The road less travelled

A driving holiday might just be the ultimate way to explore the Italian countryside.

By Jane Woodhams
Last updated on: November 20, 2017 at 1:13 pm

Driving on the right-hand side of the road may be a challenge but it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the freedom of a motoring holiday in Europe.

Picture the exhilaration of driving around a sweeping bend as a gorgeous vista of verdant countryside dotted with historic settlements perched on hilltops opens up before you.

Hiring a car for three weeks in Italy in July this year allowed my wife and I to get off the tourist track, head to the hills and enjoy places never seen on a travel brochure.

By avoiding cities and large towns, you reduce the stress of driving in a foreign land while exploring magnificent countryside and meeting friendly locals who aren’t jaded by the hustle and bustle of the traveller hordes.

Another bonus is accommodation and food is cheaper in the country than the cities.

Collecting your hire car at a location outside the centre of a large city can make your departure easier.

We picked up our VW Polo station wagon at a site that was a relatively cheap taxi ride away from our accommodation and close to Rome’s ring road.

We also opted to use the main freeways – or autostradas – between our major destinations to save time.

Panicale Perugia
Panicale, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

Our first stop was Lake Trasimeno in the province of Perugia. Our one-bedroom apartment was on the side of a hill, above the lovely little village of San Feliciano, and it had stunning views of the huge lake, which covers 128km.

The car allowed us to enjoy the location without having to labour up and down hill to the village on the lake’s shore by foot.

It also meant we could enjoy driving around the lake to visit other interesting villages and historic hamlets in the surrounding hills – without a tourist bus or guide in sight.

It made you feel like a local living ‘la dolce vita’, rather than a tourist ticking another site off a ‘been there, done that’ list.

This was the feeling generated by enjoying a delicious lasagne lunch in the medieval village of Panicale, before tucking into a pizza dinner while watching the locals sizzling sausages and playing soccer at an amateur club later that evening.

After a four-night stay at the lake – and never driving more than a couple of hours in a day to visit the nearby attractions – it was on to the autostrada to head north again.

People look at vineyard
An unforgettable vineyard vista.

We stayed in an 18th-century Venetian villa in Vicenza, located about 70km inland from Venice and between Verona and Padua.

The villa was on the outskirts of town, but having the car meant we could enjoy its gorgeous gardens and large pool while still being able to pop into Vicenza and visit nearby attractions.

This included the fortified town of Citta Della, where you can see the Alps from the high medieval walls surrounding the settlement.

The town of Bassano De Grappa – famous for its medieval wooden bridge over the Brenta River – is a short drive further north towards the Alpine foothills.

Back on the road again, and our next major destination was the famous wine region of Piedmont in Italy’s northwest.

We again stayed on the edge of a gorgeous village, La Morra, with a magnificent view from the terrace and pool across the valley and to the towering Alps.

Luckily, we were next door to a winery and, after enjoying some tastings, we took a bottle home and relaxed with a glass or two and a siesta without worrying about driving duties.

After several days touring wineries and historic sites, we stopped at the outskirts of Turin near the palace of La Venaria Reale, which is an Italian version of Versailles.

The next day we followed the signs to the airport, where we dropped off the car before heading home.

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