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Get your favourite gelato to hand, amigos, as this week’s Sunday Edit is hijacked by loveable Italia and a fabulous catwalk of agriturismo guesthouses, convent refugios, and gorgeous hotels from Lake Como to Lake Garda, Milano to Pienza, Le Marche to the Madonie Mountains, and Polizzi Generosa – heartthrob of the Sicilian isle.
Hollywood seems to have fed the essence of this week’s dispatch – a classic film scene by Luca Guadagnino, the homeland of Ferrari and motoring nostalgia on steroids, hat makers to the stars, design discretion in Roma and Milano, and a pairing of the coolest places to stay as we arch down Italy’s backbone, caress its broad shoulders, and land in the heel.
Aunt Beehive M, a new publication, spaghetti, a can’t-get-out-of-my-head film score by the legendary Ennio Morricone humming in the background, and Hollywood trails in this week’s Sunday Edit – from The Talented Mr. Ripley to the lingering question: was Clint Italian?
This week, we bring you a curated Italy – beyond the clichés. From 13th-century Venetian-Byzantine palaces to monasteries reimagined for modern pilgrims, from gorgeously chilled-out hotels that live and breathe Cinematic Italiano to a once-abandoned hilltop convent.
As I take off from Stockholm on Friday late afternoon, Italy’s been pulling at my heartstrings again. Maybe it’s Hollywood, the films I’ve been watching, the poetry I’ve been reading, or just the sheer magnetism of a country that does style, food, and drama like no other.
Italy and Hollywood have always had a love affair – Fellini’s Roma, Sorrentino’s Naples, and the moody elegance of The Talented Mr. Ripley. This is a land where style and storytelling are in the bones, and where even a simple trattoria meal feels like a scene from a classic film.
Milano, 1978 – my first dalliance with Italy, under the tutelage of Aunt Marge – or Campari M., as we called her. Blond beehive, Negroni in hand, a black book of hidden haunts – she knew exactly where to go, what to order, and who to charm. In another life, she would have been a silver-screen siren, lingering in shadowy doorways, tossing out one-liners through a veil of cigarette smoke. Instead, she made real life her stage, delivering monologues over Campari, making an entrance wherever she went. She introduced me to Italian cinema, literature, and the deep poetry of the place. I was hooked.
As we moved on to Roma, she led me through the Jewish Quarter, past weathered façades and hidden trattorias, exhaling smoke between flirtations with waiters. "This is where you eat artichokes!" she declared, barely pausing to sip her Campari. She was right. She was always right. The Italian men adored her, and if the gossip was true, she never said no to a bit of Pasta Bolognese either – if you catch my drift.
Lately, Italy has been seducing me all over again. Maybe it’s the string of signals crossing my radar – the film Conclave and the Pope’s health (hopefully still intact by the time this lands in your inbox), a rewatch of Call Me By Your Name that nudged me towards Sirmione, where opera legend Maria Callas found solace and where Roman poet Catullus penned his romance. Then there’s another Lake Garda pitstop – Torri del Benaco, where a fabulous hotel stretches across the hillside like a perched cruise liner. An inevitable road trip is forming, and whispers from The Talented Mr. Ripley are luring me back to Venice for Biennale 2025.
As The White Lotus hits the screens again, I am drawn back to series II filmed in Sicily, and left wondering why they didn't show a more untamed wild side of the island, where gloss is ditched in favour of raw landscapes and bucolic luxury and where the past lingers in the air like the scent of citrus and salt.
If Milano is my bedrock of design and fashion, then Roma is my grand duke of culture, Lake Como the epitome of silken style, Umbria my soul, and Tuscany my forever lover. Almost as poetic as Catullus, no? Not bad for something scribbled at 38,000 feet.
And then, pasta. The simplest dish with the deepest memories. A table, a conversation, a purpose. Fabio + Suzanne, I still think of that dinner, the farmlands, your stories, and your pasta that left an indelible mark – the whole place is like an epic film set defining Tuscany, maybe due to Suzanne’s past as a theatre set designer. Italy is all about these moments. Speaking of, Fabio, I still need that recipe.
