July/August 2011 - Monza, Hotel Barge in Italy, Rome App

The July/August 2011 issue of Dream of Italy is hot off the presses. If you're NOT a subscriber, become one today and save $15 on our regular subscription rates and receive access to this issue and more than 84 back issues! Our paid subscribers (who can log-in here) will be reading the following articles:

Off the Beaten Path in Monza
If cars and racing are your thing, don't miss Monza, the home of one of Italy's most famous racing tracks -- where you can get behind the wheel. But there's even more to Monza including a royal palace and one of the largest walled parks in Italy. Plus Where to Stay in Monza, Where to Eat and More

Exploring the Po Valley on A Hotel Barge
During our her barge trip through Italy's Po Valley, our writer began to understand why barging was once the preferred way for royalty to vacation.

Best of Rome From Our New App
Among the 380 entries in our new iPhone/iPad app on Rome, a private shopping guide for Rome, the city's delightful children's museum and a Roman gelateria not to miss (especially if you like pistachios).

Puglia: One of My Favorite Italian Regions

It is true. I have favorites. I don't usually broadcast them but although I cover all of Italy and truly love all of Italy, there are certain places that have captured my heart. One of these is the southern region of Puglia, on Italy's Adriatic Coast.

I was reminded just what a treasure this region is while thumbing through my friend Martha Bakerjian's Puglia Travel Guide -- a new iPhone/iPad app. This app captures so many of the places that make Puglia special including the sandy beaches, the conical white stone buildings (trulli), the ceramics tradition, the hometown of Padre Pio, numerous ancient ruins and more.

The app explores some unusual sights like the octagonal castle built by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, a chapel made up of bones and skulls and the region's Romanesque churches with stunning floor mosaics.

And have we even begun to talk about the food in Puglia? Martha's Puglia app will lead you to all the fresh, authentic goodness that is Puglian cuisine. She even tells you where to see the cows that produce the milk that goes into Puglia's incredible cheeses.

Like our new Rome app, Martha's Puglia app is just $2.99 to download and includes a lifetime of updates. Start planning your trip to Puglia! It is a magical and authentic slice of Italy.

Celebrate the Feast of San Lorenzo in Rome

This is an excerpt from Dream of Italy's NEW Rome travel app for iPhone and iPad:

On August 10th, the martyrdom of San Lorenzo is celebrated with fireworks and celebrations throughout the area around his crypt on the Via Tiburtina in Rome, where the saint was killed in 258 AD. The patron saint of librarians, firemen, bakers, and other professions whose jobs involve fire and roasting, San Lorenzo's association with such incendiary professions is certainly a disturbing one.

His martyrdom is said to have occurred by slowly being roasted on a gridiron by the troops of the Emperor, and, as he died, is believed to have said in Latin, "Ecce, miser, assasti tibi partem unam, regire aliam et manduca" (Here, you miserable person: you have roasted one side for yourself, now turn me over and eat.)

The Feast of San Lorenzo is an event celebrated throughout Italy on August 10, in honor of the saint. The focal point of the celebrations in Rome is the fireworks and food at the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura, which was built above the saint’s tomb. Other celebrations are spread out around Rome’s piazzas. The Feast of San Lorenzo is also known as "The Night of Shooting Stars" because there is a meteor shower that annually falls on or around August 10. This meteor shower follows the Swift-Tuttle comet, and is interpreted as the tears of Saint Lorenzo. -- Elaine Murphy