Marco Polo's Spirit

In the tiny village of San Michele al Tagliamento, lost in the middle of nowhere in the Italian Veneto region countryside, an hour drive from Venice, there is a Venetian villa: Villa Mocenigo-Ivancich. It is a Venetian villa like no other as it was the set for the tormented love relationship between the famous American writer, Ernest Hemingway, and what became his literary muse, the 18-yearl old noble Venetian, Adriana Ivancich. It was a life-long love story between them with a tragic end which was descrived in disguise by Hemingway in his novel "Across the river and into the trees". The link between Ernest Hemingway and the Italian Veneto region is quite well known in literature as he often described the areas in the province of Venice in many of his famous books. He actually had come to Italy when he was young during the First World War, and later in life, when he was fifty, in the summer 1948 he actually returned to visit the places where he had volunteerd as an ambulance

If you are planning to spend your holidays in Venice or Treviso in Northern Italy, why don't you set aside one day to explore the Prosecco wine hills? The Prosecco hills are located at about 1 hour drive from Venice.  Cison di Valmarino and Follina are two charming old towns nestled amongst those hilly landscape. They are the perfect place to travel off the beaten track.  The Prosecco hill towns are one of the most well-kept secrets, though they are getting more and more popuular every year. This is due to the fact that Prosecco wine tourism linked to the Prosecco wine trail , the sparkling wine cultivated on these hills, has a strong appeal amongst wine lovers from all over the world.  Moreover, the Prosecco hills with its 20,000 hectares are bidding to get the UNESCO Heritage status. Our itinerary sets off in Cison di Valmarino , member of the club of the most beautiful villages of Italy . You can either trek your way up the rolling landscape surrounding the town and ene