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| | | | Where Callas found a kind of peace
From the Mail on Sunday
Sometimes, when Onassis had been especially cruel to Maria Callas, ordering her to go back to her cabin on the yacht Christina and change her dress just as she had sat down to dinner, claiming he didn't like the colour but actually because he was in that kind of dark mood, she would retreat to her cool villa to try to reclaim her pride.
It was always tranquil here at the Villa Meneghini, near the town of Sirmione on the shore of Lake Garda. In the summer Callas would sit in the garden, her privacy protected by banks of guardsman-straight cypress trees, the air perfumed by pine, the eye dazzled by the pink-tinged oleander.
There would be late afternoon cruises on the Madonna-blue waters of the lake, where the giant peaks of the Dolomites seemed to reach clear to the sky, and she would look at the beauty around her, an exotic mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean, of snow-capped mountains, and palm trees, and swear she would never go back to the Greek.
And then the telephone would ring somewhere inside the cavernous, Romanesque, five-storey villa and it would be Ari, promising this and that, and within a few minutes the great diva's bags would be packed and the only taxi in the ancient fort town of Sirmione summoned. Then she would be off again, back to Athens, or Paris, or New York, or wherever he was.
Before returning to the arms of the Golden Greek, she would sometimes pause for a moment to say goodbye to her friends at the Villa Cortine, the spectacular, sugar-white, neo-classical palace, with its extravagant fountains, statues, grottos and acres of sub-tropical gardens, that had its elaborately-gated entrance right opposite Villa Meneghini.
They were always sorry to see her leave but knew it wouldn't be long before she returned .
The cream-jacketed barman standing before me in the Villa Cortine's open-air terrace restaurant is Enzo Cali, a better-looking version of the Sixties Italian movie star Vittorio de Sica, all beautiful white hair and immaculate teeth. Behind him is Danielle, his youthful, black-tuxedoed assistant, who holds a silver tray which he has carried 50 yards from the bar and upon which are perched two Bellinis. Enzo takes the drinks and sets them down very carefully on the blue tablecloth.
Travel Guide: Italian Lakes
I fell in love
Lake Garda is breathtaking. I fell in love with it the moment I saw the lake.
We always stay in Tignale, which is a small village above the lake in the mountains. We generally drive there so that we can enjoy all the surrounding scenery en route.
Excitement wells up inside me just at the thought of visiting Lake Garda.
We are going again this year in August. We do know one couple who have been for at least 30 holidays.
I hope that I shall be revisiting for years to come.
Travel Guide: Italian Lakes
Forgotten Italy
The best thing about Lake Garda is that nobody goes there anymore. Well, clearly some people do, but not the madding crowds that plague Tuscany and Umbria.
And that's one of its virtues: come here and there is only a fettuccine-slim chance that you will bump into some New Labour think-tank on summer manoeuvres.
To the chattering classes Garda may be unfashionable, but I can live with that.
In fact, I'm grateful that Garda has become strangely excluded from that slightly sick-making state of adoration that many people have for All Things Italian.
This is not the place to go to if you wish to strut around noisily shouting 'bellissima' as you search for the ultimate bottle of balsamic vinegar.
But you will find good value, simple hotels, terrific food and jaw-dropping scenery.
Of the three or four Italian lakes that form those inviting blue splodges on the map of the Lombardy Plain, Garda is the largest and the cleanest.
Como and Maggiore are both beautiful, but they can be stuffy and uptight. Garda, meanwhile, is much more geared to families.
It is set amid the vivid colours and the varied geography of Lombardy, which has splendid, slightly decaying villas in soft pinks, lush greenery and beautiful lake-front towns, all placed against the backdrop of the Dolomites.
Parts of the lake enjoy a benign micro-climate which has resulted in beautiful gardens in the villas around its fringes: many of the towns are surrounded by lemon groves. One, Limone, takes its name from them.
Travel Guide: Italian Lakes
Five of the best
Sunshine, beautiful scenery, splendid art treasures and a rich historical past - Italy is a charmed land, which seems to have been stuffed full of good things like some giant Christmas stocking.
All the great things in life - beauty, food, wine, opera, football, art, religion, ice cream and the pursuit of happiness - matter more in Italy.
It is no wonder that the British have been going there for more than 1,000 years, as pilgrims, adventurers, poets, on the Grand Tour and as package tourists.
