Known as the Regina Viarum, or the Queen of Roads, the Via Appia is one of ancient Rome’s oldest and most important roads, stretching from the capital to the port city of Brindisi.

Constructed in 312 BC, the Via Appia was a marvel of Roman engineering, facilitating military movements and trade, and playing a crucial role in the expansion of the Roman Empire. Until then, the only roads outside ancient Rome were Etruscan and went towards Etruria, which was a region of central Italy. Walking along this ancient road, you are literally following in the footsteps of history, with every stone telling a story of a bygone era.

Today, the first 10 miles (17 km) of the cobblestone path remains and is preserved within the Appia Antica archaeological park in the south of Rome. Popular with history buffs, walkers and cyclists, the perfectly intact road is flanked by what remains of ancient Roman aqueducts and villas. Beneath the path is a sprawling network of catacombs where Christian converts were buried.

The Via Appia’s addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List underscores its significance as a cultural and historical treasure. This recognition honors its past and ensures its preservation for future generations to explore and appreciate.

UNESCO said the road illustrated “the advanced technical skill of Roman engineers in the construction of roads, civil-engineering projects, infrastructure and sweeping land-reclamation works, as well as a vast series of monumental structures including, for example, triumphal arches, baths, amphitheaters and basilicas, aqueducts, canals, bridges, and public fountains”.

Via Appia is the 60^th cultural heritage site in Italy to be added to the list, which includes the historic centers of Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa and Naples, as well as the five villages of the Cinque Terre and the cave city of Matera in Basilicata.

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At the spa, guests can experience a range of artisanal massages, rituals and warm ceremonies in renovated treatment rooms, including a new couples suite. As guests venture into the center of the revamped facilities, they will discover the Monteverdi Spa Circuit, with its series of warm and cold plunge pools, saunas and showers. The distinctive spa journey includes a new bio sauna, a Finnish sauna and a cold plunge pool. Guests can also experience the new sensory showers, which invigorate the body with harmonious variations in temperature, scents, colors, and vibrations.

Monteverdi Tuscany Spa Circuit

The Spa Circuit also offers access to the newly constructed Conservatory, a relaxation area with views for guests to take in before or after their bathing rituals. Other new facilities include cryotherapy chambers, outdoor garden and yoga platform, featuring vistas of the Italian countryside. To complement the expanded facilities, Monteverdi has partnered with luxury beauty brands to augment its spa program with a range of treatments.

The new 1,720-square-foot Wellness Center offers five treatment rooms, including two rooms designed for laser treatments and an IV lounge. There are four areas of wellness expertise: aesthetic, regenerative, preventative and programmatic, where guests can experience aesthetic care, science-driven treatments and physician guidance to promote health and wellbeing during and after their stay. Each customized wellness journey is designed to help guests gain insight about their health and reach their individual goals. A wellness concierge will be assigned to each guest ahead of and during their stay for a personalized wellness experience.

Monteverdi Wellness Center Menu

The Wellness Center menu was developed in partnership with Dr. Maurizio Cavallini, an esteemed practitioner who brings decades of medical expertise to Monteverdi as chief medical advisor. Services include aesthetic medicine and regenerative treatments that boost skin health with medical techniques, besides diagnostic services and assessments that inspire guests to take a preventative approach to nutritional and age-related needs.

Monteverdi offers multi-day retreats and programs, including the three-night Tuscan Tranquility Retreat and the seven-night Holistic Detox Retreat, each of which include a curated selection of treatments, services, activities and diagnostic assessments, along with F&B experiences led by Executive Chef Giancarla Bodoni.

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With the abundance of hotels and destinations, it’s easy to lose track. Would I prefer an active vacation with sauna in the evening? Or rather culinary experiences with friends? Do I dream of luxury and relaxation or am I looking for relaxation in nature? But which hotel and destination suits me best? We might have the answer. Tell us which vacation type you are – and discover the most beautiful hotels according to your wishes!

Sustainability

Slow travel as a lifestyle

Sustainability is not a trend for you, but a lifestyle. Do you value regional food, are you careful about what you consume, and do you want a hotel that is also conscious and climate-neutral in its approach to life? Here are two hotels that will make you happy. That’s a promise!

