New York, N.Y., June 10, 2010 - Select Italy has launched a newly improved train-ticketing service for convenient travel by rail in Italy. Customers can now easily purchase all the Italian Eurostar routes with the greatest of ease at SelectItaly.com. Prices are among the most competitive in the U.S., with delivery rapidly and securely ensured by means of e-tickets (paper tickets can be delivered on request for a supplemental fee). All Eurostar Italia routes are available; upon request, Select Italy can also provide tickets for local routes, night trains with couchette, wagon-lits and cross border routes.

New York, N.Y. May 25, 2010 - Just in time for summer - and that suddenly affordable euro - Select Italy debuts its Made Easy series: three of our favorite activities combined to provide just the right introduction to the city, making for good fun at a great price in three peerless destinations: Florence, Venice and Rome. Organized with either morning or afternoon options, these packages ensure enough flexibility to make the most of a one to three-day stay.

New York, May 6, 2010 - There's a lot more to Milan than fashion and a flamboyant cathedral: somewhere in the city's labyrinth of byways hides the stolen Wolf diamond, worth 12,000 ducats. But where is it, tucked behind the spires of the Duomo, under the Devil's Horns at Sant' Ambrogio, perhaps lurking behind the curtain at La Scala or haunting the Castello Sforzesco? It's anybody's guess, but your task to find out - thanks to Select Italy, you've got the most innovative guide in Milan on your side: the Milan Diamond whaiwhai tour book. This groundbreaking product lets you play the storyline through the city, interweaving the fictional and the factual to create a new adventure in city touring.

New York, April 22, 2010 - A famous writer once said, "Every time I take a vacation that's not in Italy, I feel like I'm making a mistake." You can avoid that misstep and so many others with a quick trip to SelectItaly.com before you set foot in Italy and its incomparable capital. Now that the summer travel season is almost upon us, Rome-n? time is nigh. From guided city tours to convenient airport shuttle transfers, advance museum tickets, cooking classes and other exclusives, Select Italy proves that now and eternally, there's no place like Rome...

Shanghai, March 2010 - Select Italy, a market leader in customized travel to Italy since 1997, has opened an exclusive representative space in Shanghai, China's economic powerhouse and the largest city in the world. The inauguration took place on March 25 at an Italian-themed reception hosted by Jacopo Sertoli, CEO of Select Italy China. The event was attended by about 80 members of Shanghai?s burgeoning business community, in addition to the Italian Consul General and Italian Trade Commissioner.

New York, March 18, 2010 - Rancho Mirage, Calif., March 18, 2010 - Select Italy was proud to donate a travel package featuring a magnificent Tuscan wine vacation at the exclusive Tenuta di Lilliano for the KCET Desert Cities Wine Auction, the proceeds from which benefit KCET's Children's Literacy Programs and Outreach. The live auction took place March 13 at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, California. Select Italy's travel package had the distinction of receiving the highest bid ($6,250) of the evening. The winning bidders will receive a week's stay at the Lilliano, a vast property in the heart of the Chianti, during la vendemmia, the annual grape harvest.

New York, February 17, 2010 - Say what you will about vampires, but the ones whose tastes run to things Italian are arguably the most fascinating - and to see why firsthand, Select Italy invites travelers to sink their teeth into the ultimate Twilight experience: the Twilight Tuscany tour. The Twilight Saga: New Moon and best-selling novel by Stephanie Meyer on which the hit movie is based comes to life (and afterlife) in a dynamic new vacation package for independent travelers that uncovers the enigmatic Tuscan settings of both book and film.

New York, Jan. 29, 2010 - Already acclaimed in Italy, the intriguing whaiwhai series of interactive Game Tour books are now on sale through Select Italy and its Website, SelectItaly.com. Whaiwhai presents a captivating full-immersion touring experience unlike any other: Using the whaiwhai book and the texting feature (SMS) of a cell phone, users receive clues and send answers that propel them across the city - Venice, Florence, Verona and Rome - from location to location, tracing and uncovering its most secret history.

New York, Jan. 21, 2010 - What better way to embrace winter than with a defiant nod to spring? With its new nine-day "Mystery & Fire: Taormina and the Aeolian Islands" tour package, Select Italy does just that and more. By bri-g its already legendary Italian travel expertise to the most storied Sicilian shore and the Mediterranean's relatively obscure but arguably most pristine archipelago, Select Italy opens a new door to an unforgettable journey for travelers ready to upgrade from the tried-and-true to something sparkling blue and refreshingly new.

