3841 Where next for the Grand Tour

[QUOTE=ronald][LEFT]We've done Umbria and Le Marche in the Italy Grand Tour - where would you like to go next. I am leaning towards Venice and the Veneto...

Ronald
....
[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

Me too! Yes, please!! :)

Venice? Aint that the place with loads of pigeons and murky water? :D Oh, go on then.. if you must!

Personally, I'd rather like to see Sicily come up next; it may avert another crisis.. but you know you love them just as much as everyone else! Can we have a "kiss" icon.. or should I nick one from somewhere? :)

I have lived in the Veneto so could contribute and seems our new mega-poster Sergio Buonanotte is also from the Veneto and we could expect some insider tips from him. On the other hand I have always wanted to visit Sicily but never found the occasion so I would love to read about it here.

Let's do Venice - and the Veneto - all those lovely Palladian villas, and Comacchio. If Comacchio isn't in the Veneto is there any possibility of putting up a map which shows regional boundaries - I never know where Emilia Romagna ends and Veneto begins, or come to that anything at all about geography!!

We have done parts of central Italy so I think we should go and visit the south. I too would like to hear more about the real Sicily and not the godfather inspired views and perceptions.

Why not do two at the same time? Venice and Sicily! Otherwise, it's gonna take years for us to get to Campania!

I might be dead by then.. or is that the plan? :D

And how about Alto Adige, the most beautiful part of Italy ? Won't it be covered because not many foreigners want to "buy" there ?

[QUOTE=Sancho the Fat]And how about Alto Adige, the most beautiful part of Italy ? Won't it be covered because not many foreigners want to "buy" there ?[/QUOTE]

Sancho ... I'm definitely interested, so would like to see it on the map one day!! ;)

Argh! Choices!!! :confused:

[QUOTE=Sancho the Fat]And how about Alto Adige, the most beautiful part of Italy ? Won't it be covered because not many foreigners want to "buy" there ?[/QUOTE]

Hi Sancho,

I lived in Folgaria and love the whole Alto Adige / Trentino area. I think Germans and Austrians do buy there don't they? Or perhaps they are not considered the foreigners :D

So it seems to be Venice Vs Sicily - let's do Venice/Veneto first and Sicily next then since in July I should have more time to contribute in the Sicily section.

So Alto Adige [I]is[/I] going to be ignored, eh ? As I expected.

Wait your turn Sanch.. Alto Adige comes just before Campania.. which comes after everything else. ;)

I have ordered my coffin. :D

No don't worry Alto Adige will not be ignored :-) We promised to do all twenty and will get there eventually!

Romagna Mia!!!!!!! Good food and lovely cities Parma, Ferrara etc etc.
That would settle the Veneto v Sicilia arguement!!!!!:p

It makes sense to go to the Veneto and cover the north before heading down south to me, unfortunately that leaves Sicily, my favourite, to near the end but what do they say.. save the best to last!!!

Scarlet..

Campania will be last on the list. Trust me! :D

[QUOTE=ronald]No don't worry Alto Adige will not be ignored :-) We promised to do all twenty and will get there eventually![/QUOTE]

Let's hope we get there before the region goes further than requesting the "protection and guardianship" of Austria because the next step will be an independent South Tyrol hovering between the influence and control of Austria and Italy. A bit like Northern Ireland's current status.
:D :D

[url]http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:oXFLqi-wspsJ:www.guardian.co.uk/austria/article/0,,1700079,00.html+alto+adige+austria&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=1[/url]

Interesting link, Sdoj! Thanks for posting...

If we nudge Ronald nice enough, he'll do Trentino-Alto Adige before Campania! :p ;)

Veneeeezia!!! Can't wait!!! I'll need a scanner for my photos!! Argh... :rolleyes:

No need to nudge Ronni.. why are you stressed Matron? :)

I spose - Lunigiana - will be under Tuscany or will it be Liguria?

[QUOTE=Anastasia]No need to nudge Ronni.. why are you stressed Matron? :)[/QUOTE]

Work!! Sorting out results so those poor students can get jobs lol...:eek:

Chilling now for 2 days in the gorgeous sunshine before the madness continues!

Lunigiana would come under Tuscany since it is part of the Provincia di Massa Carrara

[QUOTE=Charles Joseph]Lunigiana would come under Tuscany since it is part of the Provincia di Massa Carrara[/QUOTE]

Another gem to look forward to!!! :)

And there's the lakes... and Lazio ... and Sardinia ... and Piemonte... and ...

