SOUVENIRS
Travel Guide: Italy

When I was nineteen, my boyfriend at the time moved to Rome indefinitely. Awash in young love, I vowed to follow him there. I opened up a channel of collaboration between my alma mater in Brazil and the stately Università di Roma La Sapienza, and moved to Rome for a year.

It changed my life. I was following romance, but spent most of my time alone, eating gelato, learning Italian by watching MTV and dubbed anime shows, and discovering who I was. Young love didn’t last, but the country kept my heart, all the dusty passeggi I made on my own. Here are some of my favourite recommendations from the Bel Paese.

SOUVENIRS is my limited edition art book inspired by travel, belonging, and food. Use the code SOUVENIRS10 to get 10% off.

 
 

  • Rome

    EAT & DRINK
    Enoteca Ferrara
    Salumeria Roscioli
    Freni & Frizioni
    Big Star

    DO
    ·     Wander the gardens of Villa Borghese
    · Sunset-watch from the Giannicolo
    · Aperitivo from the Musei Capitolini roof terrace
    · Open-air screenings on the Isola Tiberina

    STAY
    Trastevere

  • Venice

    EAT & DRINK
    Pasticceria Rizzardini
    Aperitivo at Al Remer
    Have a spritz by a canal

    DO
    · Spend a long time in the Peggy Guggenheim museum
    · Visit during the Biennale exhibitions (Giardini, Arsenale, Punta della Dogana)
    · Buy a paper map, get lost, be surprised

    STAY
    Rialto (Airbnb)

  • Tuscany

    EAT & DRINK
    Florence
    Il Santo Bevitore
    Il Santino
    Trattoria Cammillo

    DO
    · Visit the original David at l’Accademia
    · Wander the Boboli Gardens
    · Go up the campannelli (bell towers) in Siena and Florence
    · Grape harvesting & wine tasting

    STAY
    Florence
    Rent a villa in the countryside & chill

Recipe for the perfect spritz drink, a spread from my travel memoir SOUVENIRS.

 

Along the coast.

Amalfi Coast

EAT & DRINK
Spaghetti alla Nerano, red wines and limoncello from the region

DO
Visit the Amalfi cathedral, enjoy the views from up high in Ravello

STAY
Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, Ravello

Ligurian Coast: Alassio

EAT & DRINK
The focaccia and white wines from the region

DO
Visit the Giardini di Villa della Pergola and enjoy the stunning views

STAY
Casa d’Artista

 

Italy on film
some of my favourites

The Talented Mr. Ripley

My Brilliant Friend

Roman Holiday

 
'The Harvest', a short story by James Connor Vincent for SOUVENIRS

Read ‘The Harvest’,
a short story by
James Connor Vincent

A group of artists, staying in residency at a 19th century Tuscan villa, sign up for a grape harvest at the villa’s vineyard. However, several of them, including our narrator, Nathan, have ill-advisedly decided to sample a previous year’s vintage the night before the grape pick. With heavy heads and the sharp September sun on their backs, the harvest will be more of a challenge than they originally expected.

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