Tuscany, the Italian Riviera and Other Italian Travel Highlights

Perhaps it’s because I’m of Italian ancestry but this is one of my favorite countries to visit. 

In Italy you’ll find timeless hill towns, classic farmhouses surrounded by vineyards or olive trees, ancient walled towns set atop hilltops, cypress trees, a Riviera every bit as beautiful as the French Riviera (I still remember my first trip to Portofino.) Alpine lakes and much more. Then, of course, there is the food and wine which is simply delicious and impossible to resist.
In Modica you’ll find excellent views from almost everywhere. The streets are steep and sloping and the building clings as if for dear life. Baroque churches dot the urban neighborhood, all beautifully restored. San Giorgio is the town’s most magnificent monument. The sculptural façade towers into the sky and you’ll want to visit this masterpiece. This façade culminates in an open stonework belfly which is distinct to a Sicilian architect, Gagliardi. This work became the prototype for late Baroque churches in the area. 

Chocolate here became a local specialty, brought to Modica by the Cabrera family from South America where the cacao bean was first discovered. The chocolate bars made here are created from age-old Aztec recipes and have a wonderful grainy texture. The mpanatigghi is a ravioli-shaped cookie stuffed with cocoa and minced meat which simply melts in your mouth.
There are also terrific local cheeses to sample while you’re in the area. It “squeaks” as you chew it and comes in several different flavors and textures from creamy to spicy. Then, there are the terrific little trattorias where one of the specialties is scacce, filo pastry folded around pizza ingredients like tomato sauce, mushrooms and minced meats. Life here is very comfortable indeed.