But it is important to remember that Italy is a modern invention. The nation came into being only in the 1860s, and it retains strong regional differences.
This diversity - of cuisine, art, outlook, landscape - is one of the great joys of the country, making it a pleasure to visit and re-visit.
There are lots of different Italys to discover. Here are five of them.
Travel Guide: Italian Lakes
Lake Como's captivating charms
What's the Italian connection between James Bond, Star Wars, a Brazilian football star and George Clooney? Lake Como of course.
As if the natural wonders of being on an Italian lake in summer weren't dazzling enough, there are plenty of celebrity haunts and movie locations to spot as we discovered on a five-day trip to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore in the Lombardy and Piedmont regions of north-western Italy.
A two-hour coach journey from Verona Airport found our group whirling around the inverted Y shaped lake Como, dipping through mountain tunnels to reach the Hotel Britannia Excelsior in Cadenabbia. Perched on the western edge of the lake, jit offers fantastic views of Bellagio on the opposing shore line against a huge mountainous backdrop.
At dinner we were serenaded by an Italian tenor, who also doubled up as the local butcher, whilst tucking into some regional produce; the salted Missoltini fish from the lake and limoncellos making a mouth-watering impression.
The following morning we ventured along the tranquil coast of the lake by boat to Tremezzo where Villa Carlotta is situated; an impressive 300-year-old villa surrounded by a vast array of different types of gardens. In fact the whole coastline seems to have been set upon not just by millionaires, but also the best gardeners in the world.
A little further along in Lenno is the Villa del Balbianello. Preserved as a homage to its last owner, the Arctic explorer and Mt Everest climber Guido Monzino who died in 1988, it houses African art, an Arctic sledge, secret passageways and bullet proof windows.
It's the sort of place you'd expect to find James Bond hanging out in - so it's hardly surprising that part of the latest Bond film, Casino Royale, was filmed here just a few weeks prior to our arrival. Scenes from Star Wars II were also filmed in the grounds of the same villa.
After a day spent in searing 35C degree heat, a late dip in the hotel pool cooled us down enough to enjoy watching the sun set, whilst sipping a few Bellinis and Fragolinis in Bellagio, at the tip of Lake Como's dividing peninsula. This small town stands out as perhaps the most exclusive or expensive area of Como. It was here, behind a hive of boutique type gift shops, we dined at the hotel Belvedere. Former Brazilian football player and commentator Leonardo also dined - sadly not at our table.
The following morning we were back on another boat and zooming out to where George Clooney's impressive villa sits on the lake. Strangely enough, George either wasn't at home or didn't feel like responding to a boat full of camera-wielding journalists bobbing up and down on the water close to his back lawn, so off we sped back to Como town for a spot of lunch before heading on to Lake Maggiore.
Stretching more than 60km from Italy into Switzerland, Lake Maggiore and its islands are totally captivating, laced with history and give one a real sense of serenity.
We stayed in the Regina Palace Hotel in Stresa, an insanely grand elegant building which was once the setting for a Miss Italy contest where former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is rumoured to have tinkled the piano ivories.
A 10-minute walk from the hotel brings you to a cable car which offers trips up from Stresa to Monte Mottarone. Ascending 1,491m up Mottarone provides stunning views of the lake set against an Alpine backdrop from which, on a clear day, Switzerland can be easily spotted. Six other lakes can also be seen as well as Lake Maggiore and the view also offers great perspectives of two of Maggiore's Borromean Islands which we visited; Isola Dei Pescatori and Isola Bella.
Back on terra firma, we followed in the footsteps of both Napoleon and Mussolini, amongst others, and visited Isola Bella – a tiny island which Charles III Borromeo bought and named after his wife Isabella. The island houses a palace and amazing terraced gardens which billow upwards and outwards, making it resemble a ship. Everything seems ever so slightly over the top here, particularly with white peacocks strutting around the place. It's easy to imagine how Napoleon would have felt right at home while taking a break from world domination.
Much more understated is the Isola de Pescatori – the fisherman's island where were stopped for a fantastic lunch. Our guide explained that the common pastime for tourists is just to sit and look out at the lake; it's hypnotic effect more evident at sunset when the rippling water is said to change colour dramatically.