When I was a kid, I remember hearing the term "Spaghetti Westerns" for the first time. Confusing. Clint Eastwood wasn’t Italian (at least, I didn’t think so), and cowboys ate beans, not pasta. It took a while to grasp the meaning, but I soon learned that, like everything else, Italy had its own way of rewriting the script – and turning even the Wild West into a cinematic spectacle.
Where Italy gives Austria a long, seductive kiss is South Tyrol (Südtirol/Alto Adige), home to 25 hotels in our collection. A chameleon of the Mediterranean and the Alps, where snowy peaks meet sun-kissed palms, pasta pairs with Knödl, and espresso flows alongside Schnapps.
From Hollywood icons to Italian rebels, Italy’s hat makers have crowned legends for over a century. Borsalino defines cinematic cool, worn by film greats since 1888. In Tuscany, Grevi blends heritage with modern flair, crafting straw and felt masterpieces. In Rome, Patrizia Fabri brings drama and elegance, her millinery a head-turning nod to timeless style.
Maybe I should have named this The Spaghetti Edit – considering it makes a closing appearance in our upcoming print edition, hot off the Austrian presses. Expect the usual lineup of design-forward stays, hotel candy, and a style-led compass for your next adventure.
The captain calls for seatbelts as we begin our descent. There’s just so much poetry in this place.
As the gelato drips and the Aperol flows,
Ciao, hugs –
Iain & Co.
Lake Garda is the largest, and some say most beautiful, body of water in northern Italy. Located halfway between Verona and Trento, this Alpine region brings together breathtaking heights with laid-back countryside glamour.
Captured by the painter Albrecht Dürer, Arco's famous landmark castle, the once ancestral home of the noble Counts of Arco, sits perched upon the sheer limestone cliffs which flank this historic town close to Lake Garda's shores in Trentino-Alto Adige in northern Italy.
A wellness refuge set within thick sacral walls dating back to the 17th-century, this sanctuary was designed by architectural studio noa*.
Low-slung, counter-sunken, and framed by vines, it’s minimalist luxury with an infinity pool that steals the scene.
Sirmione is a collision of history and hedonism, where Roman ruins, medieval castles, and thermal waters meet golden-hour magic. A lakeside town where poets dreamed, Callas escaped, and sunset Spritzes are an art form.
With the feel of a hip in-the-know club for lido-lovers, Aqva Boutique Hotel’s modular alabaster white building is fronted by a turquoise pool surrounded by sleek decking. Like a pointing finger, a private pier juts out onto the lake - perfect for those celeb moments.
Torri del Benaco is Lake Garda in its purest form – medieval towers, lemon-scented breezes, and waterfront strolls that turn into Aperol-fuelled sunsets. A town where history meets dolce vita, effortlessly.
With arguably one of the most magnificent infinity views across Lake Garda, this all-suite hotel and wellness retreat is a fabulous escape of design.
Meander through rolling vineyards, taste authentic tortellini, or cycle riverside paths to uncover Italy’s charm—history, flavours, and nature await just beyond the lakeshore.
Experience a minimalist, eco-faceted nest egg in Verona’s countryside, where sustainable design and natural beauty blend seamlessly to create a chilled escape rooted in Italian slow living.
Venice’s appeal lies in the way it remains unchanged, ready to be explored and discovered. Whether you’re an art lover, historian, utter romantic, aesthete, dreamer or foodie, Venice will beguile you with its untouched charm.
A creative rethink of luxury by the former owners behind Golden Goose - this place is the perfect pitstop for Biennale 2025. Dynamic, evocative, audacious and avant-garde begins to describe Venice Venice Hotel, located waterside on the Grand Canal within striking distance of both Rio dei Santi Apostoli and the Palazzo Bollani Erizzo with views over to the Rialto Bridge. Housed in a 13th-century Venetian-Byzantine palace, previously known as Ca’ da Mosto, the hotel is set within one of the oldest palazzos in the city and hallmarks of age are seen, celebrated and beautifully exposed throughout.
