Switzerland is a rather divided country, both culturally and linguistically. The majority of the mountainous country is made…
Times visited: 7 (1 week in 2013, 1 day in 2013, 1 day in 2016, 2 days in 2019, 1 day in 2021, 1 day in 2022 and 1 week in 2024)
Cities visited: Rome, Venice, Bergamo, Milan and Naples
Towns and villages visited: Ostia, Campione d’Italia, Pompei, Ercolano, Sent’cò, Corricella and Chiaiolella
Islands visited: Procida
UNESCO sites visited: 5
Italy is one of those countries that everyone wants to visit. And for good reason. There’s so much to see that I’m not even sure it’s possible to see it all in a lifetime.
I’ve travelled to Italy seven times, although five of these visits were short trips, so I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface.
My first visit to Italy was in March 2013 on a field trip to Rome with my high school Latin class. We spent a week exploring so much of Rome that it’s all mixed together in my head. I honestly can’t remember much about the city other than ruins, ruins and ruins (and pizza!).
In the summer of the same year, I went back to Italy with my family, although only on a day trip from Croatia to overcrowded Venice. And in June 2016, I was on another day trip, this time a long stopover in Bergamo. Although it rained through my entire day in Bergamo, I really enjoyed this small and less touristy city.
In the summer of 2019, I returned to Italy, although I went there mainly to visit the landlocked country of San Marino. But I did spend an afternoon in Milan, where I stumbled upon a beautiful pro-immigration demonstration!
In the summer of 2021, I was very briefly in Italy on a hike from Nauders in Austria to Dreiländergrenzstein, the very spot where the borders of Austria, Switzerland and Italy meet! Much of the last section of the hike went through South Tirol in Italy! I returned to Italy for a brief visit in November 2022, although not to the “mainland”. This visit was to the odd Italian exclave of Campione d’Italia, which is entirely surrounded by Switzerland!
In August 2024, it was finally time for a proper return to Italy. I came back for a week-long visit. The annual EAA conference took place in Rome and I was giving a presentation, so four of my days were spent in Rome, mostly at the conference but also gallivanting around the city a little. Before the conference, I spent three nights in Naples. I explored the chaotic city, spent a day visiting both Pompeii and Herculaneum and climbing to the summit of Mount Vesuvius, and spent the last day walking 16 kilometres around the beautiful small island of Procida!
