Let me be straight with you from the start: Italy is not cheap. The espresso is, the bread is, the sunsets are absolutely free — but Italy has a way of making you want things. A second gelato. A third glass of Primitivo. A handmade leather wallet you didn’t know

I’ll never forget my first trip to Italy. I showed up thinking I knew what to expect—pasta, pizza, the Colosseum, right? But within 48 hours, I’d already made about a dozen rookie mistakes that could’ve been avoided if someone had just given me the real scoop. I ordered a cappuccino

Choosing where to go in Italy is genuinely one of the most overwhelming travel decisions you’ll ever make — and I say that as a compliment to the country. It’s not that the choices are difficult because some of them are bad. They’re all good. Every single one. The problem