100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Van Allen
Remember when Susan Van Allen was here a while back telling us why women love Italy so much? Well today it’s my turn to tell you a little more about her book, 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go.
Susan has just released an UPDATED version of the 2009 edition; additions include a map, budget tips, and online resources, where Bleeding Espresso is included. Woohoo! Grazie, Susan!
100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go would be a true treasure in your library, virtual library, or even in your life via iPhone app.
Whether you want to find a cooking course, spa, religious retreat, great beach, or just some fabulous shopping, Susan has it covered –in every corner of the Bel Paese. When I first received this book, I thought it would be something I’d flip through every now and again when the mood struck; instead I found myself reading chapters straight through, imagining myself visiting all of the wonderful places Susan describes so well.
The tone is friendly and the advice sincere, so you really do feel like you have a knowledgeable girlfriend by your side with the inside scoop on where you should go on your next Italian vacation. I probably don’t need to tell you this book would make a *fabulous* gift for your favorite Italophile who also happens to be a lady, either.
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What’s a place in Italy you feel is appealing to females?
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For more from Susan on 100 Places, be sure to check out her interview on the Eye on Italy podcast, which I co-host.
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116 Beans of Wisdom to “100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go by Susan Van Allen”
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I LOVE this book! I am a woman moving to Italy for a year and I need a guide just like this. Thanks for the chance!
This book sounds great and I’ll put it on my wishlist if I don’t win.
btw. I’ve loved the gita series – fabulous places & writers – thanks for arranging it.
This one has been on my Amazon wishlist for a while! I hope I win!
So love Italy and looking forward to return – don’t want to miss any of those places!
I would LOVE to win this book- my mother’s visiting me early next year and it would be so helpful in our planning!
I hope to get to southern Italy one of these days.
I just love reading everything about Italy. This year I have been to Puglia which is exactly like the “Gita Italiana” article described the Salento.
i hope to go
I cannot wait to someday visit the homeland of my ancestors, and until then, I love learning all I can about Italia and being swept away in the process. Any of these books would be a welcome addition to this (female Italian American) Italophile! Thanks for the chance!
All the books look great! Would love to own any of them!
Just got back from Italy, but I am ready to leave again! Ci andrei anche domani. 🙂
Too late, I have already ordered it! Hope it won’t take too long. And btw, I’m leaving for Italy this Saturday. So if I’m… fortunato, lo posso regalare a un amico (o amica).
I would love to travel to Italy. All the books look fascinating.
I was going to order this! I miss Italy so much!
I’ve already ‘liked’ 100 Places on FB, but somehow with everything else going on I never did manage to buy myself the book, so please count me in for the contest!
Wow… what a way to end the Gita Italiana! 🙂 Would love to read Susan’s book… I have my fingers crossed!
I am curious to know these 100 places that I must go!
one day I hope to travel back to Italy, this book would be a great cornacopia of information!
I’d loved to be entered into this giveaway. What’s not to like/love/enjoy/relish about Italy. Love it.
As soon as my husband retires in a few years we will re-visit Italy, the land of his birth. I know where he’d like to go while there, but I am intrigued as to places women would enjoy seeing, so I’d love to win this book!
I studied abroad in Italy last year and miss it terribly. I have been reading every travel story about Italy I can get my hands on!
This is on my list!
Ciao!
Would love this book. I only need one reason to visit Italy…my heart is there…in the little ancestral village of Ferla.
This book sounds fantastic. There is so much of Italy I haven’t seen yet.
I have lived in Veneto for 10 years now. I keep asking my italian husband to take me to different places and well, he likes germany. So, I quit asking two years ago and started arranging trips myself and I can say I have seen more of Italy in the lasts 12 months than in the last 10 years. I am always looking for new places to go with the kids or only with my girlfreinds for a “girls weekend”
i love reading about travel and am planning a trip to italy
Husbands tie you down in Italy , Italy and Sicily are like two confirmed bachelors, they will show you around to little out the way Trattoriaa’s places you never knew exsisted, leading you down lanes that end in a deserted beach of azzure waters that are blinding, then swoop you away to seduce you with foods that make you want to swoon, salivate for gelato’s that are mind blowing, tempt you with chocolates, that are dark and deep in flavor, after the ply you with bottles of wines aged and filles with scents of the soil the grew in are certain to unhinge any palate.Then will you can leave contented and satisfied.