Found in northern Italy’s county of Lombardy, Lake Como is one of Italy’s ritziest regions. Conceived when a glacier divided 10,000 years ago during the Ice Age, its glittering waters first attracted the Romans becoming an important trade stop on the Via Regina.
Alessandro Sironi wanted to create a stand-out hotel, not, however, through the typical gilded grandeaur. His hotel, Filario, ditches the gold for something sharper – cubic modernism on the celebrity shores of Lake Como. Unpolished beauty, unpretentious luxury, and front-row seats to the lake’s icons. A place where design, craft, and contemporary cool steal the scene.
The Italian region of Tuscany is tailor-made for romance, so it’s no wonder it was the muse for films ranging from 'Under the Tuscan Sun' to 'Stealing Beauty'. A “nation within a nation”, its vibrant culture gave birth to the Italian Renaissance, the dazzling city of Florence, and museums such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace.
From Sony to Siena – John Voigtmann swapped rockstars for Renaissance charm, turning a 500-year-old convent into La Bandita Townhouse. Think floating beds, Tuscan feasts, and courtyard aperitivos in Pienza’s UNESCO heart. A soulful bolthole where history, design, and good wine play in perfect harmony.
Fabio + Suzanne are inspirational – their tiny outpost is a must-do pitstop for anyone exploring Tuscany and Montefollonico. Theatrics, nature, history, and views into infinity are the showstoppers – never mind the couple’s irresistible charisma and passion. They are humble, rooted, and charming – a bit like their agriturismo. And one of the best pasta dishes ♥️.
Fabulous farmhouse luxury decks this Italian bolthole in the hilltops of Versilia close to Tuscany's coastline hot picks Forte dei Marmi and Viareggio.
If you're looking for a car rally in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, you’re in the heartland of Italian motorsport, where Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Ducati all have their roots. Here are some of the most iconic rallies and motorsport events in the Emilia-Romagna region. Terre di Canossa is a 600km cavalcade of classic cars roaring through Emilia-Romagna’s Motor Valley, Tuscan hills, and coastal gems.
What we wear is a signifier of who we are, and the hat in particular, has become a marker of individuality and style. Handcrafted, family-owned hat makers literally headline this lineup of the coolest, oldest, most stylish and rare finds - our chapeaux of choice from felt fedoras, brimming sun hats or a jaunty beret.
An island kissed by the sun, where timeless towns meet rolling countryside and coastal pitstops, ancient ruins whisper secrets, and every meal feels like poetry. A Mediterranean bolthole of culture.
Manfred Rizzuto continues a five-generation family legacy and a farming history that dates back to 1870. Susafa is no ordinary sustainable boutique hotel with farmhouse allure set within the beauty of Palermo's countryside. It is an exciting rethinking of a 500+ hectare heirloom Masseria and granary—an estate anchored to agriculture, ecology, and a slow-lane pocket of Sicily wrapped in the beautiful foothills of the Madonie Mountains and Polizzi Generosa.
Italy’s love letter to the world, the cobbled streets of Rome breathe with a heady mix of history, food, art and culture, so much so that since the first century BC – the beginning of time as we count it today - it has been known as the awe-inspiring, ‘Eternal City’.
Crossing Condotti is a style colony of luxury suites, lavish apartments and designer penthouse living created within an 18th-century palazzo townhouse, which poignantly resides behind the Piazza di Spagna and namesake, Via Condotti, in the heart of Rome’s historic Tridente district.
Sometimes described as the ‘workhorse’ of Italy, urban hub Milan in northern Italy is set apart from its counterpart neighbours by a dedicated ethic of graft and industry. Yet the Milanese are a creative bunch with the city sitting at the crossroads of designer fashion and cutting-edge architecture, they sure know how to have fun too.