Looks like a busy year for you, Ronald!! ;)

I vote for Veneto and Venezia. Let's celebrate "la Serenissima" . The City that never lost its charm over the centuries inspiring painters, writers and so on (Yes, so has Sicilia, I know).
If I may suggest just a couple of readings that I find interesting about Venezia :
A 1000 days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi
and
A Venician affair by Andrea de Robilant

Enjoy Veneto and Venezia.

We should divide the subject: (i) Venice, (ii) other Veneto Cities, (iii) Euganean Hills & pre-Dolomites and of course (iv) the Padania Plain.
If we don't do this then I fear Venice will dominate all discussions.

[quote=Charles Joseph]Lunigiana would come under Tuscany since it is part of the Provincia di Massa Carrara[/quote]
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.....Luni is not a province, it's an ancient tribal/ cultural entity that as GlenB suggests covers Liguria & Tuscany.

If we do the tribal route then there's a lot more (complicated!) posting that's needed!

The name [I]Lunigiana[/I] is thought to have come from the Roman settlement at [I]Luni[/I], which is now actually outside the boundaries of what is now known as modern Lunigiana.

The area is wedged between Emilia and Liguria with most of territory being incorporated in the Provincia of Massa Carrara (Tuscany), although a very small part of it also comes under La Spezia (Liguria), with Sarzana being its largest town.

[QUOTE=ronald]No don't worry Alto Adige will not be ignored :-) We promised to do all twenty and will get there eventually![/QUOTE]

Still waiting.....

Still early days, Sancho.... :D

[QUOTE=ronald][LEFT]We've done Umbria and Le Marche in the Italy Grand Tour - where would you like to go next. I am leaning towards Venice and the Veneto...

Ronald

ps: Downloadable guides for both in the works with Umbria for ever on the cusp of being finished before I am interrupted by yet another crisis![/LEFT][/QUOTE]

STILL waiting :mad:

Piano, piano, Sancho........ the sense of anticipation only hightens the experience of the reality!

Come on Ronni.. wake up. Veneto has had more than it's fair share of time for people to post on the region now.

Didn't you say Sicilia is next?

[QUOTE=ronald]No don't worry Alto Adige will not be ignored :-) We promised to do all twenty and will get there eventually![/QUOTE]

We're waiting.

...

So are others... :p

I'm sure I read somewhere on this board that the inclusion/review of new Grand Tour venues would take place [I][U]every 21 days[/U][/I] and another would then be added. (Now I can't find that statement.)

Well I've not seen any sign of this regular review and when I asked about the inclusion of Lombardia - rich in lakes, alpine venues and historic cities - I was told that it would be 'considered' later. But 'when' later? Next month? Next year?

What I can't understand is why a template for each area cannot be placed on a new forum for each of the remaining 'uncovered areas'. Then with that template in place people could add, and view, what has been offered by contributors. No more, or less than is happening with the existing forums.

[B]So come on Ronald - just list the remaining areas and people here will do the rest.
PLEASE....[/B]

[QUOTE=Carole B]I'm sure I read somewhere on this board that the inclusion/review of new Grand Tour venues would take place [I][U]every 21 days[/U][/I] and another would then be added. (Now I can't find that statement.)

Well I've not seen any sign of this regular review and when I asked about the inclusion of Lombardia - rich in lakes, alpine venues and historic cities - I was told that it would be 'considered' later. But 'when' later? Next month? Next year?

What I can't understand is why a template for each area cannot be placed on a new forum for each of the remaining 'uncovered areas'. Then with that template in place people could add, and view, what has been offered by contributors. No more, or less than is happening with the existing forums.

[B]So come on Ronald - just list the remaining areas and people here will do the rest.
PLEASE....[/B][/QUOTE]

You're right. Here it is. Obviously whoever's in charge can't bring himself to admit that the whole thing's been a failure.

[QUOTE=ronald]After some discussion and head scratching the Italy Magazine moderating team has decided to launch its biggest project to date!

Following Iona's excellent suggestion about tackling each region of Italy we thought it would be a nice idea to embark on a concentrated effort of sharing information about travelling and living in Italy, region by region, town by town.

Here is how it is going to work:

Every 21 days the soon to be established Italy Grand Tour forum and our distinguished and esteemed forum members will focus their energy in coming up with tips, stories and experiences about a specific region or area on the following topics:

[B]See[/B]: What have you seen and what you would recommend others should see? Do you have photos from the region - post them in the forum!

[B]Understand[/B]: Is there a particular custom, festival, way of doing things that needs a bit of explanation for the uninitiated?

[B]Talk[/B]: Did you talk with the locals? What did you manage to get across? What did you understand from answers? Did the regional accent or dialect trip you up?

[B]Get in[/B]: How did you arrive to the region?

