James May Visits a Cheese Bank and More During 'James May: Our Man in Italy'
Jul. 14 2022, Published 6:14 p.m. ET
Hello, viewers! James May is on a new mission. And no, it's not roasting Richard Hammond about his ability to crash into things.
Will the Grand Tour host achieve la dolce vita during Season 2 of his travel series James May: Our Man in Italy? The six-episode series premieres on Prime Video on July 15, 2022.
James ventured to Japan for the first season of the James May: Our Man in... series, immersing himself fully into Japanese culture with his trademark sense of humor. James May: Our Man in Italy appears to be following the same format based on the trailer.
So what historic Italian spots did James visit on his quest to experience la dolce vita? Here's what we know about the James May: Our Man in Italy filming locations.
James May maxes out his credit card somewhere in Italy.
Details on the 'James May: Our Man in Italy' filming locations.
James' Italian journey will begin in southern Italy, in the Sicilian capital of Palermo. The historic port city has a vast array of tourist draws, from ancient castles, the city's close proximity to the picturesque Mondello Beach, and Italy's largest opera house – the Teatro Massimo.
An official image from James May: Our Man in Italy depicts James fiddling with a violin under the watchful eye of a luthier (a maker of stringed instruments). Radio Times confirmed that James' musical moment was filmed in Cremona
Why play around with a violin in Cremona, you ask? The city was once home to the most famous violin-maker of all — Antonio Stradivarius!
No strings attached here James.
James does one car-related thing in 'Our Man in Italy.'
Fans of The Grand Tour would be positively bereft if James May didn't film at least one car-related segment during James May: Our Man in Italy. After all, Ferrari and Lamborghini are essentially the Stradivariuses of the car world.
Fun fact: The founder of Ferrari himself, Enzo Ferrari, once insulted a man named Ferruccio. Ferrari said he made the best cars in the world and Ferruccio was nothing more than a tractor maker. Ferruccio chose to use Ferrari's insult as fuel and founded his own luxury sports car company that he bears his last name – Lamborghini!
So is James Team Ferrari or Lamborghini? Per the same report from Radio Times, it looks like the former. James will visit Ferrari's Fiorano test track in Maranello.
We can't even afford to look at the Ferrari behind James May.
James faced some technical difficulties uploading a short clip of his visit to a cheese bank in Montese on his Twitter page, giving up at one point and posting a pic of a cute baby donkey instead. Thanks to the magic of la dolce vita, the cheese clip James was attempting to post appears to have stayed firmly put on his Twitter.
So what's so interesting about a room full of cheese if you aren't particular to Parmesan?
Well, when we said cheese bank, we weren't kidding! It looks like James visited the Credito Emiliano bank. According to a Forbes report, said bank accepts collateral for small business loans in the form of cheese.
James' Italian tour will come to an end in the Dolomites, a scenic mountain range in the northern Italian alps. Book your tickets to Italy now, because we're sure James May: Our Man in Italy will incite a serious case of wanderlust.
Look at it this way: A plane ticket to Italy costs less than a Ferrari!
James May: Our Man in Italy premieres on Prime Video on Friday, July 15, 2022.
