2012 holiday season is approaching and it is now the most appropriate moment to plan and book a holiday in ever enchanting Italy!

DISCOVER YOUR ITALY is committed to give customers a great travel experience in Italy. The rich catalogue of EXCLUSIVE ITALY TOURS offers a wide possibility of choice of itineraries, dates of departures, duration and prices.

Travellers should not miss the advantages of our ITALY SMALL GROUP TOURS: guarantee of uniqueness, quality and style in every detail; top quality accommodations, transportations, guides and excursions; first class customer service.

For season 2012 DISCOVER YOUR ITALY is launching the new exciting “Be Your Own Tour Leader” travel formula: be the Tour leader of your own group and travel for free! Travellers who create a group of 8 participants will travel for free. DISCOVER YOUR ITALY will take care of designing the itinerary, managing the reservations and all land operations, the Tour Leader will help monitoring minor details during the tour and ….. enjoy the tour for free!

Matteo Della Grazia, co-founder of DISCOVER YOUR ITALY, commented, “We conduct a variety of tours all over Italy with scheduled departures and variable lengths of stay. Our small groups are 6 to 12 people are a unique characteristic of a new standard of travelling to Italy allowing for a more intimate encounter with the country. We can also design CUSTOMIZED TOURS: personalized itinerary, duration, departure dates for your own group.

Our Italy Tours itineraries are all ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE. They all feature a mix of both ever green destinations such as Rome, Florence, Venice, Tuscany, Pompeii, and out of the beaten track places such as Siena, Assisi, Naples, Perugia, Apulia, 5 Terre, Amalfi Coast, Umbria, Sicily and a well balanced blend of sightseeing, activities and free time. Our mission is to offer you organized tours that are anything but ordinary. We feature the real Italy!”

In 2012 DISCOVER YOUR ITALY is enriching its offer with 2 new LUXURY ITALY TOURS: “THE SPLENDORS OF SICILY” and “MEDIEVAL HILLS & VILLAGES OF UMBRIA”.

“THE SPLENDORS OF SICILY” is an exclusive luxury small group tour crafted to experience one of the most amazing areas of Italy, rich in art, culture, wine and food treasures, breathtaking landscapes, enchanting towns. The tour features all Sicily must-sees and much more: Taormina, Mount Etna, Siracusa, Ragusa, Noto, Piazza Armerina,  Agrigento, Marsala, Erice, Segesta and Palermo.

“MEDIEVAL HILLS & VILLAGES OF UMBRIA”: a very special itinerary through rolling hills, vineyards and olive groves, interrupted by picturesque medieval villages (Deruta, Bevagna, Spello, Montefalco, Norcia). Basilicas (Orvieto), churches and small chapels beautifully decorated with frescos (Assisi). Roman cities, necropolis, historical bridges and ancient aqueducts (Spoleto). Plazas full of life, cheerfulness and colours … From the magnificence of Rome to the refinement of Perugia, through the romantic, beating heart of Italy…

Travellers should take advantage of the new 2012 DISCOVER YOUR ITALY tours, check the itineraries on www.discoveryouritaly.com and book immediately an unforgettable tour in Italy.

Basilica of Santa Croce: Frescos Up Close

The Basilica of Santa Croce, in Florence, is one of the most beautiful and renowned churches in all of Italy. Built in 1385 the Basilica shows gothic architecture at it’s best and is a great sight from the outside. Inside it offers breathtaking Frescos by Agnolo Gaddi, which are truly unique to this church. The main Frescos are in the Cappella Castellani. The Frescos have a narrative cycle, which visually tells stories of St. Anthony, St. John and St. Nicola. The church is keeping its label of “under restoration” until May of 2012, and oddly enough that is the reason why you should visit the church! Scaffolds are up around the church and guided tours on the scaffolds are being offered to give visitors a better view of Gaddi’s masterpieces. This truly unique opportunity allows visitors to see the Frescos up close and be to explore all of the intricacies. This is a limited offer and an offer that one should not miss out on because these are truly some of the best works of religious art in the whole world, to see them up close is truly a breathtaking sight.

The scaffolds will be open for tours until May of 2012.

For a video on this opportunity, click here.

