Our 5 Favourite TV Moments of Italian Escapism

After weeks of festive celebrations with family & friends, you may be looking forward to a few cosy winter evenings spent indoors. Why not take advantage of the quiet to start dreaming about your next trip to Italy? To lend a helping hand, our team has chosen five evocative film and TV show moments to help you mentally retreat to Italy from your sofa this month:

RIDING A MOTORBIKE THROUGH MATERA, BASILICATA

Sophie, our Head of Brand, says: “James Bond is a cliché, I know, but that opening scene in Matera has to make this list. Watching Bond speed through Matera’s neighbourhoods (known in Italian as Sassi, literally meaning ‘stones'), careering through winding streets, past ancient churches and monasteries carved out from limestone caves, all eerily balanced on the edge of a ravine - it’s pretty epic. Matera is now at the top of my must-visit list for 2022.”

SAMPLING SEA URCHINS IN MONOPOLI, PUGLIA

“No one will be surprised to discover I have picked the southern Italy episode of Parts  Unknown,” laughs our Head Chef Roberta, a Puglian native. “But I’m so happy Anthony Bourdain depicted my region justly. “His trip captures the beauty of this part of  Italy,  the sea,  hills, valleys and rich farmland. “I love the scene where he tries fresh sea urchins with friends after a fishing trip in Monopoli, a quaint fisherman’s port. “It is so utterly Pugliese.”

OLIVE OIL TASTING IN VALLE ARGENTINA, LIGURIA

“My favourite part of Salt Fat Acid Heat on  Netflix is when Samin Nosrat visits renowned Italian olive oil producers, the Roi family, at their orchard in the Argentina Valley,” says Olivia, our Marketing Manager. “With Samin, I learned that the mix of sea, mountains, and woods in this unique part of Western Liguria imparts the native Taggiasca olives with such a sweet, delicate flavour that their elixir is considered the ‘champagne’ of olive oils. “A real game changer!”

ABSCONDING TO SORRENTO, CAMPANIA

Our Co-Founder Finn suggests checking out  Deutschland  89, a German TV series set in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in late 1989. “There's a  great scene where all the East  German politicians flee to Sorrento. Cyril Giroux’s 'Quando Ti Guardo' plays on an eccentric loop’’, says Finn. “Much as you might not want to, you can’t help but salute the choice of destination made by Politburo members as they abscond from their disintegrating GDR in favour of Amalfitan luxury. It looks utterly fabulous.”

GIN TASTING IN A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE IN SADALI, SARDINIA

“Dinner Club is a fantastic Italian travel show which I discovered over Christmas on Amazon Prime. “The premise is Carlo Cracco, a pioneering  Italian chef,  travels Italy with a group of comedians to ‘rediscover’ authentic Italian cuisine,” says Maria, our Social Media Manager. “Of course, my favourite episode is when  Cracco drives around Sardinia (my home) in a vintage Pontiac with the legendary screenwriter Diego Abatantuono. “At dusk, they are taken to the rural commune of Sadali to taste the world’s first ‘electric’ gin, made with native Phoenician juniper. In Sardinia, we like things a little on the wild side!”

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