The Alpin & Relax Hotel Gerstl in the Val Venosta puts great value on regional food from the immediate surroundings. Whether in the infinity pool, the natural bathing pond or the sauna, the mountain view is always included. Recharge your batteries, feel tranquility and absolute liberty. At this place, where familiar hospitality, modern style, South Tyrolean tradition and strong holiday emotions are unified, the beauty of life is put in the center of attention, every day.

Montivas Lodge in Livigno is built entirely from ecologically valuable materials. In addition to a completely sustainable energy concept, a first-class organic breakfast awaits you in the morning. At Montivas Lodge ethics meets aesthetics. The building was built exclusively using environmentally friendly materials to make your sustainable holiday and the words go for green a reality.

Wellness

Warm and cozy

Every visit to the sauna is relaxation for you. Nothing relaxes you more in the winter months than pleasant scents and cozy warmth? Then off you go to the Garberhof in South Tyrol. A unique spa with a large pool area and sauna worlds awaits you here. The special thing: Italy’s largest Hamam, which takes you to a world of ethereal scents and a special cleansing ritual. Surrounded by sunny orchards, the hotel merges with the scenic beauty of South Tyrol. It’s an oasis of tranquility where you will find the ideal conditions to experience a feeling of total freedom.

The Cyprianerhof in the Dolomites of South Tyrol is a wonderful place to unwind. Here you can not only look forward to the breathtaking panorama of the Rosengarten, but also to the brand new Similde Spa. Jump into the pool with Dolomite water, enjoy an infusion in the glass sauna or a bubble bath in the whirlpool – mountain view included. The close connection to nature is reflected in the hotel. The impressive Catinaccio/Rosengarten rises impressively in front of the 5-star hotel. It is a sight that inspires the eyes and touches the soul.

Luxury

No wishes remain unfulfilled

No infinity pool, no you. When you go on vacation, it may – no, must – be unique and luxurious. True luxury can be experienced at the five-star Hotel Fanes in the South Tyrolean Dolomites. Whether in the sky pool or in the private whirlpool: Here you relax at the highest level. The hotel in Alta Badia, in the heart of the Dolomites, lies in the picturesque scenery of the village of San Cassiano. It is a charming and elegant destination where you breathe a centuries-old art of welcoming. A precious place for regeneration and special attentions.

Alternatively, head to Lake Garda: The Quellenhof Luxury Resort Lazise awaits you with an excellent pool and wellness paradise on 21,000 square feet. You can sleep in luxurious suites and glamorous private villas. It’s Dolce Vita pure at Lake Garda. Surrounded by olive trees, above the small medieval village of Lazise and only a few minutes away from the extensive southeast shore of Lake Garda.

Design

Here beats the aesthetic heart

You love design and innovative ideas. When choosing your hotel, aesthetics also play a role. The more inspiring, the better. The Parkhotel Holzner in South Tyrol is sure to make your design heart leap for joy. Let yourself be captivated by the charm of the Gründerzeit and discover modern elements in the midst of history. Built in 1908, the hotel is located 4,000 feet above sea level on Ritten Mountain, and offers a stunning view of pastures and forests, lovely hills, and rugged mountain peaks. It is an alpine refuge surrounded by fresh mountain air and ancient giant trees. All that only a 15-minutes cable-car ride from the city center of Bolzano.

Another tip: Hotel Muchele near Merano. 40 modern suites and excellent food await you. Wine lovers, architecture fans and free-spirited souls love the easy-going atmosphere that prevails here. Best of all, if you like the Moroso furnishings, you can buy a few pieces right away. A hotel as a showroom, so to speak. If that’s not something for design lovers. Hotel Muchele is part of the Vinum Hotels South Tyrol, top vacation addresses for everyone who wants to experience wine culture up close.

Water

Time out by the lake

Whenever you sit by the water, you are happy. A vacation without sea or lake – hardly imaginable! Then off to Lake Garda to the five-star luxury hotel EALA in Limone sul Garda. This exclusive 5-Star L hotel on Lake Garda is inspired by and owes its name to a wonderful animal that has always lived on the shores of Lake Garda: the swan, eala in Celtic. Enjoy the view in the spa or while swimming in the infinity pool. If you prefer to jump directly into the lake, a private beach area on the lakeside awaits you. In the evening, enjoy dinner in one of the two restaurants – with a view of the lake, of course.

