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MY ITALY - VETRALLA

TOURISM

‘Moving to Vetralla was like going back in time’

Mary Jane Cryan, from Boston in the US, left for Rome after finishing college in 1965, and now lives in Vetralla, a town north of the Italian capital. She speaks to The Local about why she never turned back, and the areas she recommends to visitors.

Published: 27 December 2013 16:20 CET
'Moving to Vetralla was like going back in time'
Mary Jane Cryan is pictured on the left ahead of her departure for Rome in 1965, and on the right, more recently.

Why did Italy have a specific appeal for you?

My story is unusual since I came to Italy right after finishing college, because I had a contract to teach in an international school. So I arrived in Rome with two suitcases and a one-way ticket.

Over 50 years, have you noticed any particularly interesting changes in Italian society?

So much has changed, especially the social mores and lifestyle of Italians and expats. When I moved from Rome to the town of Vetralla, which is an hour further north, 20 years ago, it was like going back in time since the area is more conservative and enjoys a slower lifestyle.

Have there been any moments when you've wanted to give up on the Italian way of life?

The bureaucracy can be overwhelming and incomprehensible , even after all these years. It's so important to have a network of friends to call upon when things get tough. In general, the life is easier and less complicated in small communities than in the big city .

What differences have you noticed in the Italian world of work?

My professional life has always been full and busy and has included working in education, tourism, journalism, book publishing and, most recently, as an enrichment lecturer on luxury cruise ships. Nowadays you don’t have to be in a major city to work internationally, thanks to the internet .For example, I have recently started making video clips showing life and happenings in central Italy, which I add to my blog and on my YouTube channel. To keep up, you must continue to learn new things.

As a teacher, what are the most important lessons about Italian history, culture or society that you try to pass on to people?

It depends who the people are. Italy is such a layer cake of history that newly arrived students and tourists can be overwhelmed. Instead of a list of dates, wars, architectural styles, I prefer to concentrate on stories of people who lived here, putting the history in a context that my listeners can connect with.

There is a continual stream of visitors , almost like an extended family, who stop by and I enjoy sharing stories and memories with them. My guest book is now two fat volumes filled with comments in many different languages, as well as designs and sketches .

You've also published and contributed to several guidebooks – can you share some little-know secrets about the region of Etruria?

The area north of Rome, known as Etruria or Tuscia, extends to Tuscany and Umbria and has always has been a special, yet mysterious area. It was a favourite of Grand Tour travellers, artists and archeologists, then with modern travel – motorways and train lines- it was cut out of the itineraries of mass tourism.

In the five books I have published over the past 10 years I have tried to demystify the area. People will want to visit if they know a little more about what to expect.

What is your favourite spot in the area?

The historic gardens and castles (Ruspoli castle, Palazzo Farnese ,Villa Lante, Sacro Bosco and many other private castles) are in first place, followed by the archaeological sites of Tarquinia, Vulci and the newly discovered Etruscan pyramid. There is a huge variety of things to do such as places to visit and the food and wine are magnificent too. The only thing lacking are hordes of tourists. 

Visit Mary Jane Cryan's website Elegant Etruria and blog 50 Years In Italy.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Almost 800,000 fewer UK holidaymakers have visited Spain in 2023 when compared to 2019. What’s behind this big drop?

Published: 23 August 2023 11:36 CEST
Updated: 26 August 2023 18:32 CEST
Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Spain welcomed 12.2 million UK tourists between January and July 2023, 6 percent less when compared to the same period in 2019, according to data released on Monday by Spanish tourism association Turespaña.

This represents a decrease of 793,260 British holidaymakers for Spain so far this year.

Conversely, the number of Italian (+8 percent), Irish (+15.3 percent), Portuguese (+24.8 percent), Dutch (+4 percent) and French tourists (+5 percent) visiting España in 2023 are all above the rates in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. 

German holidaymakers are together with their British counterparts the two main nationalities showing less interest in coming to Spanish shores.

Britons still represent the biggest tourist group that comes to Spain, but it’s undergoing a slump, with another recent study by Caixabank Research suggesting numbers fell particularly in June 2023 (-12.5 percent of the usual rate). 

READ ALSO: Spain fully booked for summer despite most expensive holiday prices ever

So are some Britons falling out of love with Spain? Are there clear reasons why a holiday on the Spanish coast is on fewer British holiday itineraries?

According to Caixabank Research’s report, the main reasons are “the poor macroeconomic performance of the United Kingdom, the sharp rise in rates and the weakness of the pound”.

This is evidenced in the results of a survey by British market research company Savanta, which found that one in six Britons are not going on a summer holiday this year due to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis.

Practically everything, everywhere has become more expensive, and that includes holidays in Spain: hotel stays are up 44 percent, eating out is 13 percent pricier, and flights are 40 percent more on average. 

READ ALSO: How much more expensive is it to holiday in Spain this summer?

Caixabank stressed that another reason for the drop in British holidaymakers heading to Spain is that those who can afford a holiday abroad are choosing “more competitive markets” such as Turkey, Greece and Portugal. 

And there’s no doubt that the insufferably hot summer that Spain is having, with four heatwaves so far, has also dissuaded many holidaymakers from Blighty from overcooking in the Spanish sun. 

With headlines such as “This area of Spain could become too hot for tourists” or “tourists say it’s too hot to see any sights” featuring in the UK press, budding British holidaymakers are all too aware of the suffocating weather conditions Spain and other Mediterranean countries are enduring. 

Other UK outlets have urged travellers to try out the cooler Spanish north rather than the usual piping hot Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol destinations.

Another UK poll by InsureandGo found that 71 percent of the 2,000+ British respondents thought that parts of Europe such as Spain, Greece and Turkey will be too hot to visit over summer by 2027.

There’s further concern that the introduction in 2024 of the new (and delayed) ETIAS visa for non-EU visitors, which of course now also applies to UK nationals, could further compel British tourists to choose countries to holiday in rather than Spain.

READ MORE: Will British tourists need to pay for a visa waiver to enter Spain?

However, a drop in the number of British holidaymakers may not be all that bad for Spain, even though they did spend over €17 billion on their Spanish vacations in 2022. 

Towns, cities and islands across the country have been grappling with the problem of overtourism and the consequences it has on everything from quality of life for locals to rent prices. 

READ ALSO: ‘Beach closed’ – Fake signs put up in Spain’s Mallorca to dissuade tourists

The overcrowded nature of Spain’s beaches and most beautiful holiday hotspots appears to be one of the reasons why Germans are visiting Spain in far fewer numbers. A recent report in the country’s most read magazine Stern asked “if the dream is over” in their beloved Mallorca.

Spanish authorities are also seeking to overhaul the cheaper holiday package-driven model that dominates many resorts, which includes moving away from the boozy antics of young British and other European revellers.

Fewer tourists who spend more are what Spain is theoretically now looking for, and the rise in American, Japanese and European tourists other than Brits signify less of a dependence on the British market, one which tends to maintain the country’s tourism status quo for better or for worse.

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