New York, Dec. 17, 2009 - Just in time for holiday shoppers seeking the perfectly delicious Italian gift, Select Italy announces the launch of an online specialty Italian gourmet store at food.selectitaly.com. Now, from peppery Pecorino Pepato to tangy Il Perraccio Extra Virgin Olive Oil and dozens of choice cured meats, quality pastas and unique sweets in between, the Select Italy Food Store makes it a breeze to bring the best of Italy right to your door. And for holiday orders over $85, customers will also receive free delivery and a complimentary year's subscription to La Cucina Italiana magazine.

New York, Dec. 3 - When in Rome, drink as the Romans do: with the very best Italian wines in the most spectacular of settings. Select Italy's new series of six private wine tastings lets travelers revel in the goodness of the grape amidst the chic backdrop of one of the Eternal City's most sumptuous wine bars. Designed to appeal to discerning oenophile and budding wine lover alike, these carefully curated luxury tasting experiences each include a guided degustation of three different but regionally linked wines paired with a range of fresh and inventive antipasti. The exceptional venue is a grand enoteca (Italian wine bar) situated on the ground floor of a restored 16th-century palazzo, replete with recently discovered Roman ruins in the extensive wine cellars.

New York, Nov. 16, 2009 - Ready for some hearty, authentic flavors of Italy - Select Italy announces its new line-up of specialty cooking classes in Florence, Venice and Rome, and they're sure to leave no traveling foodie hungry. The Taste of Italy Specialty Experiences each focus on an essential component of Italian cuisine, such as homemade pasta, seafood, real Roman pizza and gelato. The new offerings include Pizza Romana and La Dolce Vita in Rome, Pasta Fiorentina in Florence and, in Venice, Seafood in the Serenissima.

New York, October 2009 - For the eighth consecutive year Andrea Sertoli, President of Select Italy, has made Travel & Leisure magazine's A-List of top travel agents. The prestigious list, published in the October 2009 issue of T+L, is compiled and released after a comprehensive evaluation of thousands of travel agents, with this year's A-List status being conferred on only 129 of "the best in the business."

Venice's Carnevale is an event not to be missed and travelers shouldn’t wait to experience this unique festival. This year Select Italy is offering multiple night Vacation Packages to attend Venice’s extravagant pre-lent fête with customizable packages for any number of days beginning January 25th and ending on Mardi Gras, February 5th.

Italy is the world's top honeymoon destination and Select Italy has been at the forefront of travel to Italy’s most evocative and romantic locations for ten years. Now we've devoted our considerable resources to have a special service just for honeymooners to plan the perfect trip.

Select Italy announces the "Wine Train Adventure", a trendy new concept for exploring southern Tuscany and its famous food & wine traditions. This innovative full-day excursion offers a round trip ticket on a specially designed air-conditioned train that rolls past the spectacular scenery of Southern Tuscany's Val d'Orcia, a UNESCO heritage site. In between stops, passengers visit medieval sites, enjoy an authentic Tuscan meal, and try the world-famous Brunello wine.

Select Italy, a Chicago-based travel agency specializing exclusively in travel to Italy, has designed the Italia in Ferrari tours as private luxury get-aways for individuals, couples, small groups of friends, or business groups. These Ferrari tours have itineraries flexible enough to allow individual travelers to see and experience Italy exactly as they want.

Select Italy, the ultimate source for travel to Italy, introduces a variety of vacation packages in conjunction with a piano event unlike any other. For 15 days this summer, the Miami International Piano Festival will fill the streets of the southern Italian town of Lecce with the very best in piano music, musical conversation and Italian culture.

Select Italy will be featured on the Travel Channel’s new series, "Trip of a Lifetime" on January 18. For each episode of "Trip of a Lifetime", Travel+Leisure editors paired deserving travelers with expert tour operators specializing in the episode's destination. As a Travel+Leisure "A-List Super Agent" for Italy, Select Italy was the natural choice to provide innovative and custom-tailored travel services for the Pellegrino family on this new program, a combination travelogue and reality show.

Ennio Morricone, the Academy Award-winning composer of over 400 film scores, will make his public US debut on February 3, 2007 in an historic concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Select Italy, the leading source for Italian musical experiences and appointed travel agency for the concert, is offering vacation packages for this event.

Select Italy, the leading Italy travel expert, and Chianti Cashmere, an artisanal Italian cashmere farm, announced an exclusive online partnership . Select Italy's store is the only online location where consumers can purchase the Chianti Cashmere line of quality goat's-milk skincare products and soaps.