However the only colour we saw that night was blue, as an evening drink back in Stresa coincided with Italy's progression to the final of the World Cup. For the next few hours the quiet grandeur of the area was rocked by the sight of blue shirts and Italian flags being waved about and the sounds of car horns tooting. But then the lake's majestic calm was restored and it was time to sleep.
*Thomson Lakes & Mountains (www.thomsonlakes.co.uk) offers holidays to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. Prices for a week's full board accommodation start from £489 per person in the three-star Hotel Britannia Excelsior in Cadenabbia on Lake Como, including return flights from Gatwick, transfers, unlimited drinks and afternoon tea and coffee.
* Prices for a week's half-board stay in the four-star plus Hotel Regina Palace in Stresa on Lake Maggiore are start from £649 per person, including return flights from Gatwick and transfers.
Regional departures from nine UK airports are available at a supplement starting from £10.
* Feeling inspired? Book a holiday
Travel Guide: Italian Lakes
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| | | | More like a sea than a lake
Although Bellinis were invented at Harry's Bar in Venice by the man who started the Cipriani hotel, Enzo considers he makes the best in the world. In Italy, barmen are judged by the quality of their Bellinis: it is a mark of attainment. Enzo smiles gravely and invites me to taste.
The peachy drink fizzes gently with prosecco, the Italian champagne. The two barmen, master and assistant, stand a respectful pace back to await my verdict. This is quite a ritual. Of course, Enzo's Bellini is magnificent.
Nectar. How can it not be? White peaches from southern Italy's finest orchards, in season for only one or two months of the year, cut and squeezed into a blender, with four raspberries added and then ice. This is liquidised and finally the prosecco added.
And here it sits for my approval and pleasure.
Once, on arriving at the Cipriani, I asked for a Bellini. The barman said he was sorry but he couldn't serve me one. I asked him why and he said that it was too early in the year (it was May) for the white peaches and only fresh white peaches were good enough for Bellinis.
No peach essence here, not even peach-coloured peaches. Only white peaches from south of Naples will do for establishments of such class as these.
The Villa Cortine, a private residence when Callas used to come here, is today a 50-room hotel, one of the most luxurious in Italy. It is set in a commanding position, like a Roman emperor's villa, its eight great columns supporting the portico facade, high above the clear, deep waters of Lake Garda, at 30 miles long, ten miles wide and in places nearly 500ft deep, more like a sea than a lake.
It was built in the 19th Century by a German politician and during the Second World War - before becoming a hotel - it was a battlefield hospital, Nazi High Command and, later, Allied headquarters.
Today, its voluptuous charms offer an immersion in romance. Inside are frescoed ceilings, rich silk furnishing and Belle Epoque style; outside, exotic gardens running down richly wooded cliffs to the water's edge, phantasmagorical statues of Neptune, trident in hand, overlooking fairytale grottos, while other equally heroic mythological giants standing beneath sweet-smelling pine and cypress trees preside over glades, follies and jasmine-twined loggias.
Sit here for a while and you will hear the bells of the 15th Century church Santa Maria Maggiore chiming the hour or calling parishioners across the lake to vespers. The church stands next to a 13th Century fairytale castle, the Rocca Scaligera, which is surrounded by a moat where swans and mallards bob, palms now filling the courtyard where Dante once slept.
Few towns anywhere enjoy the dramatic position of Sirmione, strung out along a narrow two-and-a-half-mile peninsula that pierces Lake Garda's broad bottom like a pin, or maybe a witch's hat.
Garda is the largest of all the Italian lakes and the most dramatic. In the north the mountains are rugged and draw in close, giving it a fjord-like appearance. These same mountains protect the lake from northerly winds. The southern end of the lake, where we stayed, is flatter and more Mediterranean in atmosphere, with little ports and promenades bedecked with colourful flowers and palm trees and the smell of jasmine floating gently on the breeze.
A sense of relaxation
The huge summer influx of German tourists helps to explain why many of the locals in the Lakes tend to address tourists in German.
'Guten Tag,' was the greeting when I walked into a cafe in Gardone Riviera for my morning cappuccino. I'm sure that Japanese, Chinese and Peruvian visitors find this even more baffling than we do.
It is difficult to make this point diplomatically, but it is clear that the Germans have annexed most of northern Italy - and Lake Garda is no exception.
After all, Garda is just a short BMW-drive down the autobahn from Munich. A car, however, isn't really necessary in these parts.