A bit further north, near Bolzano, the Hotel Seeleiten welcomes you to Lake Caldaro. Two lake accesses including a sunbathing lawn and beach bar ensure wonderful days on the water. Directly in front of the hotel on Lake Caldaro there is a wonderful, spacious Mediterranean park with numerous secluded retreats that invite you to relax and sunbathe. The heated natural swimming pool in the green holiday oasis provides pleasant refreshment in between. You can also go out on a pedal boat or rowing boat, or on one of the hotel’s own stand-up paddles.

Wine & Dine

La Dolce Vita

For this vacation type we travel a bit further south. Vacation means for you: Dolce Vita! You want to enjoy the days, be pampered with culinary delights and just enjoy. Then you should definitely go to the Boutique Hotel Castello di Semivicoli in Abruzzo. A place that is perfect for those seeking peace and quiet and wine lovers. There are only eleven individual, charming rooms. During the day the main thing here is to enjoy life – with good food and even better wine. Visit the Masciarelli winery estate and cellar or, during the grape harvest, watch and appreciate the development of their wines, from the vineyards to your table, through a constant and patient work. If you want to enjoy the flavors of Abruzzo, they organize dedicated cooking classes. For explorers they provide bike rental and organize excursions and guided tours.

If you prefer a livelier atmosphere, you can stay at one of the five hotels in the Lungarno Collection. Whether in Florence or Rome, here you can enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city and a luxury hotel in one. From romantic spaces to an eclectic taste of the contemporary, from classic Italian style to a new concept of bespoke hospitality, each hotel in this exquisite collection boasts a unique personality.

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In 1997, Judith Wade, an English entrepreneur, founded the circuit. The main objective was to introduce the immense artistic and botanical heritage of Italian gardens to the general public in Italy and abroad. It is undeniable that the staggering growth in the number of visitors to the Grandi Giardini Italiani over the last twenty-five years is not the result of a “natural” phenomenon, but rather the improvement of reception policies and the creation of events and educational trails.

Since its creation, Grandi Giardini Italiani has made Horticultural tourism in Italy known, a source of funding for the maintenance of these extraordinary cultural assets, which represent the most famous Made in Italy in the world. The increase in the number of visitors is also due to the growing interest on the part of the public for themes close to nature, the environment and the landscape. Over 8 million visitors were registered in 2019. With the know-how accumulated in 25 years of work in the sector, Grandi Giardini Italiani has to its credit the organization of shows, conferences and exhibitions. And to celebrate the 25th anniversary, a rich program of events is planned.

Among the most interesting events is The Paradise of the English in the Ligurian Riviera. Stories, landscapes and people, on March 25 and 26, 2022 at Villa Marigola in Lerici, near La Spezia in Liguria. The conference focuses attention on the incredible heritage of parks and residences, created by illustrious English personalities who, between the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, found their Eden in Liguria.

There will also be events designed for families. On April 18 – Easter Monday – there is a special edition of the traditional Botanical Treasure Hunt of Grandi Giardini Italiani: children aged 6 to 10 will have fun discovering the secrets of plants and ecology and discovering the surprises along the way, to the point of conquering, clue after clue, the coveted certificate of “Little Botanist”.

Special openings are also planned in summer, such as those of the Garden of Villa Marigola, organized by the Friends of Villa Marigola Association, in collaboration with Grandi Giardini Italiani.

Villa D’este, in Tivoli, the masterpiece residence of the Italian Renaissance and Unesco World Heritage Site, will instead be the protagonist from October 13 to November 1, 2022 with the first edition of the exhibition “The botanical collections at Villa d’Este”.

2022 will also be the year of the first edition of the “Platinum Rose of the Great Italian Gardens” award, an award for the best floral designers. Every year, the best floral masters in Italy will be invited to express their talent, trying their hand at a theme identified by the organization as a leitmotif. The focus chosen for 2022 is ” Flowers and colors, from Rubens to Baroque ” and will be held at Villa Marigola in Lerici from December 7 December to December 11, 2022. In the halls of the residence the three professionals crowned Florist of the Year will exhibit their works, inspired by the baroque theme.

More info on the various gardens, and to book tickets and visits is available at Grandi Giardini Italiani

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Typical of Bologna are the beautiful, mostly sweeping arched porticoes that run through the city and connect many of the magnificent squares, churches and palaces. From now on, some of them are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. “It is a great satisfaction and a wonderful recognition that makes us happy,” commented the Mayor of Bologna, Virginio Merola. “With the inclusion of the porticoes of Bologna in the UNESCO World Heritage List, we have achieved a goal that we have pursued for a long time. This title is a great honor and at the same time a great responsibility for Bologna, and we will live up to this recognition,” Merola continued.

