Great Escapes Book

ITALY

To travel through Italy is as close as one gets to being in paradise. For centuries, writers, artists, architects, and merchants have been drawn here, inspired by the beauty of Venice, Florence, Naples, and Rome. Countless books, paintings, poems, and sculptures are evidence of its undying appeal, and over the past 60 years, the country has become one of the world’s top travel and holiday destinations. The loveliness of Italy is, if not eternal, certainly enduring, and the easygoing and relaxed Italian lifestyle is still unrivaled.

Here, some of Italy’s most amazing landscapes and diverse regions are honored, like Tuscany, Umbria, the Amalfi Coast, and, no less magical, the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily. In these mythical surroundings are legendary hotels full of atmosphere, where novels are set, movies are made, weddings are celebrated, and famous love stories consummated: Villa d’Este on Lake Como, the Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, the Il San Pietro on the Amalfi Coast, and the Palazzo Margherita in Basilicata—to name just a few. Angelika Taschen also reveals where to find more secret and hidden jewels—from the Locanda Cipriani, a destination for food lovers on the island of Torcello, to the romantic Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany and the atmospheric Masseria Moroseta in Puglia.

Mediterranean

The Mediterranean is surrounded by three continents – Europe, Africa and Asia – and even though the cultures around this sea are highly diverse, they harmoniously share a pleasant climate, distinctive flora and fauna, and not least the intense blue of the water.

Angelika Taschen set out in search of the most beautiful hotels on a great variety of coasts, islands and beaches, taking you on a journey to the luxurious Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and the ultra-chic Les Roches Rouges on the Côte d’Azur, to the little-known Pardini’s Hermitage on the Italian island of Giglio, which is only accessible by boat or on foot, and to Bodrum in Turkey, where the elegant Amanruya resort lies hidden in one of the most stunning bays in the Mediterranean. She also presents new hotel concepts, great architecture and creative design – such as the finca Menorca Experimental on the Balearic Islands, the modernist Villa Dubrovnik in Croatia and Dexamenes on the Peloponnese, where new life was breathed into decommissioned wine tanks.

Further highlights are the brand-new, stylishly designed Mezzatorre on Ischia and the Torre di Cala Piccola with its enchanting private beach on the Argentario peninsula in Tuscany, an almost unknown location that possesses the aura of 1960s Italy. Another gem is La Locanda del Barbablù, with just five rooms in the shadow of the mythical volcano on Stromboli. Look forward to staying at the Nord-Pinus in Tangier with its fantastic view of the Strait of Gibraltar, and the charming Coco-Mat Eco Residences on Serifos, or experiencing the originality of Ammos on Crete, where the art and design are as essential as the sun and the beach.