The efficient ferry system helps to engender a real sense of relaxation, one which comes from the knowledge that once on board you can lie back, enjoy a Campari and forget about the shocking standards of Italian motoring.
If you do decide to rely on the ferries, bear in mind that longer journeys, from the top to the bottom of the lake, can work out to be expensive, perhaps as much as £30 return for a family of four. There are no weekly passes.
While many of the hotels surrounding the lake have a long-established clientele, their peeling paintwork is testament to the fact that since the war, Garda has been out of fashion.
We enjoyed the beaches; our children floating about safely in a small rubber dinghy and snorkelling.
In the summer, the water is warm and clean. The lake is generally safe, but all the resorts around it are prone to storms - last July restaurants in the centre of Sirmione were wrecked by falling trees.
The beaches are stony and small: if you are seeking a bucket-and-spade family holiday, you will probably do better in southern Spain or those rare Italian resorts where the beaches are not rented out to umbrella-hirers by the metre.
For two summers we have spent the best part of a fortnight messing about on beaches in resorts such as Manerba and Salo.
Tuscany - heart of Italy
TUSCANY
WHY GO? Tuscany is the heart of Italy - or, at least, the heart of the British idea of Italy.
It is the birthplace of Dante, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the whole Italian Renaissance. Throughout the 15th century, its various city states vied with each other to produce ever more wonderful works of art and architecture - and many of them are still there.
The region has achieved such a pitch of civilisation that even the landscape seems civilised, with its low, rolling hills of well-tended vines and olive trees, plumed with dark cypresses and crowned by the occasional medieval walled hill-town.
There are excellent wines from Chianti and Montalcino and food to rival London's River Cafe in even the humblest trattoria.
MUST-SEES: Florence is the ultimate city of art, home to - among other masterpieces - Michelangelo's David and Botticelli's Birth of Venus. The town centre is like a glorious open-air museum.
Siena is an almost unspoilt medieval city; its famous medieval horse race, the Palio, is run round the main square twice a year on July 2 and August 16.
Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the not-so-leaning-towers of San Gimignano. When 'cathedralled out', head for the hills or to stylish coastal resorts such as Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano.
DRAWBACKS: The danger of bumping into Tony Blair and family. Long queues to get into the churches and art galleries in Florence. The possibility of finding key sites shut due to restoration.
TOP HOTEL: Hotel Villa San Michele, Fiesole, the height of luxury, on the hill outside Florence. The building used to be a monastery in the 14th century, but there is nothing austere about it now.
The elegant loggia is supposed to have been designed by Michelangelo. See http://www.orient-expresshotels.com or tel 0207 805 5100.
RESTAURANT: Dorando, Vicolo del Oro 2, San Gimignano (0577 941 862). Its expensive dishes include historical re-creations such as Catherine de Medici's favourite, chicken-liver pate and pici - a type of handmade spaghetti that comes with mint pesto.
GETTING THERE: Fly to Florence or Pisa. Ryanair flies from Stansted airport, near London, to Pisa from about £100 return. See http://www.ryanair.com or tel: 0870 156 9569.
TOUR OPERATORS: Italian Chapters, specialists in Tuscan villa rentals. See http://www.villa-rentals.com or tel: 0207 722 0722.
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| | | | Dress elegantly, eat wonderfully
They set the tranquillity bar very high here. Small wonder Frances Shand Kydd, mother of the Princess of Wales retreated here after the death of her daughter to seek the solace she couldn't find on the small Scottish island where she lives.
As we all rush to the Caribbean and the Far East, in the new passion for minimalist hotels, boutique hotels, beach hotels, spa hotels and island hotels, we have forgotten about the Italian lakes and exquisite, classical romantic hotels like the Villa Cortine, which offer brilliant service in glamorous grandeur for adults who want to dress elegantly, eat wonderfully and be served with old-fashioned manners and courtesy.
It's been said that coming here and throwing open the shutters of your hotel bedroom and looking across the Quink-blue waters to the snow-capped Monte Baldo - which hotel manager Roberto Cappelletto says always reminds him of Kilimanjaro - is to feel as if you are in a ravishing Italian opera.
