Marco

I learned to drive on the switchbacks of the Colle delle Finestre and the backroads of the Langhe, where winter asphalt doesn’t forgive mistakes and provincial lanes are barely wide enough for a Fiat Panda and a half. To me, Italy only really makes sense once you exit the tollway and turn onto a secondary state road. In my guides you won’t find clichés about the “wind in your hair”—just what you actually need behind the wheel: which mountain passes and coastal stretches are worth the detour, where the trickiest ZTL cameras are mounted, and which white-lined parking lots outside the town walls still have space before the tour buses pull in.