What's Irish about Italy? More than you think!

Last summer, outside the famed Boboli Gardens in Florence, an elderly attendant examined my entrance ticket, read my name, and immediately launched into a insightful meditation on the Nine Years War.

I was astonished, but I probably shouldn't have been. It turned out he was a historian with a lifelong interest in Irish history and English colonialism.

“You have a famous name,” he told me.

This was further proof that Irish history and culture has found an audience far beyond our motherland and it would do us no harm to remember it when we travel, I think. 

Italy in particular enjoys a close cultural shorthand with us that can make it both a delightfully familiar and strange place at the same time.

Did you know that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in Italy with local events and fairs? Or that Milan and Rome host an annual Ireland Week?

So the question what's Irish about Italy depends on how much time you have to hear the answer.

Irish people have been a presence on the Italian peninsula since before the 9th century, after all. In 1095, a community of Irish monks was established in Rome, but by then, they had already been visiting for centuries. The last high king of Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, and his entourage later made the journey to Rome in 1608, where he was eventually granted a pension by Pope Paul V. 

In the 20th Century, James Joyce famously lived in Trieste and Rome, as did Guglielmo Marconi, the famous Irish-Italian inventor, and a community of over 5000 Irish people currently make the country their home (you can meet them across all professions including at the Vatican, but also in the many Irish bars and restaurants nationwide). 

The Italians are a famously passionate lot, but so too are the Irish (we are just better at concealing it until – as they say in the north – we are rise). Family matters to us, so do the affairs of the heart. For an Irish person visiting, it can feel like picking up the air to a familiar song but not quite knowing the verse yet. I'm so intrigued by the place that I feel compelled to return.

It really helps to learn as much of the language as you can, but a cheerfully offered come sta is a great start. Better yet, if you know them, offer a come stai and see them unlock. Like the Irish, Italians love to offer their considered opinions and a few interested questions can work wonders.

This year, I visited as a guest of the delightful five-star Hotel La Gemma in Florence. Imagine a chic hideaway concealed in the very heart of the city and you get the idea. Located on a side street that's just a four-minute walk to the Uffizi Gallery, you'll quickly understand just how enviably central this boutique hotel actually is. 

Combining classic Italian style the venue could be stuffy, but the staff make it feel like an oasis of welcome and calm in a busy city. Arriving, they will serve you the fabulous emerald green La Gemma cocktail (made with a hint of fresh ginger). I can't speak to its ingredients but I can tell you that it was delicious and restorative after a particularly long transatlantic flight.

Five-star hotels can often be stuffy. Not La Gemma. The upscale dining options offered at Luca's restaurant combine classical Florentine dishes with the contemporary top chef flair of Paulo Airaudo and led to one of the best dining experiences of my trip and to be honest of the year.

La Gemma also offers the Allure Spa, which offers Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone, and Relaxation massages in the most well-appointed venue this side of Tokyo. (Custom treatments for skin care are also available and mandatory after a red-eye flight). 

Owned by the local Cecchi family, whose striking interior design has updated the famous Duomo colors throughout the hotel, the suites offer city views, elegantly appointed interiors with marble bathrooms, complimentary upscale toiletries, air conditioning, soundproof walls, a minibar, and Wifi – everything you're likely to need, including a wake-up service.

Nearby Hotel La Gemma is the hotel I always recommend to first-time visitors to Florence, the fabulous Antica Torre Boutique Hotel (literally the Old Tower), located on the city's smartest shopping street on Via Tornabuoni; it's a medieval tower with a stunning rooftop view of the Duomo and the wider city.

The famous Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery are just a block away, but you'll be even more glad of the elegantly appointed rooms, designer furnishings, and cloud-soft beds. The two rooftop terraces (featuring a wine and spirits bar) look out over the Duomo and the river all the way to the Pitti Palace and San Miniato al Monte. 

Chic without being showy and so discreet you might miss it from the street, the Antica Torre is the venue for in-the-know travelers who appreciate low-key luxury and good value wrapped up in an unbeatable location.

Outside of Florence is the charming historic town of Fiesole, which is associated with Saint Donatus, the Irish monk (died in 876) who became their Bishop and miraculously saved the town from a flood. 

Donatus is still venerated to this day and his remains lie buried in an altar dedicated to him in the Cattedrale di San Romolo (the Duomo di Fiesole). If you've ever taken the path up to look at the wrap-around view of Florence or visited the nearby Etruscan amphitheater you've walked right past him. 

The popularity of San Donato as he's known locally is widespread throughout Tuscany (Donatella is the female version of his name) but most especially in Fiesole and Lucca. He once founded accommodation for Irish pilgrims on their way to Rome. It's a connection that has endured for a millennia.

Things To Do

Depending on the time of year there's an inexhaustible selection of events and festivals to attend, but one of the most laidback and welcoming is the now-annual Firenze Jazz Festival, which is as eclectic as it is fun. Taking place in September when Florence weather is at its absolute best, the concerts take place in public squares, historic villas, concert halls, Renaissance cloisters, farmhouses, clubs, and clubs and are unmissable.

Getting Around

If you don't drive - or if, like me, you crave the rare luxury of being driven to Italy's famous UNESCO world heritage sites like Pompeii (or just a ride to the Amalfi coast) in air-conditioned privacy - can I recommend the seamless car service called Daytrip?

Offering private car transfers nationwide the service is simplicity itself. They bring you from door to door, along with your luggage if you're bringing some, in clean comfortable top range cars like the Mercedes they provided on my trip. 

It's the best way to get from point A to B or to see Italy's ancient ruins like Pompeii, offering hand-picked experiences along the way – including in the know places to dine when you've worked up an appetite.

I was picked up by the service at Naples Central Rail Station and driven directly to Pompeii in time to beat the late-morning crowds, which is a move I'd recommend. The English-speaking driver knew the area like the back of his hand and sighed like a local when I suggested a quick pit stop in Positano (it was fun to spend an hour or two in, but the Amalfi coast traffic makes a visit there too ambitious to combine with a visit to Pompeii). The driver never complained once. 

If you've had it with crowded tour buses, Daytrip is absolutely the way to go. Simplicity of travel, experience, and comfort are the watchwords and once you try this nationally available private car transfer service you'll never want to try another.

Plan a route like Venice to Florence and you can add one or more 90-minute scenic stops at places of interest along the route. It's the most easy and elegant way to see Italy. Tell them IrishCentral sent you.