Its exhibits are extraordinary, though: the Ducal Palace was built by the man responsible for much of Urbino’s glory, Federico da Montefeltro. The fact that Urbino is home to only 14,000 people adds to its charms, as does the presence of the Università di Urbino (one of Italy’s oldest) whose roaming groups of students stop the city feeling like an open-air museum. Its hilltop red-brick buildings can be seen from miles away, and the pedestrianised old town is all steep slopes and narrow alleys lined with 15th-century churches and palaces. The pearl of Le Marche is the walled Unesco-listed city of Urbino, one of the cradles of the Renaissance. Umbria became the new Tuscany decades ago, but the region next door, Le Marche, never quite gained that status, despite its beaches, rolling hills and medieval towns. It’s hard not to be charmed by its Museum of Peasant Technology (Wed-Sun, €5) showing tools, toys and household implements from years gone by. The peninsula is perfect for cycling: bikes can be hired from in Oristano, or from hotels and agriturismos.Ī half-hour drive inland, Santu Lussurgiu is a 1,000-year-old village in the caldera of an extinct volcano. The most striking beach is Is Arutas, further north: glistening between ochre rocks, its “sand” is actually tiny white quartz pebbles, resembling risotto rice. The latter is an arc of fine sand backed by low cliffs close to the ruins of Tharros (open daily, April-October), a Phoenician-Roman port abandoned in 1070 in the face of repeated pirate attacks. To its west – beyond the Cabras lagoon, which is home to 800 nesting flamingoes and the source of some of the world’s best bottarga (cured fish roe) – the Sinis peninsula is flat and rural, with myriad beaches, from Is Arenas in the north to San Giovanni di Sinis in the south. (A rare female judge in the 14th century, she made landmark rulings on rape, women’s rights and wildlife protection that stood for 400 years, until superseded in 1827.) Oristano town has a baroque cathedral, the island’s biggest, and an archaeology museum – but the chief pleasure is strolling the pedestrianised pink- and cream-painted streets between Piazza Roma, with its 13th-century defence tower, and Piazza Eleonora, named after an early feminist and ecowarrior, Eleonora d’Arborea. Yet it boasts an elegant, historic capital, dramatic landscapes in the Monte Arci national park and unspoilt, unusual beaches on the Sinis peninsula. Halfway up the island’s west coast, Oristano province has been much less affected by tourism than Alghero or Cagliari. Find out more about our Best for Pet program.But everything else that makes Italy such a favourite – food, wine, history, art, landscapes and people – is still there to be savoured, and all the more rewarding off the beaten tourist track. These include services such as vaccinations, parasite control, wellness screen, and dental cleaning. While pet insurance covers things like major surgeries, Best for Pet will cover a lot of what pet insurance doesn’t through procedures seen as routine. Pet Insurance works well with our Best for Pet program which is a proactive policy, covering the day-to-day routine care. We understand this may not be an option for everyone but having a plan in place such as a bank account for your pet or an emergency credit card can save a lot of heartbreak and stress. Check out This a great resource for an independent review on the pet insurance companies and policies available in NZ and outlines what you need to know and how it works. Pet insurance is becoming more popular and is one way to ensure that more pets get the care they need. That is a heartbreaking decision to have to make for the pet, the owner, the vet and their support staff. In some instances, that may mean having to choose euthanasia for a loved family pet when treatment was an option if costs could be covered. There is nothing worse for an owner and their vet than having to choose treatment options based on finances rather than what is best for that pet. There are no subsidies for animal health care and in some cases medical and surgical care can be expensive or occur unexpectedly such as in Missy’s case. We all want our pets to have a good quality of life and access to the best treatment possible. It is well known that Kiwis love their pets, with New Zealand currently home to nearly 2 million cats and dogs. We trust and hope you have some good karma coming your way! We would like to give a massive shout out and thank you to Missy’s guardian angel. This was an amazing and very generous act of kindness and brought a tear to our eyes. A wonderful lady in the waiting room overheard what had happened and stepped in to help out Missy’s owner with the cost of the procedure that was otherwise going to be difficult for her to afford. Six month old Missy went out one morning and came home with a severe eye injury.
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