Viajablog.com interviews Sergio from ItalianFeelings.com

Hello everybody,

We are pleased to announce that a few days ago we have been interviewed by Enric Cardona from one of the most important Spanish travel blogs Viajablog.com!

Below follows the original text:

Interview with Sergio from ItalianFeelings.com

Sergio, a good friend, has started up a new project which will definitely keep him in close contact with his beloved region Veneto, even if he lives in Barcelona.

In these last years he was thinking about a touristic project focused on the Veneto region, in the north east of Italy.

His little travel agency is called ItalianFeelings, and through it he wants his clients to fall in love with Venice, the Dolomites and all the hidden corners of this Italian area.

Considering the amazing zone he is working on and his love for Veneto and the little important details he knows about it, we think it won’t be difficult for him to reach this goal.

His philosophy is based on micro-tourism, which in practice means everything little, simple and concentrated turns into the best memory of a real holiday.

Which north Italian place has more "feeling"?

When I think about my region, the north east of Italy, the “feeling” it evokes for me is that of the strong rural traditions you can breathe there, the heritage of our great grandfathers.

It’s something more then the touristic magnet which is Venice nowadays, even if I still am fascinated when I imagine how life was during the Serenissima Venice Republic.

My favourite places are the countryside and the hills of the inner Veneto, where people still live as their ancestors.

Which is the best period to visit Venice?

Even if it’s very cold, I like Venice in winter, when the city is enveloped in the snow and much more intimate without the mass tourism.

Spring and autumn are the best periods, with nice local parties and regattas.

It’s better to avoid August, as it’s too hot and the city is invaded by the tourists.

The good thing about the region of Venice, Veneto, is that, thanks to its geographical variety, there is always something to do during the whole year.

Could you compare Italian and Spanish touristic prices?

Tourism in north Italy is normally a bit more expensive than Spain, but with the crisis the Italian operators are trying to be more competitive with their prices.
We are happy because with our sustainable tourism concept we try to ensure the money doesn’t go to big hotel chains, but to the hard working families who work in the fields and have a few picturesque rooms in their Farmhouses and Bed & Breakfasts, who host families and couples as if they were part of the family.

Apart from Venice, which other cultural places do you recommend?

I am in love with my Verona, it’s a very romantic city full of Roman and medieval history.

Padua and Treviso are also really very beautiful and a nice surprise for the travellers who venture out of Venice.

Vicenza has an incredible heritage of the Renaissance architect Palladio. By the way, there is a Palladio Exhibition in the Barcelona Caixaforum till the 06th of September.

There are some more little villages in the interior, as Bassano del Grappa, Asolo and Feltre which are full of art, very quiet and where you can eat very well.

I think that Venice itself should be visited in a different way, dedicating less time to San Marco square and Grand Canal, and for instance visiting the very interesting Jewish museum in the Ghetto area and getting lost walking through its narrow streets.

Which area in the Dolomites will you recommend to do a trekking week?

The Dolomites offer a wide variety of itineraries for any level.

My favourite areas to go trekking are the Sella mountain range, the Brenta and the Misurina zone.

Which are the most typical and recommended dishes of this area?

The vast array of variety in the terrain of Veneto with its mountains, plains and the sea is also reflected in its cuisine.

Also, there is an interesting presence of elements originating from the Far and near East, due to trade made by the Republic of Venice with these cultures many years ago.
In the Alps the locals specialize in meat and cheese, in the plains they have exceptional vegetable dishes and in the Venetian lagoon the fish is just simply amazing.

Probably the most traditional and symbolic dish of Veneto is the Polenta, a mix of water, cornmeal and salt. This is such a distinctive dish originating from Veneto that its people are nicknamed by the rest of the Italians as “polentoni”, polenta-eaters…

Veneto is also highly regarded for its production of high quality wine. My favorites are Recioto and Amarone from Valpolicella, Soave and the Champagne Prosecco Cartizze de Valdobbiadene.

In this region, together with Friuli and Piemonte, you can find the most appreciated Italian Grappa, distilled from pressed grapes and still produced following very old traditional methods.

Could you give us some advice for a traveller who wants to visit north Italy in an independent way?

Our philosophy is “to visit less and better", we are against the “fast tourism” which involves taking a picture in the main square and moving on to the next “target”…

The best thing to do if you want to know a place is to stop and look at the people, see what they do, talk to them.

That’s not possible in 2 days, we recommend at least a week or ten days to visit Venice and the Veneto region.

In order not to waste time with public transport, and as northeast of Italy has good roads, our proposal of independent travel is to simply provide good accommodation and car hire. Apart from that we also provide expert local advice and information on routes, places, restaurants, etc.

How are you different from other travel agencies?

We have decided to propose a service in a defined geographical area, only the area we come from and specialised in, the Veneto region.

We have personally visited and chosen all the Farmhouses and Bed & Breakfast families who collaborate with our project, and did the same with our collaborators who propose activities, they are professional and trustful people.

Our travellers stay in Farmhouses, guests of families, visiting unknown corners of the Veneto region.

As we are from there we have a better understanding and advise our travellers according to their particular needs, we also have a local network of contacts in order to allow the clients to mix with the people of the villages.

We believe that thanks to sustainable tourism the generated wealth can be shared in a more democratic way between everybody.

Our working way is through internet, our web page is our virtual office, and people can contact us by email, skype or telephone.

We also like to inform travellers through our blog and to collaborate with other similar travel projects.

What do your clients like the most when travelling with ItalianFeelings.com?

I think they really like my enthusiasm and love for my region, and also because I always want to tell them the truth, for instance if something is ugly and it’s not worth visiting, I was really thrilled when I received the email of one of our travellers:

“Thanks a lot for all your advice!!!! Veneto was very very nice!!! Your help has been very useful and I think we could see Italia through your eyes before we got there. You gave us many useful tips!!!

Venice is amazing!!! It’s DIVINE!!! It’s unbelievable that there are so many pretty things in just one place.

We went to eat to the restaurant you recommended, Dalla Marisa, we walked a lot at midday, it was hot, but once we got there we realized it really was a place for only Italian people, even better only for Venetian people.

A woman who seemed an authentic gladiator popped out and started to speak Italian very fast and loud. We didn’t understand a word…we only understood..”Bolognese”…
So we ordered “Pasta alla Bolognese”, it was great, really home made.

Thanks!!!! Without your advice we would have never found that restaurant with 100% Italian atmosphere.”

There is no doubt that with this kind of feedback you are on the right track and that tonight you will go to bed with a sweet smile on your face.