We are planning a belated honeymoon in Italy during the time between Christmas and Epiphany. We will be spending the first part in Sicily and then plan to take a ferry to the mainland and spend another 5 days or so traveling around (likely by car for at least part). We need advice on where to spend New Year's, as we'd like this to dictate our subsequent plans to some degree. We enjoy fireworks, but are not big partiers and my husband is unusually sensitive to loud sounds (he gets sensory overload and sometimes migraines). I've read about the big New Year's Eve celebrations in Naples, etc, but am thinking a smaller city might be a better spot for us. (I've read about wandering minstrels in some southern cities - that'd be great!) Or maybe outskirts of a big city (Rome?) where we could go see the fireworks and then make our way away from the chaos. (I'm also not averse to reversing plans and doing the mainland first and then Sicily, if that's a better place for New Year's Eve.) Any ideas would be appreciated!
(We'd also welcome any advice on off the beaten path places to visit on the road trip portion - we like to explore nature and the guidebooks don't often address that much. For instance, can we visit Stromboli that time of year??)