What to do in Italy in 48 hours? what to see? what to visit?

Pronouncing the word “Italy” brings up a host of images, landscapes, smells and flavors. The proof with this selection of articles which takes us on foot, by bike or by boat to see the pink flamingos of the Po delta, to taste the fruits, vegetables and wine of Etna or to stroll through the streets steeped in history from Bologna.

Bologna, with all the sauces

“The learned one”, “the red one”, “the fat one”. Each of the three nicknames attributed to Bologna (Italy) tells of one of its riches. The oldest university in Europe, built of bricks, long won by the Communist Party, the city of 400,000 inhabitants located in the Po plain is also known for its beef stew which accompanies tagliatelle and which should definitely not be called ” bolognaise sauce “.

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Five bike rides to get your fill

Of Bicycle thief, from Vittorio De Sica, to the Giro d’Italia, the more than century-old Tour of Italy, cycling is deeply anchored in transalpine culture. As elsewhere in Europe, sales of bicycles – particularly electric – continue to rise. As a result, from Parma to Lake Garda, cycle paths and marked routes are flourishing.

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Oasi Zegna, the magical mountain of Piedmont

Everywhere, clusters of flowers, fuchsia trumpets, lilac roses, violets, red, white or spotted with purple… This sunny day, at the end of spring, the rhododendrons which dot the heights of Trivero, 120 kilometers to the north west of Milan, are more reminiscent of an explosion than an outbreak.

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The Po Delta, a bird paradise

The flat-bottomed boat progresses gently on the slack water, weaving between the trunks fallen during the last storm. Suddenly, a gray heron darts, almost silently, spreading its wings almost two meters, and flees, brushing past the poplars. On the bank, a little egret, recognizable by the white puff it wears on the back of its neck, is looking for prey. Further away, on the branches of three dead trees, an assembly of cormorants has built dozens of comfortable nests, each occupied by two or three birds. It would never occur to anyone to disturb them.

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In Sicily, the stars of the Casa Lawa orchard

The majestic (and sometimes evil) cone sits above Catania, the Mediterranean and the villages that surround it, taking advantage of the paradoxical generosity of its land. Etna has regularly erupted throughout history, destroying houses, spilling lava and scattering this sabbia vulcanica (“volcanic sand”) with the fertilizing effect. In May, the final anger in a long series forced the local airport to cease operations and residents to hunker down.

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