And, by the way, if ravishing Italian opera is what you want, Verona is only an hour away. From the opera nut who checked in my bags at the city's dinky airport I learnt that Verona's 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre, where gladiators once put Christians to death and Mussolini once ranted, will this season stage Verdi's five-opera cycle. It holds 17,000 spectators, including 1,000 on the stage itself.
One of my fellow guests at the Villa Cortine, a businessman from Chalfont St Giles, decided to check it out. He wasn't frightfully impressed by the atmosphere. 'Inside it's all very modern,' he reported. 'Tip-up plastic seats and floodlights, a bit like White Hart Lane (for the uninitiated that's the ground where Tottenham Hotspur play football in the unlovely Seven Sisters Road in North London) plonked down in the middle of an Italian city.'
I don't think he was wrong. Jonathan Miller once described the amphitheatre as a place where the frame outshines the picture.
My English friend decided - sadly for me, for I welcomed his acerbic eye - to give Verona's other great sightseeing treat, Juliet's balcony, a miss. Each year millions visit this site in the belief that it is the definitive scene of Shakespeare's great romantic weepie, Romeo And Juliet. Apparently, people keep taking bits of what's left of the balcony for souvenirs. It's a mass of carved initials (you know, Jack loves Jane) but sceptics say it was removed from another building in 1938 and merely plonked in this courtyard. Another myth shattered.
I would like to report that I visited all the historic sights and there are many here - from the ruins of Roman love poet Catullus's extraordinary villa, with its 50ft high ceilings to the Sala dello Zodiaco, a magnificent lakeside villa where Mussolini was installed by the Nazis and where every day at five o'clock, in a room with the constellations painted on the ceiling, he made love to his mistress, Clara Petacci.
A sprawling folly
When we weren't doing that, we would search out superlative food or nose around the best of lakeside towns such as Sirmione and Torri del Benaco.
One morning was spent at Il Vittoriale, the extraordinary home of the fascist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio at Gardone Riviera.
This sprawling folly, presented to the deluded nationalist by Mussolini has since been given the full National-Trust-of-Italy treatment.
It is a fascinating spot, a fittingly pompous testament to the overwhelming ego and thwarted ambition of a loose cannon on the deck of Italian nationalism.
Visitors are given headsets with tape-recorded commentary and can wander around the poet's former home.
Mussolini also lived on the lake, at Salo, after he was deposed in 1943 and installed by the Nazis as head of the Italian puppet republic.
On your first visit to this area, it pays to consider the options carefully. Garda is a huge lake, 60-70 miles in length, with numerous resorts.
Pick the wrong one and you'll regret it; pick the right one and you'll never forget it.
Do your best to avoid staying in the untidy string of small towns on the eastern side of the lake, close to Gardaland, Italy's largest theme park.
Opt instead for some of the lower-key resorts on the south-western shores. In the north, Limone and Riva, both in the shadow of the Dolomites, attract windsurfers from all over Europe but non-surfing families might find it just a bit too windy.
The Italian Lakes - sublime grandeur
THE ITALIAN LAKES
WHY GO? Magnificent scenery, mountain air, sheltered climate and lush vegetation.
Lakes Garda, Como, Maggiore and Orta all offer a taste of that sublime grandeur which has been an enduring inspiration to Romantic poets, Italian opera composers, German philosophers and British holidaymakers for nigh on 200 years.
You can still conjure up the sense of a more leisured age, zig-zagging across the lakes in a little steamer from one charming village to another, visiting historic villas and wandering around their ornate gardens.
Or you can set off on a more active round of sailing, water-skiing, hiking and even golf (the long British association has ensured that there are several golf clubs in the area).
MUST-SEES: The Isole Borromee - the collection of little islands on Lake Maggiore, including Isola Bella with its sumptuous baroque gardens, Isola Madre and the unspoilt Isola dei Pescatori.
Orta San Giulio, the charming main village on Lake Orta - the so-called 'Cinderella' of the Italian lakes. The beautifully-sited little town of Bellagio on Lake Como and the terraced gardens of the 18th-century Villa Carlotta at Tremezzo.
Il Vittoriale, poet Gabriele D'Annunzio's splendidly extravagant villa on the shores of Lake Garda, and the old Roman spa town of Sirmione.
DRAWBACKS: Thronged with people at the height of the season. Summer hazes can obliterate the spectacular views.