when I saw the title of the book I thought of my sister, she has always said she she would love to see Italy…not all the routine places but the real Italy… the beautiful countryside .She would love this book.
cherlyn
Please enter me-I have visited Italy about half a dozen times and always discover something new and exciting.
im on an exchange programme in Italy and after my 2nd day in Milano would definitely appreciate good travel advice – would love to win the book 🙂
Looks like a great book! I hope to win and even more I hope to use it!
This looks like a perfectly wonderful guide. The Travelers Tales series looks fabulous, too!
My dream is to go to Italy for my 50th birthday which is next year….reading everything i can to brush up on my language skills, art and food knowledge. I am being sent one italian word a day by email and just can’t get enough..
Bring on 2011…..
Ciao Michelle,
I’ve been lurking on your wonderful blog only a few months but love, love, love it! And I’d love either of the books as these days all my traveling is done seduta nella poltrona!
Love Italy and would love to have the book. I only hope I can go back some day.
I would love to win a copy of this book. Living a whole summer in Tuscany is on my ‘bucket list’ of things/places I want to experience.
I love all things Italian!
I’d love to win this book, but I’m almost afraid to read it. There are so many places in Italy I need to visit already!!
🙂
I would love to read this book. Italy is such a wonderful country.
I would love the chance to win this book!
I would love to know all the hidden places that most tourists never know about
This book would be the perfect addition to my italophile collection. One can never have too much of Italy.
We’re planning a trip to Italy in the next 2 years and I’m already planning! Thanks for a chance to win any of these!
I am heading to Venice, Florence, and Rome over Thanksgiving, and I would love to read this book beforehand!
Leaving September 23 for 10 days. Can’t wait to show off my favourite country to my husband! Thanks for all the great info.
…and I’ve just “like”d you on Facebook 🙂
Planning a trip for March 2010, this would be a great resource. Thanks for this contest!
Visited and “like”d the facebook page…after reading comments from others regarding the book, would really really love to win the book!
Planning a trip to Italy in 2011 and this would definitely be a great addition to my “travel guides”.
Just “Liked” You on Facebook!
I stumbled upon your site and will definitely bookmark it for future browsing. I’ve been to Italy twice and it was live changing for me. I am now obsessed with returning but in the meantime will experience all that I can about beautiful Italy! I’m anxious to read that book, I know I’m the winner! Ciao
Since I am planning my 12th or 13th trip for late this fall, I am wondering which of the 100 I’ve seen and/or missed. I have the other books. Needless to say I love Italy, but would have to go back almost 50 years to figure out whether it is 12 or 13!
Would love to get my hands on these books, as am travelling to Italy in October and staying for 3 months, already have a short list of “must see” places, but 100 more would certainly help me spend each and every day in a truly positive way, and make sure I don’t waste a moment of my dream holiday. Ciao Kazbell.
Have also left comment on Facebook page. Ciao
I am spinning from all these great comments! Wishing all of you who are heading to Italy Happy Travels and that the rest of you will be packing up your suitcases soon!
Enjoy your blog and the book info. Just purchased “Palermo” which I learned about from your posting. Thanks for the info.
I just spent two weeks in Italy and can’t wait to return! I have Susan’s first book and would love to have her latest.
Thanks.
My husband & I are heading to Italy for a 2 week escorted tour in mid-October, hoping it won’t be our last time there.
Very interesting! good luck everybody 🙂
Thanks for this reminder, I have been wanting to pick up a copy of this book for a while now!
I also “liked” the facebook page, thanks for the link!
Yay Italy! I’m happy just thinking about reading these. Think I’ll go out and look for them at the book store!
Having lived in Italy and made more than 33 trips there I discovered alot about romance and adventure Italian-style. One of the places that every woman should discover in Italy is Lago di Como. Surrounded by amazing snow-capped pre-Alp mountains, magnificent villas with gorgeous gardens, the towns of Cernobbio, Bellaggio, and Como to name a few, Lago di Como a traveler’s delight. Interesting shops, wonderful cuisine, fascinating views, and a very seductive charm displayed by its many inhabitants.
