GreenStop24 is a new guide to farms in Italy that offer a free stopover for motorhomes and caravans. It's similar to the France Passion scheme in that the farms provide a free parking space, with no services, but there is no joining fee, you just need to show a copy of the book on arrival. All of the farms offer their guests the chance to buy local produce, such as cheese, olive oil, honey, wine etc and some even have restaurants.

The guide is fully multilingual in Italian, English, Franch and German and is nicely laid out in four regions, north, central, south and islands (Sicily and Sardinia).

There are a total of 185 farms listed, each has a page to itself with a colour photo and pictorial indications of the produce on offer. Brief directions are given together with the full address, telephone, and email if available.

There are a range of different types of farm represented, some look like idyllic rural retreats whilst a few could be mistaken for industrial units!

This looks to be an excellent opportunity for visitors to Italy to get to know the country, you are far more likely to get the feel of a place by staying with local people than in a hotel or campsite.

We were slightly disappointed by the maps provided, they are nothing more than outline maps of the regions with the farms indicated by numbered spots, we would like to have seen a bit more detail with roads and major towns included. Also the directions to each farm seem rather brief, it may be that they are quite adequate and the farms well signed when you arrive, but our experience of Italy (not using this guide, admittedly) is that farms are rarely signed. GPS co-ordinates would have been useful.

We would be interested in feedback from anyone who has used the guide.

GreenStop24
Paperback - 224 pages
Author: Franco Staropoli
Published by: ActionNews, Milano
ISBN 978 88 902907 1 8
Price: £17.50

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