TOP HOTEL: The Grand Hotel Villa d'Este on Lake Como. The pinnacle of luxury and style; built in 1557 as a country residence for a wealthy cardinal, it has been a hotel since 1873, becoming the favoured resort of crowned heads, Hollywood film stars and the hard-working rich.
RESTAURANT: Olina, the restaurant attached to the Hotel Olina, via Olina 40 near the centre of Orta San Giulio, offers excellent local dishes, home-made pasta and fish from the lake, at moderate prices.
GETTING THERE: Fly to Milan or Verona with numerous airlines. BMI flies from London Heathrow to Milan Linate airport from about £135 return. Tel 0870 607 0555.
TOUR OPERATORS: The Individual Travellers Company, Vacanze in Italia brochure. See http://www.indiv-travellers.com or tel: 01798 869014.
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| | | | Picturesque shoreside towns
It wasn't far from here either on Lake Como, that partisans caught up with the fleeing couple - Mussolini huddled in the back of a German army truck dressed in a soldier's greatcoat - and executed them on the spot.
But actually, and totally unashamedly, I spent all the precious few days of my visit sunbathing on the Villa Cortine's sun-drenched private pier, being lulled to sleep by Lake Garda's gentle waters lapping underneath the deck, intermittently rising to swim or to take a light lunch of charcoal-grilled perch in the hotel's jasmine-scented lakeside restaurant. I was too comfortable to move.
There wasn't time for a voyage of discovery on one of the lake's white-hulled little pleasure boats which criss-cross the glass-smooth waters, allowing you to hop on and off at whichever picturesque shoreside town takes your fancy.
But I did have dinner twice at small open-air restaurants close to the Villa Cortine, where for £60 or £70 for two, the most sumptuous meal of crab, funghi porcini, homemade black pasta, and truffles, with the local Lombardy wine may be savoured.
They were buzzy and fun but not to compare with the genius of Balduzzi Giacomo, the chef at the Villa whose cooking is heroic. I had losfilettato di tonno leggermente scottato alla piastra e marinato al coriandolo e soja con fette di pomodori e cetrioli all'olio e basilico asetati - marinated tuna fish, with soya and coriander, fresh tomatoes, and cucumber salad, and, to follow, figs in cream and honey, so outstanding I had two portions.
All of this sitting in a romantic, open air verandah restaurant, with the stars as a canopy in the black velvet sky above, and the twinkling lights of little towns across the lake below, scored to the gentle melodic sounds of a Bechstein.
The Villa Cortine is brilliantly run. Manager Roberto Cappelletto, his suave maitre d', Fiorenzo, and concierge, Muarizio, have worked together for 20 years and ensure an effortless sense of style and efficiency.
Roberto is saddened that the Villa Meneghini is no longer a private house but an apartment block. He would have preferred to turned it into a museum dedicated to Maria Callas. 'The Americans especially would have loved it,' he said. 'Today, nobody knows Callas once lived there.'
Maybe that's just as well. I think the Villa Meneghini should be left its dignity, suitably handsome but anonymous, hugging its sad memories to itself.
Travel facts. Elegant Resorts. Call 0870 33 33 370 or visit http://www.elegantresorts.co.uk
Commanding views
The walled town of Sirmione is a must, with its thermal baths, winding lanes and commanding views of the lake.
Its attractions are even more apparent in early evening, when the day trippers are heading home.
But if a day is all you have, you can still make the most of Sirmione by walking along the peninsula to some beautiful beaches.
Here, even in high summer, the lake-front is empty, the water invitingly azure blue. You can walk across gleaming rocks, polished over decades by the lapping waters.
Do not be tempted, as we were, to rent a speedboat and drive it up to the beach. The authorities on the lake are frankly reckless about whom such boats are rented to - no licence is required - and there is a rule which states that no vessel should come within 200 metres of the beach. But this being Italy, rules such as this are often ignored.
Torri del Benaco is another prime spot on the lake, though much quieter and with less to offer families than Sirmione.
You can, however, eat fantastic (and inexpensive) Italian food at one of the restaurants that have terraces built onto platforms built in the lake.
The pizzeria and bar near the jetty both sum up the essence of bucket-and-spade Italy: good, simple food cooked with quality ingredients, robust local red wine and great coffee.
In spite of the regular toing and froing of the ferry, this is as peaceful a spot as you'll find, with a small beach and splendid views.
