On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Elma
I came home from a bad day at work and found a brochure from the Wisconsin Alumni Association offering a trip to Italy. I’m so there! The trip was at the end of April and beginning of May 2006. The group stayed in Cortona of literary fame and took day trips including to Florence, Siena and Assisi.
Here are a couple of views from my hotel room.
The weather was very good, but fog did settle into the valley making it rather spooky.
It seemed like there was only one flat street in Cortona. The rest of the town is accessed by steep lanes, some of which are pedestrian only.
We were in Cortona on May 1st, which is a big holiday in Italy, complete with a parade. Here the local officials are leading the parade on the one flat street to the town square.
One of our day trips took us to Perugia, where the students were celebrating the end of the school year.
Another day trip was to Florence.
This is the Ponte Vecchio over the River Arno.
In Siena we saw the Piazza del Campo where the Palio horse race is run; and ate gelato.
Scuffletuffle
Beautiful place, wonderful photos! Thank you for posting!
BethanyAnne
That looks lovely. I always like looking at travel photos, even if I’m a homebody myself.
raven
raven
I’ve never gotten to go but I know so many people who have and they loved it!
JPL
What an amazing view from your window! Thank you for sharing your photos with us.
StringOnAStick
Such excellent photos! I spent two months in the same general area 10 years earlier; it was my formative trip for all subsequent international travel and I remember it with great fondness. Thanks for stirring my memories!
Steve
As a child I have clear memory of my parents and I getting slightly lost in Sienna. We asked a man for directions, but his English wasn’t up to the task, nor was our Italian. Eventually he repeated the one part we both understood “Go to the Piazza del Campo,” shrugged apologetically, then added, “and follow your heart.”
stinger
Ohhhhh. That top photo — now I have to fire up my DVD of Enchanted April again!
All great photos! Thank you for sharing them!
Mike in Pasadena
Lovely photos. Italy is photogenic. You captured it beautifully.
Andrew Abshier
I visited both Umbria and Toscano when I was in Italy in 2018. Toscano is rightly famous, but Umbria is a definitely underrated gem. Assuming I do get back to Rome (I did throw my three coins in the Trevi) I’ll have to spend more time there. Touro Sol Trasemino, the town I spent the night in, was amazing.
BigJimSlade
@Steve: That’s wonderful!
Cowgirl in the Sandi
Lovely pictures. What is the name of the hotel in Cortona where you stayed and took that picture?
J R in WV
Rural Tuscany was wonderful, we spent a week there with a couple of friends. Tiny cities on top of narrow ridges, frequently walled for defense, even big farms were walled for protection of harvested crops come winter…
Florence/Frienze was not so great, tourism is the huge industry there, and many vendors hate their customers… go figure. We toured the huge Doge’s palace, was interesting how hard life was even for the ultra-wealthy back in the age of dukes and lords. Much preferred the time we spent in the vineyards and small rural towns to the big city.
Dan B
@Andrew Abshier: I agree two thumbs up that Umbria is a hidden, in plain sight, gem. Verona, in the north is another with a fascist half and a fairytale medieval half with an amazing hillside garden. Firenze (Florence) meh.
Elizabelle
@J R in WV: Great to see you here
Noted re Umbria and Verona.
Elma
@Cowgirl in the Sandi: Hotel San Luca on Piazza Garibaldi
AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team
Beautiful!
Ty for posting.