We love Italy.
It’s all we do.
We design Italy travel plans to fit your interests, needs, pace and budget to create a trip that is as unique as YOU. Since 1996, Italy has been our single destination and sole travel planning focus.
Let us save you time and guess work. Benefit from our knowledge and our network of in-country providers. Travel knowing you are in the good hands of our Rome booking office while you are in Italy. Go enjoy!
All land services from arrival transfers, train tickets and seat reservations, rental car contracts- and of course, places to stay---characteristic hotels, non-traditional stays in an agriturismo or a Venice studio apartment or a grand Tuscan villa. See the best of Rome as you walk with a personable, expert local guide that brings to life and enhances an early 6 AM visit to the Sistine Chapel (before the general public swarms the Vatican Museum.) Waste no time in Florence—with your reservations to the Academia, David won’t make you wait! These are just a few of the popular services.
Experience Italy will take care of your travel needs from arrival to departure---and all glorious days in between.
Please complete the “Let’s Work Together” form to book your initial consult.
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Lori’s toils include Martin Family Vineyard grape growing. Other hobbies are varied but include the love of vino, and where there is wine, there should be bread—still working on the sourdough craft. More importantly she is the mother of two, “Lala’’ of two and wife of one—40 years and still smiling. Lori holds dear to her heart Italian family traditions and values, including Sunday supper with her parents, sister and the nipoti e nipoti. Espresso fanatic to start each day. Runner and fitness believer. Shape, texture, ceramic, glass and shine; the saying is “cute counts.” And what is not to love about, did you say “Italian leather?” Living la dolce vita largely thanks to the influence many years ago of dear friend and best partner ever, Dick Mercer.
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Founder In Memoriam (1943-2025)Richard “Dick” Mercer, proclaimed himself an Italophile. Others describe him as a dreamer, a romantic, a foodie–wine guy, a lover of life. Getting ‘the girl’ in college is where the fairytale began. Sacramento Camellia Queen, Dina Velo, with a little help from her mother, Olympia, won Mercer’s heart one meal at a time. The love of her family, their food, wine, and culture, eventually spurred Dick, at the age of 40, to make his first trip to their Italian homeland. He was hooked. Mercer couldn’t get enough Italy. Over the next ten years he returned frequently. Palpable passion and contagious enthusiasm lead him to build a vehicle to connect others to Italy so he could share where he’d been, what he’d seen, and introduce others to the dear people he’d earned the right to call friends. In 1995, his brainchild, Experience Italy®, Inc came to be.
After 30 years and collectively more than 120 trips to Italy, Dick along with his long-time business partner, Lori Martin, conducted countless seminars on Italy travel and designed custom Italy holidays for hundreds of clients each year. It is in memory of Dick that the beat goes on. His unfaltering joy and enthusiasm sustain, feed and continue to inspire the team to fulfill the longstanding mission of creating exceptional experiences and curated personalized trips. Seems appropriate also to express gratitude to or our past travelers and the many return clients of Experience Italy; you have boosted our spirits and renewed our energy when you’ve shared your recall of working with Dick and feeling his emotion or seeing it translated in his tears. Many of us are grateful Dick Mercer turned his dream into reality.
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Dick’s son, Steve, and in the future, daughter-in-law, Heather, will join the Experience Italy team to continue his legacy.
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Sassy spit-fire that takes the world by storm; Alex goes and does tirelessly seeking to impress and delight Italy travelers. She fell in love with while studying in Rome. Careful! You may fall under the spell! Now in Scottsdale, AZ —Alex is the newest member of the team.