It is a theme which plays widely across Lake Garda: you won't find fake tans, expensive jewellery or flash cars, but there are interesting restaurants: risottos, wild mushrooms and game are a speciality.
Sorrento and the Amalfi coast
SORRENTO AND THE AMALFI COAST
WHY GO? One of the most beautiful and dramatic stretches of coastline in the Mediterranean; a bristling fringe of craggy headlands swooping down to a sparkling blue sea.
The winding road that follows the coastline presents a succession of staggering views. The area was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997.
Small beaches and fishing villages cluster at the water's edge. Lemon groves soften the slopes of the hills.
The pizzas are made with fresh local mozzarella, and the fish is straight from the sea.
MUST-SEES: The historic town of Amalfi, with its beautiful Romanesque cloister and on the cliff above, the historic town of Ravello, with its palatial villas and gardens.
The bustling resort town of Sorrento. Positano, the little fishing village that has become a haven for the dolce vita crowd.
The beaches at Maiori and Minori, the clear blue-green light shimmering in the Grotta dello Smeraldo and, of course, the everchanging views. It is also possible to make day trips to Capri or to Pompeii.
DRAWBACKS: The winding roads, though great for views, are perilous for driving (take travel sickness remedies). Some of the smaller beaches can get very crowded at the height of the season.
TOP HOTEL: Palazzo Sasso, Ravello, Via San Giovanni del Toro 28, 84010 Ravello: all that modern luxury can offer in a 12th century setting, with stunning views of the sea. Tel 089 81 81 81.
RESTAURANT: Trattoria da Gemma, Via Genova, Amalfi, excellent and unpretentious, with a pleasant terrace, and good local fish dishes. Tel 089 8713 45.
GETTING THERE: Go flies to Naples from Stansted from £75 return including taxes. Tel 0870 607 6543.
TOUR OPERATORS: Long Travel, specialists in Southern Italy. Tel: 01694 722193.
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| | | | Bars and pizzerias
Other towns on the eastern side of the lake are drabber than Torri - apartment-style blocks and warehouse shops abound.
Further south, however, Salo has retained its identity: here you can find butchers, bakers, hardware stores and fruit shops alongside the familiar tourist trappings.
A range of bars and pizzerias overlook the lake but the locals favour an old-fashioned pasticceria (pastry shop) in the town centre, which serves exquisite cakes on a terrace shaded from the heat by cool walls.
At no time does Salo ever feel overwhelmed by tourists: the locals outnumber them easily.
Most accommodation is in privately-owned hotels. Ours was charming and comfortable, if a little chaotic. They tend to offer good value for money: but do watch the extras. I'm still recovering from our £400 bar bill.
If you're considering a low-key family holiday, Garda might be for you. Just don't expect click-your-fingers service.
And don't expect to get a haircut in Salo. The barber shuts for two months every summer to take his holidays.
TRAVEL DETAILS:
Ryanair flies to Brescia and Bergamo, near Milan, (http://www.ryanair.com tel: 0870 156 9569).
British Airways (tel: 0845 7733377) flies to Milan and Verona. There are good connections from both to the Lakes by bus and train.
Crystal Holidays (http://www.crystalholidays.co.uk tel: 0870 160 6040) offers seven, 10, 11 or 14-night holidays to resorts on Lake Garda, Gardone Riviera, Sirmione, Torri del Benaco with charter flights from Gatwick to Verona.
Venice - surprise and delight
VENICE
WHY GO? Because Venice is the most beautiful and romantic city in the world. No matter how familiar it might seem from postcards and brochures, it always manages to surprise and delight. Whether watching the sun set over the lagoon or discovering an architectural gem, the city offers a constant source of wonder.
It is a place where you can forget cars exist for a few days and ride in a gondola, lose yourself in the maze of winding alleys; drink Bellini cocktails (made from peach juice and Prosecco) at Harry's Bar, or look at the Giovanni Bellini triptychs in the Accademia.
And when it all gets too much, you can take a boat over to the Lido for a taste of beach life.
MUST-SEES: Everything. Everywhere you look there are sights of extraordinary beauty - from distinctive Venetian Gothic church facades, to lines of washing hung across narrow alleyways.
Top priority is a ride down the Grand Canal, which reveals an unbroken parade of glorious palaces. Also crucial is the steeply-arched Rialto Bridge lined with its quaint little boutiques.
