If someone is treating you in Venice, do suggest they take you to The Danieli, where old smoothy, Roger Moore - surely the most sauve Bond if not quite the most believable secret agent - is said to have stayed. Certainly, scenes in Live & Let Die (1973) show off the hotel’s astonishing chandeliers.

The restaurant, [...]

Photos by Peter Hunt
Lorenzo Scarpa is Venetian. You want dinner in a private palace? He’ll call a contessa. You want to keep up your exercise regime with a 7am run over bridges and along canals? He’ll have a sprinter who knows the city run by your side. Scarpa’s boutique company, AMS Servizi Turistici, can arrange [...]

Finally after many years of working and even living in Milan, I have found a hotel that I would recommend! Antica Locanda is a boutique hotel that has been open since 1926 with 11 rooms that are all different, some with beautiful planted balconies. With buckets of rickety charm and being located in [...]

Photos by Peter Hunt
The bargain of Venice is the 7-day Vaporetto ticket at 50 euros - steep to start with, but terrific value if you make a point of chugging up and down the Grand Canal to all the museums (although it would take months to visit them all) and going to as many of [...]

Usually the flight from London to Milan and then Milan to London is the easiest part of my route to the Furniture Fair which begins in New Zealand.  This year, however, the volcano in Iceland with the unpronouceable name changed that.  Initially we were all a little bit blase about the impact of the ‘dust cloud’ on [...]

The Tuscan town of Siena is best seen entirely on foot. In just two hours, the boho-chic Cinzia Mariotti, who clambers with you up and down medieval towers in high-heeled rope wedge sandals, can point to the evidence of the moment the 1348 Black Death struck - a half finished arch; then guide you through [...]

Photos by Peter Hunt
Ah, the glories of Italy’s Amalfi coast. Of course, it is overrun with pleasure seekers in August, so visit in May, June, July or September. What’s also good news is there are places to stay that are affordable, even with the robust Euro and others that are, frankly, worth pushing the boat [...]

After reading Peggy Guggenheim’s autobiography I was determined to visit her Palazzo turned art gallery the next time I went to Italy. And it didn’t disappoint - her collection was diverse and set in what was her very elegant residence in Venice. It is not often that you can get this close to [...]

Achille Castiglioni was one of the most important industrial designers of the 20th century. I was lucky enough to be shown his Milan studio by his daughter and to see his collections of postcards, stamps and set squares.

Story by Karen Walker
Photos by Mikhail Gherman
The Italians have tricked us all into thinking that Capri is a small island off the Amalfi Coast but I’ve discovered the truth. It’s actually a Disneyland ride bringing you all the greatest Southern Italian clichés in one confined space. Walt Disney built it in the 50’s [...]