Why Dream About Unique Places to Visit in Italy

For nature enthusiast, places to visit are always about the joy of staying in touch with the highest-value treasure of creation: wildlife. There are many ways to connect. Everybody can find their own

What were the best places I visited in 2023? I remembered it because the last day of the year is an opportunity to review the year's results. 

What about you?

Try to be honest now: were your goals realistic? Say it, I don't hear your answer anyway. What did you do to reach them? 

If you want me to confess, I do not have goals. I do not think about planning. Maybe I could plan to reach something when I was a young girl. Now, I just try to enjoy life, do my best to not hurt anyone intentionally, and help others if I can. It's possible that this philosophy of mine isn't the best in life, but it's fine with me. And this is also the basis for what I proposed in the title of this article. 

I know one very interesting exercise you can do, too: 

Find some nice photos of laughing babies—the happiest you can find. Now, take a mirror and try to create the same happy face as the baby has. Pay attention to your eyes, brows, and mouth — every part of your face has to have the same expression as the baby's. It’s tough. But you just try. Today, tomorrow… Let's say this is my New Year's gift to you

Antagnod, Aosta Valley, Italy, this morning

What are the great places to visit in Italy? According to me :-)

And now, we turn back to the beautiful places to visit in Italy and to dream about. 

Here are some of the hiking trails I loved so much that I would visit more times.

The first is located in the Gran Paradise National Park. The road from Lake Serrù to Rifugio Savoia (refuge). It is a truly fantastic place for the beauty of the landscape and nature. But its best side can be seen towards the end of May and the beginning of June, when literally on every step you will also find marmots. I love marmots, they are beautiful and curious. But in this place, they are not afraid of man. I go there every spring now. 

I took this photo with my cell phone, and the marmot was a few steps away from me.

Lago Serrù, Ceresole Reale, Gran Paradiso, Italia

Here we are in the peat bog area near the city of Ivrea. They often call it “Five Lakes”. In the photo is Lake Sirio, one of five. The lake has quite fresh and clean water even in the height of summer, pleasant for those like me who come to swim. But that's not the only reason why it's interesting. A few steps to the right from the lake are “Le Terre Ballarine”. They call them that because if you step over the ground, the peat bog moves under your feet, “dances”. It is certainly more exciting to go there after a period of rain.

Nearby, there are also two castles, the remains of a Roman aqueduct and a prehistoric pile-dwelling village. A true dream area for those who want to take light but intriguing walks.

Five Lakes zone, Ivrea, Piedmont, Italy

Alps are not only exciting for nature lovers. They are excellent places to visit in Italy for persons who are interested in Italian culture, in mountain life. In my photo, you can see a farm with rose pigs burnt in the sun. In autumn, when the weather is not very pleasant, all farm animals want to enjoy the sun when it’s possible. So, these pigs overdid the tanning. 

The farm offers hikers the opportunity to witness the milking of sheep, the work of dairy farmers and the lives of their animals. You can also eat in their restaurant and buy products from their production. This place is easily reachable by walking from the nearby villages and there are also several trails. Many families with children come here for lunch or to assist the milking.

Champoluc, Valle D’Ayaz, Italy

It is very fun to attend the popular festivals. Not just carnivals. There are other occasions too. The whole local community participates in these events. Sometimes it even takes years of preparation. This photo festival tells of a historical event that has remained so imprinted in popular memory that it is represented once in five years. It’s origins are very ancient and date back to before the year 1000 (apparently 975 or 980). The teams of Saracens entered the valley to plunder it. They were driven out by the local population.

Give a look at rich costumes created by the females of the valley. However, only men can participate on the recreation. 

Some costumes used for such feasts can be even old. Very often, they are inherited from ancestors, especially if they are folk costumes and not from a recreation.

Sampeyre, Valle Varaita, Cuneo

Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta are also known for their wines. Here grow vines that are found higher up in all of Europe. Normally, people know only Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera. Now, there are even wines made and sold on Mont Blanc. But if you ask local people you will learn that many of them prefer to purchase wines of the local producers.

The photo shows how all the mountain sides near Carema are covered with vines. Imagine the very hard work of these people who are often not even farmers who create these "plots of land" on the rocky mountains of the area. As a city dweller, I can't even imagine how one must love this land to do such heavy work.

Probably, you will not find all these places to visit I described here and in this my newsletter generally in the Guides, specialized websites and magazines, but it doesn’t mean they are less fascinating than those where all tourist go. And, important for me, all they are about 1 to 3 hours of drive from Biella, where I live.

What to do now?

Begin your journey. Today. You can visit Italy, for example, and maybe ask me to help you plan your next visit, or you can just now take a look around the zone you live in, inspired by my relaxation organization system and begin your exploration. In any case, I’m sure, you will enjoy your adventure.