Ciao a tutti.
Linda Harris
Having immigrant parents from the sicilian town of Vittoria, Province of Ragusa I feel such a strong pull towards anything Italian, especially Sicilian. My parents lived in the US for 50 somewhat years but their heart remained in Italy. My dad was so nostalgic he cried everytime the Italian national anthem played. Winning one of these books would just be an awesome thing.
Enjoyed the facebook page. Forza Italia!!!
I’ve been to Italy 3 times and can’t get enough of it. I met my relatives in Abruzzo and I’m hoping they’ll come to America to meet the rest of their American relatives. I’d love to read the book!
Of course I would love this book – I’m a woman who loves Italy and I don’t want to miss out on any of those 100 places. Thank you for the Gita Italiana; I have enjoyed every story!
Oh how you’ve made me dream. Your life is envied, and I’d like to think there’s still time in mine to create such a glorious existence. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing!
These books sounds so interesting.
These books sound fabulous, I’m a greater lover of the Puglia region esp. Salento; we travel there by train from the UK – good luck with the website; makes great reading.
I love reading but most of all I love Italy – the countryside, the history, the culture and the people. Oh yes, and the food. It’s one of the rare places you can eat vegetarian in restaurants and not feel like you’ve got some wierd disease.
I would LOVE a copy of this book (or the other ones!) Thanks for sharing them 🙂 And now…over to Facebook I go…
I just “like”d the facebook page…
This is a very interesting concept. I’d like to read more. Please enter my name.
Hi, I live here in Italy and do lots of travelling around on my own … but after four years here, I need some inspiration … and this book looks like the perfect travel companion! 😉
Please enter my name in your giveaway.
Thanks,
ginda
My sister and I have been fantasizing about taking a trip together, just the two of us, and Italy has always been at the top of our list. This book would be the perfect read for us! Grazie!
It is my dream to return to Italy one day and design my own agenda. This books sounds like a must have. Pick me please.
I liked the FB page too !
Pick me, pick me! 🙂
would love to win this… i’ll now post on fb
I hope I win!
Piggie that I am (having won a giveaway awhile back) I am back for more. Well, why not, eh? Count me in, M.
xo
Italy is one of the most transforming countries. From the food to the scenery, it’s an awakening in progress. Oh, I long to return to its spell!
I like them on FB-thanks M.
I’d love to read this book, so maybe I’ll win it! Love Italy, and always have a plan to return after each trip!
I officially “like” your blog – used a different email than my usual one, but it’s still me! Will follow you whether I get the book or not.
Please enter me in the drawing
It’s been wonderful to read all your comments–Thanks so much for joining in on the contest–and Grazie Mille to you Michelle for your site that captures our hearts with all your terrific enthusiasm!
Tuscany… Because of the movie Under the Tuscan Sun… 🙂
Susan Van Allen Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I agree! Grazie to Frances Mayes for the book that launched so many Italy travel dreams!
Stromboli is a place in Italia for women to fall in love with……
Susan Van Allen Reply:
August 28th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I always think of the romantic story of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini making Stromoboli when I am there!
Well, what should I say…Calabria of course, you can find just about everything for a perfect holiday, the climate , beautiful beaches ,mountains, incredible sunsets..and the food , really delicious using all those local products, tomatoes, onions (di Tropea ) and hot spicy peperoncino, the many different types of cheese, salami and nduja (a spicy spread)..living in Pizzo I have to mention the tartufo di pizzo our famous ice cream..by the way I moved down here in 1990, and I’m still here 🙂
I believe Florence is one of the cities in Italy, if not already mentioned, a woman should visit. It is so rich in culture. It is definitely one city I will return too! Ciao!
as a mature solo traveler, my trips now are somewhat more conservative than trips I have taken over the many years going home to Italy.
