
Can you imagine spending a lazy, relaxing day covered in clay and soaking in warm mineral water? It’s absolutely possible- for example, in Tuscany. The region is rich in hot springs, and using some of them is free of charge. Others might cost quite a lot.
I really don’t like comparing lesser-known places to well-known ones and giving them the “little brother/sister” label. To me, it suggests that the latter is simply a poorer/worse version of the famous one. Chioggia, located just 40 km from Italy’s most popular city, has earned the nickname Little Venice (by the way, there are plenty of so-called Little Venices around
Ever since Mauro first mentioned the name ‘Udine’, I started thinking it must be a beautiful town, something like those tiny places in Slovenia. Why? No reason, I guess the name itself struck me as that. Therefore, I was happy to confront my imagination with reality. It turned out that it’s better not to visualize places you want to visit.
I never thought I’d regret not being plump. But I did – in Trieste, a city famous for its crazy bora, a strong wind which sometimes blows at speeds of 170 km/h. If you’re slim, well… you’re Mary Poppins flying around without an umbrella. Average people like me have to dig their feet into the pavement, trying not to be
I started the 3rd day of our Abruzzo in December trip stating that my knee was in the lovely shape of a small balloon (pity, it wasn’t colourful). Annoying, and not great to climb, but I still could walk. And I did walk; we just had to modify our ‘to do’ list.
The next day of our off-season travel in Abruzzo, we started by visiting two churches and the castle in Bominaco. Driving there, I was looking at the mountains and thinking that Abruzzo in winter would be better with more snow, but on the other hand, many roads would be closed. And we saw it later on.
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