Right over on the Western edge of the Italian Lakes, where Lombardy meets Piedmont, lies the flawless and beautiful Lake Orta. Much smaller than its closest neighbour Lake Maggiore, Lake Orta is tranquil, restful and has a picture-perfect island in the centre, Isola San Giulio.

Anyone joining our new tour next year in Northern Tuscany and Ravenna will have the chance to visit this extraordinary city. Ravenna is a treasure trove of exquisite art and culture and has ancient origins and a glorious history.

Chianti Rufina is one of the seven subzones that fall under Italy's famous Chianti DOCG. The wine-growing area is one of the smallest in Chianti, concentrated in the foothills of the Apennines to the east of Florence.

One of the most memorable visits we make on our Slovenia and Friuli tour is to the clandestine Franja Partisan Hospital, buried deep within the Pasice gorge.

The small town of Cremona, which lies south east of Milan between Piacenza and Mantua, may not immediately ring any bells.  However, it has a unique musical heritage being home to the world-famous master violin-makers of the 16th to 18th centuries.

Anyone spending a few days in Southern Italy might like to take some time to visit the impressive Greek temples at Paestum.  This remarkable archaeological area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and lies about a mile inland, on the Mediterranean side, south of Naples and the city of Salerno...

The people of Italy, along with many of their European neighbours, have long enjoyed a pre-dinner drink known as the "aperitivo". Typically these drinks are low in alcohol and more often than not have a dry and bitter or spicy flavour.

The southern part of the Italian peninsula, even in 2017, is much less visited by tourists than the north and remains mysterious and often misunderstood. But to ignore the south is to miss a genuine Italian experience and the warmest possible welcome from the people you will meet there. Hiking...

Many people, on booking tours with us, ask if they really need to buy Travel Insurance and our response is always yes. In fact it is a condition of travel with Hedonistic Hiking and we always ask you for your insurance company details.

It seems that the world cannot have too many cookery books and our fascination with the Italian kitchen and Italy's bounty of delicious fresh ingredients continues apace.  More and more books on the subject of food are published each year and here are three that have recently caught our eye...