[B]Get around[/B]: How did you get around? Was it a vespa, an ape, a taxi or just a plain old car. Did you hire a bike or did you just walk?

[B]Do[/B]: Other than the big monuments (that fall under the See category) what else did you do?

[B]Eat[/B]: What did you eat and where?

[B]Drink[/B]: What did you drink and where?

[B]Stay safe[/B]: Any issues regarding safety? Do you have a story to share?

Now here comes the best part (or at least the next part!).

The information collected will not just be left languishing there for those lucky enough to be able to find it again. We will pull it all together, edit it, add some of the pictures to make it nice, and make it available through a free to download PDF file that everyone can print and have as their own mini-guide when visiting the area.

But it gets even better!

The person who has offered the most informative, funny, exciting or in any other form or way significant comments regarding a region gets a free Italy magazine subscription AND a polo shirt! Of course many of our forum members already have subscriptions so in that case you will receive an equivalent gift through the Italy Magazine shop!

On Monday we begin with Umbria (why Umbria you ask - well its more or less in the middle between Piedmont and Sicily, has so much to offer and allows us to break the usual way of traversing Italy which is North to South or South to North!).

This project is long and far-reaching but by the end of it the forum members and hopefully some of the hundreds that visit the forum daily will have a pool of information generated from people who have been there and done it!

So get your remembering hats on and think back to when you where in Umbria...[/QUOTE]

Thank you for finding that....

I [I]knew[/I] I'd read it somewhere on the site!
[B]So how about Alto Adige and Lombardia? Eh Ronald????[/B]

[ATTACH]1343[/ATTACH]Sanch and Carole, does it occur to you that this is what you are engaging in :rolleyes:

[QUOTE=Relaxed][ATTACH]1343[/ATTACH]Sanch and Carole, does it occur to you that this is what you are engaging in :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

I know perfectly well what I'm "engaging in". Now let's see if Ronald is honest enough to tell us what has really happened, or if childish bella figura is more important for him.

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[QUOTE=Carol and Dave]Sancho, I know that you are frustrated in not being able to get information from the administration here, but there is another forum where all areas of Italy can be discussed

"Italian Regions
Italy has 20 regions, all with there different characteristics. Here is the place to post any comments about them, days out, things to do, things not to do, places to eat and anything else you can think of."

[url]www.italiauncovered.com[/url][/QUOTE]

But membership of that site is not open to all!

Why doesn't Ronald just permanently list all the regions in Italy. That way no-one would then feel excluded and feel the need perhaps to go elsewhere!!!

Or why doesn't he just do the decent thing and say why his Grand Tour's been abandoned ? Even more than liars, I hate people that avoid telling the truth by not saying anything, which is what he's doing.

...

I really don't understand why you both are encouraging people not to join [url]www.italiauncovered.com[/url] . It's an Italian forum where you are both already members. Why would you do that?

Andy will be glad for the free ad for his forum! :D :p

Agree, though. Why not use the whole list after all. Plenty to say about various regions. Might have to be moved to the bottom of the screen but then everyone could post about their favourite area to their hearts content...

Moved to : Italiauncovered.co.uk

[QUOTE=Oneto15]Carole.

I'm sorry but I cannot allow such an inaccurate statement to go unchallenged.

Will you qualify your sweeping and highly prejudicial statement with some specifics please.

No forum is perfect (including this one), and all forums evolve over time, hopefully for the better, but to the best of my knowledge the only people who are not welcome over on [URL="www.italiauncovered.com"]www.italiauncovered.com[/URL] are those who either sign up pro-porting to be some one else, or try to hide their identity for the sole purpose of disrupting the forum. Every one else is free to either contribute, or browse as they deem fit, though of course, it would be preferred it if they were active members.

So come on Carole, prove your statement or withdraw it, and before you rush off to check, yes, I am a member of Italiauncovered.com.[/QUOTE]

I've sent you a PM with my response to your question, and as you are a member of that site you will no doubt be aware that I cannot 'rush off to check if you are a member'!

[QUOTE=Carole B]But membership of that site is not open to all![/QUOTE]

Just, in all fairness, to clarify my statement above....

I perhaps [I]should[/I] have said "But membership of that site is open to everyone except people who are classified as [I]personae non gratae[/I] by the site Administration" - which is, after all, clearly their prerogative.

Moved to : Italiauncovered.co.uk

Hmmmm all good & well...

But where's the Grand Tour gone?? :rolleyes: :p

Yes - come on Ronald - at least give us a reason [I]why[/I] it's not being expanded as described in Italy Mag's blurb about it!

If the inclusion of other regions is no longer on the cards - just say so..... why keep everyone wondering [B]'WHY there's no response?'[/B]