Chicago, IL August 21, 2006 - In the September issue of Travel+Leisure magazine, magazine editors and travel agents at American Express released their 2006 "A-List of Super Agents" for Travel Worldwide. This annual list features 125 top U.S. travel agents whose expertise and high levels of service set them apart from the crowd - according to Travel+Leisure, they are "the best of the best [...and...] provide unparalleled levels of service and essential advice." For the fifth consecutive year, Andrea Sertoli, President of Wilmette-based Select Italy, has been named as an "A-List Super Agent" for travel to Italy. Sertoli is one of only four Italy specialists in the US to win this coveted "A-List" designation.

On Monday, July 10, 2006, "CUCINA ITALIANA, PURE, SIMPLE, & ARTISTIC: Italian Regional Foods Revealed... the EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR", will be held in New York at the International Summer Fancy Food Show 2006. Gisella Isidori, food consultant and a 30-year veteran of all aspects of the food business and Andrea Sertoli, an award-winning travel expert and owner of Select Italy, a top international travel agency, will offer press and the trade a rich learning opportunity that combines the best of the traditional with the best of the new.

There are some VIP experiences that live up to the fanfare and are very difficult to arrange without the help of a specialist. Select Italy specialized exclusively in Italy, offers such a service: guided visits to Florence's Percorso dei Principi, better known as the Vasari Corridor. This site is officially closed to the general public; operators at the Uffizi box office do not grant reservation requests from individual travelers. Select Italy is the only US travel agent offering this small group tour.

Select Italy has recently announced a new and exciting culinary adventure in Italy in partnership with Parma's Academia Barilla (recently featured on the Food Network). This seven-day luxury tour features cooking classes, gastronomic excursions, five-star hotels and deluxe amenities.

Select Italy announced its donation of an 11-day Italy Dream Vacation to the Naperville Rotary Club as a prize for its 16th annual "House of Dreams Charity Raffle". All tickets purchased between May 1, 2006 and May 21, 2006 are eligible to win the Italy trip as well as other raffle prizes including a million-dollar dream home.

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 26, 2006 - For the second year in a row, The Webby Awards, the leading international honor for websites, nominated Select Italy for the Best Tourism web site of 2006. With input from Select Italy's president Andrea Sertoli, SelectItaly.com was produced and designed by Mikhail Medvedev, Select Italy's webmaster since 2003, and his team of web developers, Roy Shay and Dan Michael. Of the five finalists in this category, Select Italy is one of only two nominees to have been selected two years running. Winners will be announced on May 9, 2006 and honored at The Tenth Annual Webby Awards in New York City on June 12th.

Select Italy has found a new way to let clients indulge their wild side: luxury Ferrari tours of Italy. These Ferrari tours provide truly unique and amazing experiences. Driving in a fleet of the most up-to-date Ferraris you can zip through the Tuscan hills along the famed auto-race route, the Mille Miglia, or jaunt up to Maranello to visit the Ferrari museum and complex.

Select Italy - tour operator and travel agency - has been at the forefront of niche specialization for travel to Italy. With this in mind, the company has created a completely unique 10-days opera tour based on great operas and stunning musical venues, with in-depth lectures provided by opera lecturer and author, Burton D. Fisher.

August 31, 2005- Andrea Sertoli, President of Wilmette-based Select Italy, has been named to Travel + Leisure magazine's "A-List of Super Agents for Travel Worldwide" of top U.S. travel agents for travel to Europe for the 5th straight year. Sertoli was one of only three Italy specialists in the US to win this coveted A-List designation.

Select Italy announces the creation of the new Smart2Book™ Hotel Reservation System. This system lets customers choose for themselves whether to invest their time in their own hotel search or to enlist the help of an expert to narrow down their options.

When travelers book a tour to Venice, they often become stuck in the tourist trap that many interpret as the true Venetian Lifestyle. However, the Veneto region is much more than just Venice's St. Mark Square and Bridge of Sighs. Italian travel specialists Select Italy have created a tour of the Veneto region that takes travelers off the beaten path, and immerses them in Veneto's authenticity.

The highly anticipated 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy are quickly approaching, but unless spectators plan their trips with travel agencies experienced in dealing with the Italian culture, they will have to enjoy the games from home. Because of a combination of an Olympic supplier near-monopoly and an extremely high demand for housing availability, accommodations are scarce. Travelers still in need of accommodations can contact Select Italy.

April 13, 2005 – The Webby Awards, the leading international honor for web sites, nominated Select Italy for the Best Tourism web site of 2005. With input from Select Italy's president Andrea Sertoli, the site was produced and designed by Mikhail Medvedev, Select Italy's webmaster since 2003.

Select Italy has teamed up with the gourmet candy gurus at Cocoa & Co. to create the Master Artisans of Chocolate Tour, a chocolate-dipped journey through Tuscany that redefines the concept of La Dolce Vita.