Caplans in Italy
This May, I’m teaching my class on immigration at the University of Palermo. My sons and I have an apartment near the university, and we’ll be touring around Sicily on the weekends. My class is also supposed to be meeting refugees on the island of Lampedusa.
After the class ends in early June, we’ll be joining the rest of our family to tour around mainland Italy, starting in Naples and ending in Rome. We’ve got Eurail passes, which limits our access to some remote attractions (like Matera, which Gibson used for Jerusalem in The Passion of the Christ). But in between Naples and Rome we plan to see Pisa, Florence, Siena, Bologna, and San Marino.
Question: What are non-obvious places we might visit and sights we might see? Please leave answers in the comments.
Offer: If you want to meet up during our Italian journey, just email my GMU address. If you’re willing to meet us in Palermo, Naples, or Rome, I can almost certainly make it happen. We’ll be much more rushed in all the other cities, but maybe!
Pienza might just be the prettiest tuscan town there is. Planned by Pope Pius II. in the 15th century (and - humble as he was - named after himself). And where else can you have perfect italian coffee/spritz in Via dell'amore with views on the beautiful tuscan hills? Montalcino isn't far from there, if you are into wine. Funnily enough, the Piccolomini family of which Pius II. was a member, still produces excellent Brunello there.
Modena is gorgeous, as is the small city of Treviso.