Modern Vespa

I am going to Italy for the first time over the Christmas Holiday. I plan to do a tour of Piaggio, but wondering if there are any cool performance shops or other museums I should add to the bucket list??

I will be in Milan, Alba, Florence, Parma and Bologna. We will have a car so I can go just about anywhere.

Thanks in advance!

G

We toured a certified Parmigiano Reggiano cheese factory in Parma. It was worth the time. Reggio Emilia is very close to Parma and we enjoyed being in Reggio much more than our stay in Parma.
If your going to have a car, beware of where you park. They will issue tickets and you won't know for several months.
If you would, stop by the Carabinieri station and let them know I'm broke! Thanks

From Milan head up to Mondello del Lario on lake Como to visit the Moto Guzzi museum. Tours at 3pm. The gift shop at Agostinis up the hill is worth a visit too.

I'm jealous, Italy is beautiful at anytime of year. Please post us some pictures of your journey.

P. S. Try taking some of the Strada Bianca (white roads), they take you away from the main autostrada routes and are great fun to drive on as most are not tarmaced.

I believe the Moto Guzzi Museum is closed for the coronavirus.

There's a shop in Bologna called Mr Coffee that is absolutely delightful: friendly staff and great vibe. They sell Sicilian chocolate, which is just cocoa, sugar, and whatever essential oil they use for flavoring. They don't melt the sugar, so it's got a crystalline crunch. The recipe was inherited from Mexico when the Spanish colonized Sicily and Mexico simultaneously. The pistacchio one is really good.

I enjoyed the Ducati museum near Bologna. They made some beautiful machines in the early decades.

There's also a town called Dozza that's worth a daytrip. They've been inviting muralists to paint the town every September for 60 years.

San Marino is both gorgeous and fascinating. It's Europe's oldest republic, atop a mountain in the Adriatic sea near Bologna.

Rocchetta Mattei wasn't open on the day I went between Florence and Bologna, but I've been told it's gorgeous.

Museo Piaggio was a disappointment. You don't learn much about the what/how/why of Vespas (mechanically or historically). Too much of the museum is filler: "here's a Vespa painted like Mickey Mouse for some bullshit corporate pairup 20 years ago." You're only allowed in for an hour. I think everyone in my timeslot missed the second room (with the non-Vespa branded motos) because the staff is very bad at communicating the time limit and the museum is not well organized.

I really liked Pisa, with its massive white stone buildings surrounded by perfectly manicured lawns. It's got a great seaside too, although that might not be worthwhile in the winter.

If you make it to Siena, try the pici. I spent three months in Italy this fall, and the pici was one of the highlights.

The south of Italy is really disappointing after Halloween because most restaurants et al close for the season. I don't recall having that problem in the north, but I haven't been to central Italy in the winter.

You don't say how long you are going for. "Over Christmas" indicates to me you are not going very long. I endorse the "see less, enjoy it more" philosophy. You have picked some great places, but for "over Christmas" it sounds like a lot of moving.
I go to Italy often and just finished over month there. Good time to go as people are getting afraid to travel again. We felt very COVID safe in Italy as they have rules and people follow them without acting like a 3 year old spoiled brat and societies rights trump your individual rights.
Enjoy whatever you do.

True huh?
Many do not believe that here we do things seriously when there is a real need to do them.

That's a really good point that I forgot to mention:

If there's anything touristic you want to do in Italy, this could be a great opportunity to do it. I was in Venice for the first time in 20 years, and made it to the top of the Campanile (perhaps the most scenic tower in the city) in 10 minutes. Places that are often mobbed with tourists are relatively empty right now.

I will be there from the 18th- 28th. So 10 days. Thank you for all that have replied so far!! Much appreciated.

Presuming you're renting a car at Malpensa:
Malpensa > Milan
Milan > Alba
Alba > Florence
Florence > Parma
Parma > Bologna
Bologna > Malpensa

Half your days are travel days.

If I were you, I would spend most of your trip in Bologna. You have plenty of options to daytrip from there without having to pack up your shit and check in/out every other day. If it's not too late, see if you can fly in/out of there. Of course, it's not my trip to plan, but I don't think Milan is worth including - it's an easy destination to arrive in, but not much cultural value as a destination compared to the rest of Italy. Anecdotally, it was also the place I noticed the most people coughing unmasked in small cafes during my trip.

