Richard (Dick) Mercer

Richard (Dick) Mercer
Richard (Dick) Mercer, Grappe Testing

Owner / President, Experience Italy, Sacramento, CA

After 26 years in business planning trips to Italy for individuals and groups, Dick Mercer and Lori Martin, co-owners of Experience Italy, are celebrating being selected for Condé Nast Traveler’s 2021 and 2022 Top Travel Specialists. It’s an honor that recognizes our knowledge and expertise in designing highly personalized travel experiences throughout Italy and connections to Italians…
cntraveler.com/contributor/richard-mercer

Mesmerized by his wife’s Italian family and the way the Velos lived and things they did—and more by what they ate—Dick, the certified “foodie” living to eat not eating to live, could not keep this passion for Italy to himself.  Experience Italy took wing in 1995 to allow Mercer to share all things Italian with friends and friends of friends.  Initially, it was small-group tours to festivals in little-known towns in Italy and then the segue to today’s custom-designed FIT (Foreign Independent Travel).

Fast forward almost 28 years, more than 116 experiences executed between Lori and Dick, and thousands of happy clients returned from Italy, our love of and enthusiasm for Italy continues to drive and motivate us to this day! So many versions of ITALY to try on and find one that fits the individual with elements of culture, heritage, religion, food, wine, music, art, and architecture while also taking into consideration timeframe, pace, and budget.  Is it a first-time trip to must-see cities of Venice, Florence, and Rome?  Or a return visit that sticks new pins on the map to lesser-known parts of the country’s 20 regions? Visit a winery make the Passito di Sagrantino di Montefalco or a distillery in Piemonte make grappa aged in oak or winery making the popular Prosecco in the classic method with history from WWII or stay at a winery newly recognized for their Barolo and other Piemontese vini.  Possible stays in an agriturismo (Effectively a farm designed to receive guests, whether for food [lunch and dinner], lodging, or a combination of the two.) in the Umbrian hills, a palazzo (urban building built as a grand residence) in Veneto or a trullo (a traditional Apulian dry stone hut with a conical roof.) in Puglia?

Cultural insights give a peek from the seat at the dinner table with the Tuscan Nonna who made the sugo (meaning ‘sauce’ in Italian, is a traditional tomato sauce.) and hand-rolled the pasta and the winemaker who harvested the fruit from the terraced vineyards in Cinque Terre?  We open doors for you to be up close and have personal interaction with friends we have made over the years, so you see the Italy we adore and the meet the people we love. Philosophically speaking, Experience Italy believes travel to Italy is about the people as much as it is about the places. Are you ready? We thank those we have worked with in the past and cannot wait to share Italy with you!

View our profile at cntraveler.com and learn more at experienceitaly.com or on our Facebook page, facebook.com/experienceitaly

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