Bologna has a total of 39 miles of porticoes. However, not all porticoes were nominated. The choice was limited to a series of 12 components that together depict a cross-section of the architectural, historical and micro-geographical variety of the town- representing parts of the historic center and other more peripheral areas.

The UNESCO list therefore includes Piazza Santo Stefano, the porticos of Via Zamboni, those of Strada Maggiore, the MamBo portico building, the porticos of Piazza Cavour and Via Farini, immediately followed by the archway of San Luca, the Pavaglione porticoes and Piazza Maggiore, the porticoed street of Santa Caterina, the porticoed building in the Barca district, the Certosa portico, the Baraccano porticoes and the Galliera porticoed street.

The first porticoes date back to the 11th century, originally conceived to extend the surface area of private buildings in response to the need for expansion of commercial and artisan activities. For over ten centuries now, the porticos have been regarded as a meeting point, a place for aggregation and socializing for both locals and visitors. It is precisely this social aspect that distinguishes these covered spaces, which were and still are privately owned for public use while being considered the most identifying feature of the city.

Here, we present a few of the designated porticoes in Bologna:

Santo Stefano and Mercanzia

In this magical corner, one of the city’s most beautiful squares, with its cobblestones sloping down to the spectacular Basilica of Santo Stefano (aka “Seven Churches”), the porticoes appear as a real embrace, starting from the Palazzo della Mercanzia and continuing along the entire perimeter of its irregular buildings. An embrace that also embodies the liveliness of the activities carried out in their eternal shade: cafés, cocktail bars, historic restaurants, promenades, students chatting or playing the guitar. The most striking portico? Undoubtedly that of Palazzo Bolognini, with its terracotta “heads” that seem to peer out at passers-by. And here comes a recurring question that no one can ever answer: who are those heads depicting?

Pavaglione, Banchi and Piazza Maggiore

The Pavaglione (from ‘Papilio’, the name of the silkworm sold by notaries right under the portico in Piazza Maggiore) is undoubtedly Bologna’s most iconic portico. Located in the eastern part of the square under the Palazzo dei Banchi, it was built in the 15th century with the dual function of dividing the elegant Renaissance square from the intricate, chaotic and odorous maze of streets of the “Quadrilatero” (the ancient medieval market) and  providing a suitable place for the city’s bankers to conduct their business and set up money-changing desks in a city that had by then reached a decidedly cosmopolitan dimension, thanks to the presence of countless students from different European and international countries. The portico, a majestic example of a Bolognese arcade, stretches from Via Rizzoli to Via Farini and includes several sections belonging to different buildings: from Palazzo Ronzani (soon to be the site of the Cineteca di Bologna’s new Modernissimo cinema) to the medieval Ospedale della Morte over the historic Archiginnasio complex with its Anatomical Theatre and the imposing Stabat Mater Hall. 

San Luca

When talking about porticoes, we cannot but mention the extremely long archway of San Luca, the longest in the world, connecting the city center with the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, located on top of the Colle della Guardia, with a total length of about 4 km and almost 700 arches. The Basilica seems to watch over Bologna, connected to the city by this “umbilical cord” that keeps it close and allows wayfarers to walk the itinerary up and down in all weather conditions. Conceived as a devotional pilgrimage route, the Portico of San Luca is today a great “outdoor gym” attended every day at all times by children, groups of walkers, young and elderly people, who tire themselves out on the ascent from the “Cassero” of Porta Saragozza to the top of the hill, passing through the challenging “Curve of the Orphans” alternating steep climbs with steps and flatter stretches. A perfect route to work off that Sunday lunch of tortellini!

Cavour, Farini and Minghetti

This is perhaps the most elegant and finely decorated portico in the city center, not surprisingly in a street, Via Farini, which is now characterized by luxury boutiques. The portico in question is the work of the artist Gaetano Lodi, who decided to decorate each vault of the archway  with different historical episodes in chronological order and in splendid colors. The square is also famous for being the birthplace of the beloved Bolognese singer and songwriter Lucio Dalla. 

Click on the link to find a complete list of the UNESCO porticoes

Photos: ArchivBolognaWelcome

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