Hushed, located close to Milan's fashion district, this new townhouse-hotel bolthole is laced with a troupe of design heroes, heritage and curated artworks - a discreet little number for those who want to reside off-the-radar, but in the hum of Milan.
Raw, untamed beauty - this region is naturally rebellious and dripping in history, with a killer coastline and wine-soaked vineyards. Step inside Italy’s best-kept secret—before everyone else does.
A vineyard inspired eco retreat laced with design and the tales of wine making for the seekers of taste, style, and the untamed beauty of slow Italian living.
Idyllic Umbria, the slow-lane sister to Tuscany in Italy’s central heart, easily accessible from Florence, Rome or Pisa is a hilly land of agrarian landscapes, characterised by undulating tufts, woven round with vineyards and ancient forests, topped with medieval villages.
Hushed luxury greets this solid stone casa in its cubic form, topped with terracotta tiles, reconfigured for sophisticates that like to tap into Italy’s pervading dolce far niente culture.
Restored within a former monastery, this fabulous design hotel and foodie hotspot brings together the stone mason, blacksmith and wood worker with the artisan makers.
Kiss me Franzl. South Tyrol is home to our 25 boutique hotels, designer guesthouses and spa wonders. In the land is all about a marriage of culture, language, tradition and nature, for this small pocket of northern Italy shares more than just a border with Austria, this is an Alpinista lifestyle that flirts with Dolce Vita, where extreme sports junkies fuse with foodie aficionados and mother nature cradles the spectacular of the Dolomites.
Amalfi and the Path of the Gods -Sentiero degli Dei is magical, an easy, two-hour amble for mortals like us, spy the Amalfi Coast’s breath-taking UNESCO World Heritage site in all its glory from a lofty, God-like height, tracking the path from Agerola’s Bomerano near Amalfi to Positano’s pause-worthy Nocelle.
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Paestum Temples in Southern Italy is one of those ancient antiquities that you have to visit – this UNESCO World Heritage Site in Cilento Campania is a treasure trove of ancient Greece including three of the world’s best-preserved temples.
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Cinque Terre in the Slow Lane – Ensconce yourself at a secluded retreat where the pleasures of slow living are championed in a peaceful and tradition-filled Ligurian way of life.
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An absolute charm ball landmarked by pillars, arcaded colonnades from the Roman archaeological ruins of "Grotte di Catullo" to the 13th-century fortress, Scaligero Castle.
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A 600km cavalcade of classic cars roaring through Italy’s Motor Valley, Tuscan hills, and coastal gems – Terre di Canossa is where motoring nostalgia meets Michelin-starred indulgence and la dolce vita.
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From its cultural heart to the altitudinous pleasures it offers, we put Bolzano in the headlights to explore its heritage core, architectural merit, stylish stays, foodie forays and more.
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As The New York Times, The Guardian, and international travel sections begin to fill up with articles about winter getaways, we’re going to throw our recommendation into the mix. Tried and true, Alta Badia, on the border of Austria and Italy, offers unparalleled winter sports, relaxation, and cuisine.
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Founded in 1754 by Empress Maria Theresa, the oldest area, the medicinal garden, is replete with poisonous plants and the sultry tropical house is home to orchids, cacti and carnivorous plants.
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Pienza is a Renaissance experiment that never finished – and that’s what makes it perfect. Golden piazzas, sweeping Val d’Orcia views, and pecorino-fuelled indulgence – this is Tuscany’s dreamscape, frozen in time.
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Travel to Portugal's fairytale den of Sintra, just outside Lisbon, for a world full of rolling hills and castles, once referred to by Byron as "glorious Eden".
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MART is Italy's bastion of art and architecture, designed by Mario Botta and filled to the brim with the most important pieces ever created, from Warhol to Picasso.
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Porto for culture seekers - we explore the Serralves Foundation comprising of a dusty pink 1930-40s’s Art Deco villa designed by Porto architect José Marques da Silva, a landscape-specific contemporary museum designed by Álvaro Siza.
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