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MiOMyItaly & ItalyMammaMia Issue November 2026
November 01, 2026


Ciao,

I have been thinking about the little things that can make an Italian trip easier, the places that let you see a different side of Italy, and the destinations that perhaps don't immediately appear on everyone's itinerary.

On that note, I have three things to share with you...

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The Italy apps I wouldn’t travel without



I’m not one of those people who wants to spend a holiday staring at my phone. Quite the opposite.

But there are a few apps that can make travelling around Italy considerably easier, particularly if you’re not used to the Italian way of doing things.

I’ve put them all together here, including what I use each one for.

A very different side of Venice



Maria has written about San Giacomo dall'Orio in Venice, and this is exactly the sort of place I love finding.

It isn't the Venice of St. Mark's Square and packed streets.

This isn't a postcard piazza filled with tourists. It is a neighborhood square where people actually live.

Children play, older men sit on benches, women chat by the old well, and neighbors stop to talk. It feels almost like a village square that somehow found itself in the middle of Venice.

And then you walk into the church and discover something quite extraordinary: a magnificent wooden vaulted ceiling and important works by artists including Veronese, Lorenzo Lotto, and Palma il Giovane.

It’s a wonderful reminder that Venice doesn't stop at the places everyone photographs.

Join us in the most authentic piazza in Venice.

Have you considered Gabicce Mare and Gradara?



Gabicce Mare is in the Le Marche region of Italy, on the Adriatic Coast, about halfway down the right-hand side of Italy.

Yes, there is a beach, beach restaurants, and all the traditional Italian seaside life you might expect. But what makes it more interesting to me is what lies around it.

You can drive up to Gabicce Monte for wonderful views over the Adriatic, explore the Monte San Bartolo nature park, visit the Gradara castle and the gorgeous little town of the same name, or spend a day in Urbino, one of Italy's greatest Renaissance cities and, unlike Siena and Florence, free of crowds.

And then there is the food. Seafood, fresh pasta, brodetto, and those wonderful stuffed olive ascolane that you find throughout Le Marche.

It’s the kind of place I think many visitors overlook because it isn't on the standard Italy itinerary.

That, of course, is one of the reasons I like it. Click for more.


William often tells me that I have a habit of looking at a map and immediately wondering, “What’s over there?”

But that curiosity has taken Maria and me to some wonderful places that we might otherwise have missed.

There are still plenty more to discover, and, as always, I'll share them with you.

Until next time,

Andrew & family

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