The Art of Italy

When is a bit of Italy in your life not a good idea? Once upon a not-so-long-ago time, that was a rhetorical question. But lately, the answer hasn’t always been as clear-cut as it was in the past: in the post-Covid years, it occasionally seemed like half the world had descended on the Italian peninsula and its islands, jockeying for bookings, beach loungers and their piece of il dolce far niente. Crowds saturated cities and countryside alike, begging the question of whether there remained a single bucolic valley or photogenic stretch of seaside left unfilled, much less waiting to be discovered.

Top: Italian glamour aboard La Dolce Vita Orient Express (photo credit: Mr Tripper); Above: La Dolce Vita Orient Express (photo credit: Mr Tripper)

But then, in 2025, spring was surprisingly serene; high summer, markedly less chaotic; and August, an unexpected delight of cooler days, tranquil – not trammelled – towns, and hotels and beach clubs with ready availability. Something shifted. But what? Those travellers who did make for Italy were more adventurous in their destination choices, for one thing, striking out north for the Alpine valleys of the Alto Adige and Südtirol, or deep into the south, towards the Gulf of Taranto and Basilicata’s Tyrrhenian and Ionian shores. Crowds, as a result, were mitigated in the big destinations. The food scenes, museums and quartieri of the country’s “second” cities – think Genoa, Palermo and Turin – are ripe for mining, and those in the know spent the last year discovering them.

Some Italophiles who once went to Capri or Amalfi are opting for Ischia, where the Pellicano Hotels’ Marie-Louise Sciò has spread a bit of her fairy dust across the gorgeous Hotel Mezzatorre, secreted away in the woods of a private four-acre promontory, with its own beach and thermal spa. Others who never ventured south of Rome have been falling hard for Basilicata and the Gulf of Taranto; the arch in Italy’s boot is home to Palazzo Margherita, one of the country’s chicest house hotels – a passion project which saw two creative geniuses, Francis Ford Coppola and Jacques Grange, imbue a nine-room, 19th-century villa with new life.

Above: Aerial views of Mezzatorre Hotel & Thermal Spa

The coming year promises more such hotel joy. From top to toe of the boot, new properties evincing unique atmosphere, design and cultural access are opening their doors, while a handful of familiar old names will emerge from meticulous restorations – or total re-imaginations.

Among the most anticipated is Villa San Michele, Belmond’s jewel on the hill in Fiesole, above Florence. Having debuted quiet changes here and there since Belmond assumed management in 2018, the 500-year-old former monastery will reopen in April having undergone a total makeover. That’s not always the best news for a hotel of this stature and heritage, but Belmond has sagely entrusted the design to Luigi Fragola, who as well as being hugely talented (see Palazzo Ottaviani, his new all-apartment project for Leonardo Ferragamo’s Lungarno Hotels) is 100 percent fiorentino and turned to all his preferred local artisans in the process. Just as anticipated is The Carlton in Milan, which Rocco Forte Hotels has spent close to five years re-masterminding, with opulent suites, a restaurant manned by culinary genius Fulvio Pierangelini, and an Irene Forte spa with a wet-area circuit and (very handy, this) a full-service beauty lounge.

And nowhere else in the world has the revival vogue for luxury sleeper trains gained purchase like it has here. That’s also thanks in part to Belmond, which has ambitiously expanded its Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. (VSOE) routes to extend to Florence. Then there are the new tailor-made journeys on some of Italy’s most scenic tracks, offered by the Fondazione FS Italiane, keeper of the country’s historic state railways. But the buzziest train by far is La Dolce Vita Orient Express, the Dimore Studio-designed luxury sleeper launched last April, whose 18 suites, glittering bar car and Heinz Beck-manned restaurant have brought sexy 60s- and 70s-inspired glamour to the train-travel experience. It’s the most exciting thing to hit the Italian rails in more than 40 years.

Above: A deluxe La Dolce Vita cabin overlooking Tuscany (photo credit: Mr Tripper); the historic facade of Belmond Villa San Michele; The Carlton in Milan’s winter garden; a mountain refugio is surrounded by the Dolomites' jagged peaks

Whereas the VSOE makes the journey all about the train – opulent interiors, black-tie dinners, post-prandial revelry in the bar, as peaks, lakes and valleys put on a moving-picture show beyond the windows – Orient Express’s new masterpiece is as much about the stops along the way as it is the exceptional hospitality and groovy interiors you enjoy while on board. The routes stretch from Piedmont in the north to Palermo in the south; it calls in at points both glamorous (Portofino, Venice) and less-expected, like Maratea, far down the Tyrrhenian coast below Amalfi, on a track that follows the spectacular, mountainous shoreline into the heart of Magna Graecia.

