From Sicily To Treviso By Train: Breaking Down My 3-Month Italian Odyssey
From October through December, 2021, I traveled from Palermo, Sicily — the city of my paternal grandfather — to Treviso, Veneto: the origin region of my maternal grandfather. The distance spanned 1,437 kilometers (or 893 miles) and if done in one go, would’ve taken some 15 hours in the car. Although flights within Italy are both cheap and easy to catch, I wanted to physically cross that landscape and literally move from one side of my family to the next, so I traversed the entirety of Italy from the toe up, relying on the whims of public transportation: a combination of buses, trains, trams, metros, and the like. And I did so without a gameplan, picking and choosing stopovers one day at a time. Through this spontaneous, serendipitous, and sometimes stressful pilgrimage, I witnessed firsthand the idiosyncrasies of a multitude of Italian regions, each connected but uniquely its own, all worth stumbling into. Below is an outline of what ended up becoming my itinerary — the details of which this blog will color in.
Milan: 3 nights, with a day trip to Monza for Formula 1
Palermo: 1 night
Mondello Beach: 5 nights
Palermo: 2 weeks
Cefalu: 3 nights, with a day trip to Bagheria to taste the acclaimed white sfincione
Siracusa/Ortigia: 1 night
Noto: 1 night
Catania: 2 nights
Reggio Calabria: 2 nights
Tropea: 3 nights, with a day trip to Pizzo to visit the birthplace of tartufo
Ischia: 1 week
Naples: 1 night, with a day trip to Pompeii
Florence: 1 night
Incisa: 2 nights
Florence: 3 nights
Bologna: 1 day
Cervia: 3 nights, with a day trip to Ravenna to see the mosaics
Venice: 2 nights
Treviso: 2+ weeks, with day trips to Bassano del Grappa to taste its namesake alcohol; Valdobiaddene to see the origin of prosecco; Caselle di Altivole to visit my Nonno’s neighborhood; and Padua for the frescoes
Trip Basics
Planning Strategy: None! The spontaneous nature of this trip was both my most significant fear and most surprising asset. Due to changing COVID-19 restrictions, I was afraid that the trip could get canceled or veer off course at any moment, so I opted not to plan ahead whatsoever. This decision allowed me to stay longer in the places I liked best… and leave the ones I didn’t like quite so much. It also meant I’d wake up some mornings without knowing where I’d be spending the night.
Budgeting Strategy: In 2019 my college gave me a grant for a year of Italy living and Italy writing. Although COVID-19 ultimately canceled the remainder of my fellowship, I saved my grant and budgeted my travels with those leftover funds. While traveling, I also freelanced for various publications and turned many of the places I visited into pitching opportunities. To further save money, I selected regions of Italy that aren’t quite as popular — you’ll notice Rome wasn’t on my list, and I spent the bulk of my time in smaller towns, especially southern ones. Traveling during shoulder season (September - December) also helped limit expenses.
Travel Partner: My boyfriend joined me for the majority of the trip, excluding a few weeks by myself in Palermo. Prior to this trip, we’d been together for 2.5 years — but only long-distance. Outside of college, the most amount of time we’d ever spent in the same town was 2 weeks, so adjusting to 24/7, 3-month, joint-scheduled, close-quartered, high-intensity travel togetherness was its own learning experience. More on that later ;)
Highs and Lows
Favorite Stop: Ischia. Originally planned to stay for two nights. Bumped the visit to an entire week upon seeing the island.
Least Favorite Stop: Tropea — a supposed paradise. Land of subpar burrata, ominous beaches, and the great laundry disaster that nearly broke my boyfriend. Silver lining: also home to spectacular sunsets, unparalleled views of the Aeolian islands, and an hourslong conversation about Italian literature (the one topic I can actually discuss in Italian) with the sweetest Italian woman I’ve yet to meet. More on all of that forthcoming.
Best Moment: Returning to Palermo and reinserting myself into my pre-Covid world, reuniting with old friends, family, and neighbors, revisiting cherished cafes, and reclaiming a parallel life.
Worst Moment: A giant snake fell out of a tree and landed in front of my feet in Ischia.
Longest Stay: Treviso. My first foray into understanding Northern Italy.
Shortest Stop: Bologna, for a lunch stop en route to Cervia.
Biggest Setback: After Florence we couldn’t find a place to stay in Emilia-Romagna that was in-budget. Hours before we were due to sleep, we tracked down a houseboat in a random town off the Adriatic Coast. Four trains later, we arrived in Cervia — and experienced one of the trip’s most unexpected highlights.
Outside of Italy
Took the sleeper train from Treviso to:
Vienna, Austria: 2 nights
Prague, Czech Republic: 2 nights
Dresden, Germany: 15 minutes, before evolving COVID-19 restrictions banned tourists from Saxony
Wroclaw, Poland: 2 nights
Berlin, Germany: 1 night
Munich, Germany: 2 nights
Brussels, Belgium: 2 nights
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2 nights
London, England: 3 nights
Paris, France: 3 hours, flew home from Paris