Couscous Festival-San Vito lo Capo

In San Vito lo Capo, on the Northwestern tip of Sicily, there a couscous festival takes place each September. The festival is solely dedicated to couscous and includes weeklong celebrations in which some of the best couscous in the world is eaten, a truly unique and worthwhile experience. The couscous that is showcased is typical of this part of Sicily with an obvious Arab and North African influence of course but still with it’s own dishes inspired by other Sicilian foods. Also at night free concerts take place under the magnificent night sky. At the festival there will be true cross-cultural experiences due to the amount of people that come from all over the world. You will also be able to experience the lovely San Vito lo Capo and it’s splendid beaches during a truly beautiful time of year.

This year the event will take place starting on SEPTEMBER 20 until SEPTEMBER 25.

“Sagre” in Umbria

Each summer the region of Umbria has various food festivals in different parts of the region known as Sagre.  A Sagra is a traditional local festival with gastronomic stands, entertainment and music. Every week throughout the summer there are multiple Sagre going on and each has a different food theme to it. The themes include Truffle, medieval foods (foods without potatoes or tomatoes), fish, beer and many more.

The Following is a list of some of this season’s remaining Sagre.

July 8-17: Truffle Sagra in Ripa

July 8-10 & 15-17: Trout Sagra in Scheggino

July 14-25: Beer Sagra in Schiavo

July 15-24: Chili Pepper Sagra in Pila

July 21-31: Wild Boar Sagra in Migliano

July 28-August 7: Sheep Sagra in Porano

July 29-August 7: Goose Sagra in Bettona

July 30-August 8: Polenta and Sausage Sagra in Carbonesca

August 5-15: Ice Cream Sagra in Massa Martana

August 12-21: Mushroom Sagra in Pianello

August 18-28: Bilberry and Fruits of the Forest Sagra in Papiano

August 26-September 4: Asparagus Festival in Colombella

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ITALIAN CUISINE AND CULTURE CLICK HERE.

Nerone exhibition at the Coliseum

One of the most renowned, maligned, most talked about and most mysterious protagonists in ancient Roman history, Emperor Nerone, will have a show dedicated to him in Rome’s coliseum during the summer of 2011. Nerone is best known for having been the “crazy” Emperor that “set Rome on fire.” Thousands died because of this deed and it is said that Nerone took advantage of this so he could build his famed residence: Domus Aurea. However modern historians who say he may not have been the mastermind behind the great Roman fire have put this into debate.

The exhibition analyzes Nerone’s life and shows there was much more to it than just that July night when the city went up in flames. Wonderful sketches and primary documents of his life are included which give us a true insight into the life of one of the most controversial leaders of the Roman Empire. There are letters, journal entries and models of his residences which are truly amazing sights.

In this show a man of many faces, that of the “people’s Emperor,” which he was known for up until he became known as a villain for the great Roman fire, gives us a wonderful insight into Roman history while within the most spectacular Roman ruin, the Coliseum.

A show that is definitely worth seeing, it runs until September 18, 2011.

For more information on Rome’s fascinating attractions and sights click here.

Arena di Verona – Opera Summer Festival 2011

For the past 89 years the Arena of Verona has hosted one of the best Opera festivals, if not the best, in the world. The Arena shows some of the best Opera works with some of the greatest musicians and actors playing the roles. Giuseppe Verdi’s opera’s are some of the most popular during this festival because of the great pride that Italians take in their talented individuals. Giacomo Puccini’s operas are shown and always met with large crowds at the arena as well.

This year there is a very exciting lineup that is sure to meet all tastes. The 6 shows that will be taking place this summer are La Traviata, Aida, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Nabucco, La Bohème, Romeo and Juliet.

La Traviata – July: 2,12,16,21,28 August: 4,11

Aida – June: 26, 30 July: 10,13,17,19,24,26,30 August: 7,14,28,31 September: 3

Il Barbiere di Siviglia – June: 25 July: 1,8,14  ,22,29

Nabucco – July: 9,15,20,23,27 August: 5,12,21,25 September: 1

La Bohème – August: 6,13,19,26,30 September: 2

Romeo and Juliet – August: 20,24,27