When people visit Italy for the first time (or two), the biggest destinations that come to mind are Rome, Florence, and Venice. Each has spectacular and unique sights to see – and also lots and lots of tourists. After a few visits to Italy, people often want to visit locations that feel more authentic without the throngs of tourists. We visited two of these locations recently – the Dolomites of Northern Italy’s Alps and Verona, known as the city of Romeo and Juliet. I also visited Mantua (called Mantova in Italy) which is filled with important art and history and seems to be mostly visited by Italian schoolchildren. This blog post will highlight my visits to these lesser-known but wonderful locations.
Diana and Jed are friends from Lucca; they recently purchased a condo in the Dolomites so that they could enjoy the winters skiing. And from their property, they are just a few steps from the ski lifts! They invited Pasquale, Jim and I to visit in April, with a special request – that Pasquale set up a few visits to wineries in the area, using his in-depth knowledge of Italian wine producers. This turned out to be a bit of a challenge because many wineries were unavailable due to “out of season” or they were preparing for Italy’s largest wine show in just a few days – more on this later. We visited three:
- Weingut Lieselehof – on a beautiful mountainside near a lake. And they have a very interesting “wine museum” that has over 100 different types of grapes growing from all over the world. They study how they grow in this environment and are particular interested in disease-resistant varieties.
- Markus Prackwieser Gump Hof – a wonderful family-owned winery that weaved the story of family, local history, and hard work together leading up to a wonderful wine tasting. Our favorite winery of the three.
- Kloster Neustift Abbazia di Novacella – a winery and an abbey together! This was quite a large winery that produces LOTS of different wines. The grounds, abbey and library were gorgeous. Too bad the wine wasn’t as good.
Beautiful and peaceful in the mountains – surrounded by vineyards and a surprise lake! 
The vines grow on very steep slopes so all work must be done by hand. 
Pasquale enjoying the wine at Markus Prackwieser Gump Hof. 
This area looks, sounds and feels more like Germany than Italy! More people speak German than Italian. 
Entrance to the abbey complex. Note the cute round building on the left. 
We explored that cute building but then realized that it was closed – the door was only opened for the men working inside. Jim and I exited quickly, but Pasquale and Diana had begun exploring upstairs. The men started locking the door but I tried to explain in Italian that there were two friends still inside. Apparently they spoke only German but they did understand once I got animated! 
Beautiful baroque library of the abbey!
The following day, Jed and Diana took us on a drive around “their mountain”. The views were spectacular and even though it was quite late in the season, we were able to watch people ski. I was surprised to learn that you can ski from town to town and essentially spend all day skiing through the entire area. I was also surprised to learn that the weather could be so warm with snow still blanketed everything. I brought all of the wrong clothes. Diana and Jed are great hosts – they prepared several wonderful meals for us and we even played billiards in their cantina! What a fun visit!
Group selfie! Pasquale, where are your sunglasses??? 
We went to a beautiful field surrounded on three sides by mountains. It was a gathering place for people and animals when invaders were coming. Today there is a beautiful community chapel for remembering locals who have died. 
And a lovely mountain stream was flowing through the field. 
More slopes!
We then headed south to Verona. Jim and Pasquale attended VinItaly, the largest wine event of the year in Italy. It gives them an opportunity to enjoy old favorites, discover hidden gems, and visit with producers and wine lovers. There are thousands of wines to try, and they typically taste (then spit) over 100 wines per day!
While Jim and Pasquale were tasting and spitting, I explored Verona. We have visited Verona several times, so I have already seen the biggest sights (the spectacular Roman arena that is still used today and the fictitious location of Juliet’s balcony from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet). My objectives during these days were to enjoy the pleasant piazzas and learn more about some of the Veronese artists. I had plenty of time to peek into courtyards, wander the streets, and enjoy a cappuccino at the cafes. And I visited more than a few churches… but I have included pictures of only my favorite: Basilica di San Zeno.
The basilica has a rather unusual layout – there are three different levels: the central church, a raised Presbytery and a lower Crypt. 
The San Zeno Altarpiece by Andrea Mantegna, an important Renaissance painter from Verona. 
The crypt houses the body of Saint Zeno and has 49 marble columns! You can also see the giant columns from the main part of the basilica. Very cool space! 
Bronze door from the Medieval times. I’ve never seen anything like this! 
Piazza dei Signori with incredible architecture and art, along with a fancy car for the VinItaly crowd! 
Very elaborate tombs for the Scaligeri family from the 14th century. 
Arco dei Gavi, white marble arch from the Roman times! 
Verona is a very wealthy and elegant city, so I wasn’t too surprised to see this Masserati in front of the castle. 
Nor was I surprised to see these elegant Afghan Hounds with their legs carefully protected.
I took a 40-minute train ride south to spend the day in Mantua, “a city surrounded by 3 artificial lakes in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It’s known for the architectural legacy of the Renaissance Gonzaga rulers, who built the Palazzo Ducale. This imposing building houses the Bridal Chamber, decorated with Andrea Mantegna frescoes.” Unfortunately, no pictures and only 5 minutes were allowed in the Bridal Chamber but I was very pleased with myself for finding a way to visit it for two 5-minute periods!
Beautiful and peaceful courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale 
Piazza Erbe and Rotonda di San Lorenzo, a round church from the 11th century 
Mantova and Verona are known for their incredible domes, especially with tiers of people, some of which may look like they are reaching down from the dome. 
A quiet canal going through Mantova. I could live here!
As I bid farewell to these enchanting places, I carried with me a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to uncover the secrets of this captivating country. Where to next?
My Next Adventure 
I am especially interested in Verona as a destination for my next visit to Italy. I would like to stay there (in an Airbnb or similar) and make it my base to perhaps make train trips to Padua, Lake Garda, Bergamo or other nearby places. Is that feasible by train? And, would you be familiar with what area in Verona might be best as an apartment location? Thanks for any advice you may have; I’ve been envious of your life in Lucca, following your blog.
Thanks, Karen B.
I’m glad that you enjoy my occasional blog posts. 😊 In December 2017 (before we moved to Italy), we used Verona as a base for part of our vacation. We stayed in an AirBnB that was walking distance to the city center but outside of the ZTL zone – it was on or near Via Amatore Sciesa. We had a car, so drove to various wineries, lakes, and cities. For this trip, we stayed in an apartment on Via Paradiso. We mostly stayed in Verona but I did take the train to Mantova. Both neighborhoods were nice residential areas that were walking distance to the city center but not the train station. I took a local bus to the station – inexpensive and easy to buy tickets with the app.
Thank you for the information. I’ll start looking at some locations.
Great post, as always. I appreciate the detail you always provide as I always get to learn something new. Grazie mille!