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Posted on by Rick Steves

Coming Soon to a TV Station near You — Italian Travel Thrills and More

This spring and summer, we’re filming six new public television programs to wrap up our new season: Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the Veneto, and the Cinque Terre. We do two shows (12 days) per shoot. Right now, we’re having great fun in Italy shooting episodes on the Veneto and the Cinque Terre.

Cameraman Karel and producer Simon are artfully capturing some of Europe’s greatest art on this shoot. Here, we’re surrounded by exquisite mosaics in Ravenna.
Cameraman Karel and producer Simon are artfully capturing some of Europe’s greatest art on this shoot. Here, we’re surrounded by exquisite mosaics in Ravenna.
I love all the new technology that makes travel easier than ever. With the help of this rudimentary GPS system, we knew we were in Italy.
I love all the new technology that makes travel easier than ever. With the help of this rudimentary GPS system, we knew we were in Italy.
I generally don’t care that much about the weather. But when filming, I live by the weather forecasts. We enjoyed perfect weather for six days shooting our Veneto show. But when we headed to the Italian Riviera, when the weather was critical, the forecasts were horrible. I search and search online for a decent forecast, and sometimes, I come up with nothing but drizzle. We started our Italian Riviera show (near La Spezia) with nothing but rain in the forecast.
I generally don’t care that much about the weather. But when filming, I live by the weather forecasts. We enjoyed perfect weather for six days shooting our Veneto show. But when we headed to the Italian Riviera, when the weather was critical, the forecasts were horrible. I search and search online for a decent forecast, and sometimes, I come up with nothing but drizzle. We started our Italian Riviera show (near La Spezia) with nothing but rain in the forecast.
Our crew in Vernazza 2001: This favorite view of my favorite town on my favorite stretch of Mediterranean coastline doesn’t change much. This is our crew (me, producer Simon Griffith, and cameraman Karel Bauer) in 2001. It was fun to update this episode with many of the same players among the townsfolk...and with my same, wonderful crew.
Our crew in Vernazza 2001: This favorite view of my favorite town on my favorite stretch of Mediterranean coastline doesn’t change much. This is our crew (me, producer Simon Griffith, and cameraman Karel Bauer) in 2001. It was fun to update this episode with many of the same players among the townsfolk…and with my same, wonderful crew.
Same crew in Vernazza 2014: And this is the same crew, at the same viewpoint in 2014. Thankfully, as we get older, the camera gear gets smaller and lighter. At this rate, we’ll be producing TV for a long, long time. By the way, TV production today is every bit as challenging — and rewarding — as it was in 2001.
Same crew in Vernazza 2014: And this is the same crew, at the same viewpoint in 2014. Thankfully, as we get older, the camera gear gets smaller and lighter. At this rate, we’ll be producing TV for a long, long time. By the way, TV production today is every bit as challenging — and rewarding — as it was in 2001.
Comments

3 Replies to “Coming Soon to a TV Station near You — Italian Travel Thrills and More”

  1. It looks awesome!

    Best of luck getting good weather.

    der Doppelganger
    Florida

  2. I wish your new episodes were coming to a TV station near me. The sad truth is that while all 4 of the public TV stations I receive broadcast your fund-raising episodes several times each week, it’s been at least 2 or 3 years since any of them has broadcast a regular episode. I realize public TV experienced deep funding cuts and is forced to rely on more viewer support, but with fund raising now occurring year-around and having replaced much of the regular programming in my viewing area, I find myself watching less and less public TV. It would be nice if public TV could find a better balance between fund raising and programming, and encouraging to see them restore good programs like yours that have been dropped.

  3. We were in the Cinque Terre when you were, and some members of our tour group with Nina Dirckx saw you getting off the boat in Monterosso. Yes, the weather was terrible there on May 2nd, but we had a great time anyway. It was beautiful and sunny on May 1 when we explored the Monterosso Cemetery and enjoyed wonderful views from the top.

    One of our group, William Lee, made a video of Nona at the Albergo Pasquale demonstrating how to make pesto from scratch. He has uploaded it to You Tube………… you might want to use part???

    Thanks for a super experience on our Heart of Italy Tour.
    Jim and Connie Rogers

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