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Castel del Monte, Frederick II's octagonal castle, alone on its hill in the Murge, Puglia

My private Italy: Castel del Monte, the stone crown of Puglia

If you are travelling in Italy, there is a good chance you are carrying a small copper coin worth one euro cent, and on its face, stamped in miniature, is the building I want to tell you about today. Millions of people hold it every day without...
Italian leather workshop with handmade bags and tools

My private Italy: Italian leather and the Italians behind it

In Florence, the streets still remember who used to work in them. Walk out of Piazza Santa Croce towards the river and read the white marble plaques on the corners: Via delle Conce, the street of the tanneries; Via dei Conciatori, the street of...

My private Italy: AI knows everything, so why VITOR?

  • Blog
Some time ago I stumbled upon a post by Bill Gates on his blog, Gates Notes, and, guess what, he was talking about us. Well, not about VITOR specifically, but about travel agents in general. Here is an extract (you can read the full post at...
White and black Italian truffles on a wooden board

My private Italy: His Majesty, the Truffle

  • Blog
I remember the first time a guide let me hold a white truffle before it went into the scale. It was heavier than I expected, cold, faintly damp, and it smelled like nothing I could name — garlic, hay, wet earth, something almost animal...