I don't know anything about Alba. I'm presuming you have ties there; otherwise, I'd save that for another trip too. You can spend 10 days in just Bologna and Florence and have a great trip, without the stress of moving about.

According to the weather reports for that area you could be very lucky. A bit colder but no rain.

If you drive from Alba to Firenze you could choose the road along the coast that brings you via Genova, then Pisa, then via Pontedera to Firenze.

You would then cross the brand new Ponte San Giorgio bridge in Genova, you know that the old one completely collapsed some 2 years ago.

On the way from Genova to Pisa you pass along the Carrara marble mines that still mine the famous carrara-marble already used by the old Romans. Marble everywhere.

And from Pisa to Firenze you could make a small detour via Pontedera, the headquarter of Piaggio. You said it is a tour of Piaggio, then you cannot miss that.

We have visited Firenze several times by car. Maybe a tip. I park the car in the Parcheggio Fortezza da Basso. It is behind the main railway station. Even in summer not crowded and in my memory not expensive.
Having the car parked you simply walk through the railway station and you are immediately at the historical center of the city.

Grayson,

Take your time and enjoy the food. Many times the cheap Vino-Locale (local wine)
is exceptional. I envy you. I know you will have a great time.

Buona Fortuna,

Bob Copeland
Former Resident of Italia - Many moons ago
I still drink a glass of Vino Rosso each night with dinner

If in the vicinity and if open.. The Pascoli collection is supposed to be amazing.

http://www.collezionevespa.it/

I lived/worked/rode in Italy---food and cheap red wine can be good. In Vespa Heyday every big city had main Vespa shop with all the interesting junk you might be interested in. In real world, I found Germany had more Vespa special stuff. Sad to do Italy in Car....bike more fun.

It is like this but only in the summer season.

There is a Lambretta Museum in Milan
Via Kennedy, 38, 20090 Rodano MI, Italy
+39 02 9532 0438
I'd give them a call to see if/when they are open.

Die Wespe Kind

Have a wonderful time!

+1 on the see less and instead smell the roses mentality. My favorite times traveling in Italy were when I really got to dig in and fall in love with a few places, than when we tried to cram in too many destinations and activities. You're already going to a lot of places for just 10 days, so I'd definitely advocate avoiding trying to check off literally every touristy thing in those locations and taking some time to just enjoy a local festival or walk from time to time! (Although of course you gotta hit some of the big things so you don't regret it)

xantufrog,

Very good advise. I like to leisurely walk down every side street.

Regrettably, as you noted, many will get only one time visit to Italia and want to shot gun
visit as many of the top spots as possible.

As you probably know, you could spend a month in Rome alone.

Bob Copeland

Just going to add to this, as someone who's toured all of Italy by bus, been back multiple times (I'm a dual citizen), and am planning a return trip on motorcycle, I would avoid Piza altogether. Tourist trap. Try to tour the country as a local, not a tourist, and you'll really get the buon gusto of what Italy is all about.

Also... There's no place like Rome.

+1

But you are probably a bit biased living so close to Rome.

Ha, just shows how easy it is to ask recommendations from strangers

I happened to fly into the Pisa airport once (its a small one) and took the opportunity to see Pisa. The town itself is just a town, but I loved the leaning tower It was much more impressive than just seen further away from the road that goes around Pisa. Just for that, I would do it. Again.

Then again... yes, one could spend a week in Roma, and I have, but... hmmm.. don't really have an urge to go there again. Kind of felt like a 'tic the tourist boxes' place for me, somehow was less impressive than the much more simple Pisa experience A friend lived in Rome and guided for the non-touristique side too, but still...kind of represents Italy in a way Paris represents France, in good and bad?

So there you go!

P. S Florence, Siena, the area in between.. quite nice, so I can see the votes are unanimous there.

In 2016, we arrived in Pontedera by train from Florence.

The next day, after picking up our Yamaha Tmax, Sarah and I decided to ride to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower.

We got to town without a map or cell service so we asked a couple of police officers directions to the site.

Once there, having a scooter made parking easy.

We wondered around, bought tickets to climb to the top and waited our turn.

Yes, it is a tourist stop, but we were glad to have seen it in our lifetimes.

We also thoroughly enjoyed riding around in the countryside for two weeks.