And at the centre of it all is the magnificent St Mark's Square, once called 'the finest drawing room in Europe'. Its elegant arcades and cafes have both a grand and intimate feeling. At one end stands the Basilica di San Marco, a sumptuous Byzantine church. Next to that is Doge's Palace, a masterpiece of Venetian Gothic architecture, connected to its dungeon wing by the famous Bridge of Sighs.
The Lagoon has three unmissable treasures: Murano, with its glass factories; Burano, with its lace shops, and Torcello, with its Romanesque cathedral.
DRAWBACKS: Can get overcrowded. Easy to get lost. Hard to find accommodation. Constant temptation to buy a hideous papier-mache carnival mask. Streets full of water.
TOP HOTEL: Cipriani, Isola della Giudecca 10, a haven of luxury and quiet across from the main part of Venice on the Giudecca island. Tel: 041 52 07 744.
RESTAURANT: Antica Locanda Montin, Fondamenta di Borgo 1147, Dorsoduro. The artist's trattoria, hung with the works of past visitors, has a large, vine-shaded garden. Cheerful but not cheap. Tel 041 522 7151.
GETTING THERE: Fly to Venice or Treviso. Go flies from Stansted to Venice Marco Polo, from £75 return including taxes. Tel 0870 607 6543.
TOUR OPERATORS: Time Off, Venetian short-break specialist. Tel: 0870 584 6363.
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| | | | Sardinia - perfect seaside
SARDINIA
WHY GO? The perfect seaside experience: some of the finest white sandy beaches and clearest seas in the Mediterranean. It has become a favoured holiday destination for discerning sun-worshippers but, though many excellent small resorts have sprung up in recent years, the island is still relatively unspoilt.
It has a rugged, primeval landscape of wind-sculpted rocks, and wild aromatic scrub. Fascinating traces of early civilisations - including standing stones, tombs and thousands of circular, fortified stone houses called nuraghi dating back thousands of years.
An interesting local cuisine featuring delicacies such as spaghetti made with dried mullet roe, and a liqueur made from myrtle leaves.
MUST-SEES: Neptune's Grotto with its stalagmite colonnade near the ancient town of Alghero, Cagliari with its black and white cathedral and archaeological museum. The nuraghic settlement at Su Nuraxi near Barumini.
The great views from the road between Arbatox and Dorgali. The sparkling sand dunes of Chia on the south-west coastline, and the sparkling holidaymakers of the Costa Smeralda (the resort area developed by the Aga Khan since the Sixties) on the north-east of the island.
DRAWBACKS: Many of the interesting archaeological sites are in remote places, and public transport is poor.
TOP HOTEL: Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda, seems like a rambling Italian castle, but is new. Luxurious rooms, first-class restaurant, and private beach.
RESTAURANT: La Lepanto, via Carlo Alberto 135, Alghero, for sumptuous fish feasts and other earthy Sardinian specialities. Tel: 079 979 116.
GETTING THERE: Fly to Cagliari, Olbia or Alghero. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Alghero from £80 return. Tel: 0870 156 9569.
TOUR OPERATORS: Voyages Ilena, specialists in self-catering holidays in Sardinia. See http://www.voyagesilena.co.uk or tel: 020 7924 4440.
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| | Available rental properties in Italian Lakes |
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| |  | | Via Trabucco
2 bedroom, 2 shower room town apartment in the heart of Salo', seconds walk from the lakefront and its restaurants, designer shops and bars.
|  | | Bogliaco Golf Studio, Gargnano, Lake Garda
Recently renovated studio apartment in small and exclusive residence. With swimming pool and views over Lake Garda, the residence also overlooks the w
|  | | Torre 2 bedroom apartment with Patio
Luxury apartment in beautiful villa. Wonderful peaceful location with Swimming Pool, Air Conditioning, Private patio and a short stroll from the village centre and lake.
|  | | Villa Ponticello 1, Manerba del Garda, Lake Garda
Beautiful 2 bedroom apartment in private villa with swimming pool and stunning views over Lake Garda. Terrace and Air conditioning.
|  | | Villa Ponticello 3, Manerba del Garda, Lake Garda
Beautiful 1 bedroom apartment in private villa with swimming pool and stunning views over Lake Garda. Patio and Air conditioning.
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Holiday Rentals in Italian Lakes |
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