Italy-based tour guide Anna Piperato describes this intense, twice-yearly horse race and explains why it’s so important to Siena's competing neighborhoods.

Rick provides a brief introduction to his Italy playlist, a collection of audio files designed to help you plan and enjoy your best possible trip, plus audio tours of Italy's historic sites.

Sicilian tour guide Tommaso Pantè outlines the essentials for exploring his distinctive sun-drenched island.

Print out this handy companion map and bring it along as you follow the tour. Each stop along the tour is marked on the map. To view and print this PDF map, you'll need Acrobat Reader.

Print out this handy companion map and bring it along as you follow the tour. Each stop along the tour is marked on the map. To view and print this PDF map, you'll need Acrobat Reader.

Print out this handy companion map and bring it along as you follow the tour. Each stop along the tour is marked on the map. To view and print this PDF map, you'll need Acrobat Reader.

A pair of native-born Sicilian tour guides tell Rick what matters most about the "intensified Italy" of the island they call home and clear up misunderstandings Americans may have.

Italian tour guide Cristina Pernechele gives Rick advice for enjoying the splendor of her hometown Padova. It's located just half an hour from the crowds of Venice, and is home to one of Europe's oldest universities.

Italian tour guide Cecilia Bottai joins Rick to recommend that travelers to Italy make time in their itinerary to enjoy rural "sagre" food festivals.

Italy-based tour guide and art history professor Anna Piperato describes the importance of Catholic saints in Italian culture.