My heart remains in the smaller towns with places to discover every day.
although I love Firenze and am just exploring Puglia now, I have to say my sabattical in Sorrento was the most memorable: solo, not speaking more than tourist ITalian, I spent everyday exploring the small towns along the coast and marveling at the views, colors and most of all the ‘slow life of Italy’. For those 3 months I lived Italian!!!
I felt safe in Amalfi…even walking around very late.
i can’t think of a single place in all of italy that isn’t appealing to females. for me it depends on what book i am reading. if it is a book about sicily, i want to go there. if it is a book about tuscany, i want to go there. if it is about venice or murano glass, i want to go there. i have only ever been to rome for 10 days but i am saving all my pennies to go back to italy after reading a great book called “walking and eating in tuscany and umbria”. i also just finished reading “a summer in tuscany”. 🙂 pick me so that i can check off each of those 100 places as i visit them!
My biology demands that I speak from a male rather than a female perspective. But for almost 40 years I have been married to the most beautiful woman and love of my life. During that time we’ve traveled from Sicily to Lago Como discovering and sharing the treasures of out Italian heritage. Up the hill from the town of Amalfi is an ancient Norman watchtower that was converted into a wonderful small restaurant. It was there in 1984 we enjoyed a wonderful meal, watched the sunset and danced the night away. The look in her eyes said it all…this was “the” place where we fell in love again.
I have to say Venice because it is considered one of the most romantic destinations in the world. I hope you pick me so I can read about the wonderful places that Susan Van Allen describes.
I’m so inspired by all these comments! Each one is sending me to a different place to fall in love with Italy all over again!
What’s a place in Italy you feel is appealing to females? I have an affinity to Portofino and the Italian Riviera. The colors and lighting are breath-taking, and I love the way the mountains embrace Portofino’s harbor.
Tuscany is my next trip- along with Rome ,Calabria…oh my list goes on!
This is perhaps a rather general answer, but from having spoken to many women who have recently (over the last year) returned from extended Italiqn vacations, Puglia seems like the place to be alone, single and female. Not one woman reported an untoward event, and all reported that the people were lovely and welcoming, with not a hint of malignant intent. I vote for Puglia!
I know it may sound cliche but I have to vote for Milan, the fashion capital of Italy.
The older I have become, the more serene places I long for and enjoy. I would say the Lakes Region of Italy would definitely appeal to women. It is so calm and the views are beautiful! I will make use of this book upon retiring in Italy!
From personal experience I’d say Venice. It feels “small” and it’s rather impossible to get lost because you ultimately come out of the maze of alleys and find yourself surrounded by masses of tourists. When I traveled there by myself locals and business people alike went out of their way to look out for me (granted I was a single 22 year-old by myself), but I didn’t feel that “safe and secure” in any of the other big cities in Italy where I also traveled.
Sorrento! Whether you go luxury style or on the cheap, Sorrento has beauty, history, fantastic food, romantic little sidewalk cafes, lots of entertainment. I loved spending four weeks there studying Italian. The view of the bay and Vesuvio is inspiring to me.
I’d recommend Orta San Giulio on Lago d’Orta, one of the most evocative sights in Italy with the monastery on a small island floating in the evening light.
Lucca, it’s one of my favourite places 🙂
I think Italy in general is appealing to women, but my personal favorite is still Venice in the morning or evening.
I would have to say women might prefer Venice because of the sheer romantic beauty and dreamy quality the city evokes.
cinque terra….very inspiring, beautiful weather and delicious food!
Susan Van Allen Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Grazie for all these comments! Such inspiration everywhere!
Isola Di Ponza is appealing to me because that’s where my father was born…and where I long to visit.
Well, I have never visited Italy, but I imagine that each region offers something special! Just trying all the food would be amazing.
I don’t think there is much of italy that women wouldn’t like. A favourite of mine, that very few people i know have been to, is the Isole Tremiti. you can get there by helicopter and the water is so clear, you can see the bottom of the sea from the sky. There isn’t any shopping you can do there, just enjoy the scenery, go for walks, and relax!
So many places…a farmhouse near Viterbo during harvest, Venice after the day trippers have left, Florence when the light is just right…my absolute favorite a cliff side hotel in Castiglione di Ravello watching the sun set after a day of exploring breathtaking views. Priceless.