Love Italian Style with Romance by Rail

“There’s something about the sound of a train that’s very romantic and nostalgic and hopeful,” said world renowned musician Paul Simon. ItaliaRail agrees and offers three enchanting rail destinations sure to inspire Amore.

1. Charming Cinque Terre

The five idyllic villages that make up the area known as Cinque Terre – Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, are spread over the northeastern mountains of Italy, overlooking the cerulean waters of the Mediterranean Sea. With steep, winding staircases and secret paths that lead to heavenly views, Cinque Terre is a paramour’s paradise. Lover’s Lane or Via dell’Amore, between Riomaggiore and Manarola, is a short 30-minute walk along a wooden bridge path right on the ocean. If you choose to venture farther, the Cinque Terre National Park offers longer hiking paths between each town. Stop along the way to enjoy a glass of wine and a delicious meal at any of the quaint seaside cafes. If you don’t want to hike the whole way, hop on the regional train that travels between, and stops in each village.

By Train : From Rome, take the high­speed train to La Spezia, about a 3 1⁄2 hour trip with fares starting at $27. From Florence, regional trains run to La Spezia, which take about 2 1⁄2 hours. From La Spezia, take the regional train to any of the towns of Cinque Terre. This trip is about 10 – 20 minutes depending on which town you stay in and the fare is only $3 - $5.

2. Heavenly Fiesole

Five miles northeast of Florence, sits the dreamy town of Fiesole. It’s the perfect romantic day trip from Florence by train or bike. In ancient times, Fiesole was the center of a school for priests, or augurs, who relied on signs from nature to forecast intentions from the heavens. This was the start of a strong religious tradition in Fiesole evident today by the many monasteries, churches and cathedrals that inhabit the town. Fiesole is also home to the Bandini Museum, which boasts an impressive collection of religious artifacts dating back to the 12th century. Spend the day wandering through these hallowed, theistic monuments and museums, then enjoy a divine Italian lunch in an intimate ristorante overlooking the spectacular city of Florence.

By Train : From Rome or Venice take the high­speed train to Florence with fares starting at $27. From Florence you can take a regional train to Fiesole. It’s a ten to twelve minute ride and costs only $3.

3. Romantic Emilia-Romagna

There’s nothing more romantic than staying in a castle for a night or two, and from Bologna you can venture out by regional train to the Emilia-Romagna area, which is chock­full of castelli to choose from. Dating back centuries, many of these regal manors have been converted into hotels that include five-star restaurants and spas. Spend the day touring the Castelli del Ducato di Parma e Piacenza (castles of Parma and Piacenza). Start with the Castle of Torrechiara, in Parma, built between 1448 –1460. Here you can get a tourist map that provides information on the 19 castles in the area - what to see and how to get to them. At night, enjoy a delicious Italian meal fit for a king or queen and then settle in for a royal slumber in your very own castle.

By Train: Take a high­speed train from Rome to Bologna and be there in just over two hours. Fares begin at $27. From Bologna take a regional train to the city or town of your choice.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Italian Wine Sets a New Trend Among Russian Consumers

The tenth edition of Vinitaly Russia opens with a flurry of bottles and ends with a smile as producers, importers, journalists and key players of the Russian world of wine share with Vinitaly International their optimistic view of the future of Italian wine in a difficult but promising market where all that is Italian has become fashionable and stylish.

“Italian wine is a great success story in the Russian market, it sells more and more and we love to spend money on it: we love Italy, we love to go to Italy and we love to spend money on Italian wine inside Russia. Italy is fashionable and very successful” said Igor Serdyuk, nominated in 2007 the "Most Influential Wine Writer" by Meininger's Who's Who in Russia and recently appointed Chief analyst for Simple Wine News.

The love for Italian wine, culture and food is also shared by top brasses of some of the most important Importing Companies in Russia such as Irina Fomina, Chairman of the Board at MBG and Dmitry Pinsky, Manging Director of DPTrade who also stressed that the strength of Italian wines in Russia owes a lot to the great success of Italian cuisine: “You can count hundreds and hundreds of Italian restaurants in Moscow and Trattorias and that's what is supporting the sales of Italian wines. Another advantage to Italian wines is a much better price to quality ratio than that of French wines. If we consider our portfolio, our sales are 40% Italian wines in value and only 22 to 25 % French. I personally consider the destiny of Italian wines in Russia as absolutely positive.”

Russia is undoubtedly a market that we need to target since it quite obviously loves the Italian style.” Says Daniela Mastrobernardino from Terradora Winery and President of Movimento del Turismo del Vino. “Vinitaly International is the best way to promote Italian wine especially since it helps consumers acquire a better knowledge of the excellence and richness of Italian produce”. Slow Food’s wine guide, Slow Wine, is at its third stop, after New York and Hong Kong, of a year long collaboration with Vinitaly International: “I am positively impressed by this event, not only because it has been a success but also because of the high level of interest shown by operators and consumers” explains Fabio Giavedoni. “ We know we have a great appeal here in Russia but I did not expect attendees to be so interested not only in the wine itself but also in the land and the way in which wine is produced. This is exactly the message we try to convey to all our readers though our guide.”

“This year’s edition of Vinitaly Russia was mostly focused on the quality of attendees rather than the quantity, thanks to a strict selection carried out through a double level registration system” explained Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International. “Talking with importers, journalists and producers during the event the general sentiment was that Italian wine has become the new trend of the moment in Russia. If we take advantage of this tendency and work as a team we can strengthen our presence in the Russian Market. In the mean time, we have been trying to help people live our events in real time through a continuous stream of videos, photos and information, which were published throughout the event on all our social media channels. We don’t presume to be perfect but we are really keen on engaging as much as possible all those producers, importers and Italian wine drinkers who follow us with such enthusiasm.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Autumn in Chianti: itineraries of tastes and culture

4th November sees the beginning of the 2013 edition of Autumn in Chianti, the event in collaboration between the provinces of Florence and Siena, with the eight councils of the Chianti reunited in a wide series of appointments.

Ten days of culture and flavours, Autumn in Chianti is the best way to discover typical dishes of the area and to visit all those little villages that are home to some of Tuscany’s historical and artistic jewels: the Museo Archeologico of Chianti Senese in Gaiole in Chianti, the Museo di Arte Sacra in San Casciano Val di Pesa, the Antiquarium di Sant'Appiano in Barberino Val d'Elsa, the Museo di Arte Sacra di San Francesco in Greve in Chianti and the Parco e sculture del Chianti in Castelnuovo Berardenga.

Culture, traditions, wine and food, crafts and typical products: these are the ingredients that make this occasion so unique.

The councils of Barberino Val d'Elsa, Greve in Chianti, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, San Casciano Val di Pesa and Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole in Chianti and Radda in Chianti will be home to music, tastings, meetings, exhibitions, conventions and markets, and "Quinto quarto" is back, the gourmet food initiative involving approximately 50 restaurants in the area committed to proposing simple but delicious traditional dishes – hard to find in other seasons of the year – on the menu at special prices.

The programme is full, from the market-exhibition Olio Sapiens, the exhibition of extra virgin olive oil, the 5th November in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, to the visits to the Wine Museum in Greve in Chianti; from the Abissina theatre show at San Casciano on 9th November, to the bicycle tour “Chianti’s Etruscan origins” on 12th November between Panzano in Chianti, Radda and Castellina, to the Olive Mill in Jazz, a musical aperitif in an olive mill at Greve in Chianti on 12 November.

Website: Tuscany Tourist Bureau

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.