As Orient Express adds more rail stock to the Dolce Vita routes, guests will be able to board and disembark from various points – including Venice, where the company will open Orient Express Venezia in early 2026, its second Italian hotel (the first, Rome’s Orient Express La Minerva, soft-opened last April, just a week after the train made its debut). Do yourself a favour, though, and start your La Dolce Vita journey in Rome. It’s here that Orient Express has commandeered a private 250sqm terminal at Ostiense Station, completely reinvented by 35-year-old Franco-Mexican designer Hugo Toro – all burnished wood and lush palms, mirrored bar and staff in custom navy-blue livery, trotting to and fro delivering cappuccinos and negronis.

This is where I boarded LDV’s maiden journey earlier this year. My two-night, three-day itinerary saw us call in at the 500-year-old Palazzo Nani Bernardo in Venice, for a twilight tour of its beautiful private garden (one of the largest in La Serenissima) and a four-course supper served in an upstairs dining room lit by hundreds of candles. In Siena, we enjoyed a Champagne toast in a grand Renaissance salotto overlooking the city’s Campo, followed by a private tour of its state archives, replete with medieval and Renaissance manuscripts on the shelves and stunning original frescoes across its arching ceilings. Such exclusive access is La Dolce Vita’s promise, and it delivers (right down to a near unheard-of privilege – a tour of the jaw-dropping wine cellar of Mirco Vigni, the chef-owner of Siena’s world-renowned Osteria Le Logge).

Above: A secret garden in Venice at the Palazzo Nani Bernardo (credit Marco Ortolan)

Thanks to the ministrations of Dimorestudio’s Britt Moran and Emiliano Scalci, the hours spent traversing the shoreline and countryside are as aesthetically satisfying as the landscapes speeding by the windows. Rich colours, ultra-shine lacquers and prints that evoke the graphic genius of Italy’s 20th-century design titans are everywhere, combining in carriage after carriage of spaces that feel like mobile versions of the sets from Guy Ritchie’s Man from U.N.C.L.E – glamorous to the nth degree.

Then there is the food and drink. La Dolce Vita has brokered a deal with Vinitaly for first access to prized vintages made by both major producers and buzzy boutique vintners, from Le Langhe in the north to Etna in the deep south. And somehow, the extremely diminutive dimensions of the galley kitchen notwithstanding, Heinz Beck’s team magics up excellent multi-course lunches and dinners, from beautiful crudi and carpaccios (served as we wound along the sinuous Tuscan coast) to a superb permutation of cavatelli al cacio e pepe (as we approached the hills of Rome).

All of which brings us back to serious consideration of that age-old rhetorical Italy question: in 2026, when, literally, will be the time to go? For those lucky enough to have secured a booking, there are the Winter Olympic Games, with events spread between Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo throughout the middle of February. Even if you didn’t score a suite at Renzo Rosso’s gorgeous new Hotel Ancora, endeavour to grab a seat in the sexy bar; the design, by former Soho House creative director Vicky Charles, is an absolute win.

Or join those in the know, and wait for high summer: a walking holiday up in the mountains during July and August is becoming de rigueur: the days are warm, the evenings always reliably cooler, the air pristine and the scenery staggering. Trails are numerous and beautiful, both around Cortina and to the east, in the glorious Alta Badia. It’s here that the beloved Rosa Alpina has been reimagined as the latest member of Aman resorts. The slick rooms may not exactly broadcast gemütlichkeit, but they are eminently comfortable – and there’s an abundance of charm, not to mention postcard landscapes, right out the door. And longtime Rosa Alpina owner Hugo Pizzinini is still very much a fixture on site, hosting, greeting, and generally offering counsel on the best hikes, bracing lake swims and rifugio lunches. That would be at Rifugio Scotoni, by the way, where the kaiserschmarrn isn’t to be missed – and you’ll have earned a pudding, with all that walking.

Above: Skiing the Dolomites at Aman Rosa Alpina

“Italy is the kind of destination you can return to year after year and still uncover something entirely new – whether it’s a tucked-away village, a time-honoured tradition or an unforgettable dish. I love crafting personalised journeys that reflect the unique passions of my members. From private family rowing lessons in Venice, where you can glide through the canals like a true gondolier, to culinary adventures in Piedmont during the intoxicating white truffle season, every itinerary is thoughtfully curated. For those tracing their heritage, we offer immersive experiences in remote Sicilian towns – supported by our expert team who help bring your ancestral story to life, turning a visit into a profound homecoming.” 

Julie Durso, Scott Dunn Private USA