Post
by jev » Wed Jul 26, 2017 5:59 pm
Sicily? Heavily overrated IMHO. Okay, agreed, mount Etna was fantastic - other than that it doesn't live up to its fame. Palermo is just a big noisy chaos, the small villages are almost dead by now and the forest fires are somewhat scary. OTOH, the typical Sicilian problems (mafia and north-African immigrants) aren't of any concern to tourists (unless you actively search for it).
Napels was a noisy cooking pot too. I was shown around by a client that lived there once and it's okayish. Pompei is pretty crowded but still worth the time. Another interesting sight is Herculaneum which was hit by the same eruption (mostly damaged by lava whereas the inhabitants of Pompei were hit by ashes and smoke).
Rome is great, esepcially if you're interested in ancient history. Just don't fall for any of the tourist traps: don't get your picture taken in front of the colosseum, etc.
Firenze didn't do it for me. I hate the city, it's treasures couldn't charm me at all.
Venice: way too many tourists but still nice to visit. Milan: great pizza's, lousy airport, industrial city.
Have a smashing time while you're there!
BTW, Italy currently suffers from a draught to level where fountains and public water tapping points are shut down and the cities only get water for a couple of hours per day. It doesn't look like the situation is gonna' improve anytime soon.
90% of the game is mental, the other half is all in your head (Yogi)