Bill

Yeah, it's definitely touristic (which is probably why it took me so many trips to Italy before I finally went), but I thought it was a gorgeous place to spend magic hour. I think it's worth a stop if you're in the area - even if you just sat on the lawn for an hour.

We also have the benefit of pandemic travel. I might have felt differently if it was Disneyland-crowded.

Not to beat the Pisa thing to death but... I'd years ago decided I never wanted to go there, tourist trap and all.... A few years back, rented a van with some German friends and drove to Italy for a week. To appease me, Pontederra. To appease their teenage son, Pisa. Spent a couple of hours there and it was , I must admit, surprisingly enthralling. No regrets.

Spent time in Chianti with it's awesome scooter-enticing roads visiting Florence and Volterra before our final stop in Rome. Have to say I share RRider's impression. No regrets going, and lots of nice memories, but I think I'd rather keep exploring other areas in the future.

The difficult thing to make tourists understand is that the whole Lazio region is beautiful but Rome monopolizes attention (obviously for a matter of time). When you want to visit Italy (but also other countries) well, you need to have a broader program.

It may be a tourist stop but the Piazza dei Miracoli with the Campanile, the Duomo and the Baptisterium all in that white carrara marble in the green lawn is just so beautiful.

A bit of history: a question to you guys to think over. The Baptisterium is where you are baptised. Typically all newborns were baptised. Why is it a seperate building in Pisa? It is also a seperate building in Firenze.
Why was that?

You guys seemed to have a very different Piza experience than me.
After reading your experiences, I would like to say, I have changed my position on it, slightly. If anyone wants to pay me to go back, I'm dropping what it will cost you to have me visit Piza down to just $500. That's a half price discount. Before you would have to pay me $1,000 to go back. Anything less I'm not interested lol.

The font can be placed in different places: it is normally on one side of the nave, near the entrance to the church, to also symbolically remind us that it is through baptism that one becomes part of the family of the Church. Sometimes the source has a side chapel reserved for it or it is located in the immediate vicinity of the presbytery. Some medieval or Renaissance churches have a building attached to the church, the baptistery, built in order to preserve the source and used only for the rite of baptism.

Baptismal Font for Infusion

The baptismal font for the infusion of water normally consists of a marble or stone basin, supported by a pedestal, on which, by means of a support, it rests. It can be closed by a cover, on which decorations and sculptures are often found.
The shape is variable, based on symbols: for example, it can have three sides recalling the Holy Trinity.

Baptismal font for immersion

If the source is aimed at the immersion of the person being baptized, then its structure changes: it is a tank of larger dimensions, which allows the body to be completely immersed.

(Wiki source)

I have never been to Italy but planning to be there on June for fews days vacation…Sometimes i think that it's a shame that i haven't visited Italy as of yet..From Greece it's only an hour by plane….anyway…never it's too late i guess..i would say to you don't schedule anything and feel the italian vibe..cheers and have a great time there

TMESSOLO,

Hey, you have also have a beautiful country with great historical
stuff that the Romans just copied. Greece is also a necessary stop.

I crossed by car ferry to Corfu and drove around your great country.

Bob Copeland[/b]

7 years ago I had booked a trip to Italy with my then girlfriend. She left me (on christmas ) and due to this and other circumstances at the time I had to cancel the trip. (ordinarily I would have gone myself)
I had booked an agroturisomo in the Chianti region and rented a motorcycle. The motorcycle rental was with a card and easy to cancel. The owner of the Agroturismo was very accommodating and told me he would refund my deposit if he could rent the location, which he did in 3 days. We have been facebook friends since. He is also an avid two wheeler.
I have Italy and certainly this place on my bucket list, as others have suggested would do a week in Chianti and get to know the region, rather than rush from one tourist place to another.
https://www.vichiaccio.it/?fbclid=IwAR3QlyjLdWxKusDb_q8-GCjUeZ9Xp-0DTK6PZOeoDpgIjSxNSUSK9GGTiRw

Looks nice! Trying to recall where we'd stayed, but Greve di Chianti is the only place I recognize. It's a beautiful area, short ride/drive to Florence, Siena, etc but the smaller hill towns are pretty amazing too.

In Italy it is difficult to make mistakes and go to an ugly or not characteristic place. To do this you have to go and look for it ...