Program 413a: Folk Music of Italy; Swiss Watching; Weekend in Wales

A musician from Orvieto provides examples of the different styles of folk music you can enjoy across Italy, then a British ex-pat tells us what it's like to live in Switzerland — and explains why the Swiss are deliberately different from the rest of their European neighbors. And one of the top Welsh tour guides shares pointers for fun things to explore on a weekend in Wales.

• David Tordi, guitarist/vocalist for the band Bartender, based in Orvieto, Italy
• Diccon Bewes, author of "Swiss Watching" and "Slow Train to Switzerland" (Nicholas Brealey Publishing)
• Martin de Lewandowicz, tour guide from Wales

• David Tordi's band is called Bartender.
• Wikipedia compiles extensive historical information about the various styles of folk music in Italy.
• Diccon Bewes' book "Swiss Watching" is a best-seller in Britain. His latest book is called, in English, "How to Be Swiss."
• The SwissInfo.CH blog explains the concept of the "Rosti Divide" in Switzerland, and has maps that show the major language regions of the country.
• There's a personal profile interview of Martin de Lewandowicz on the Rick Steves website. Martin describes Caernarfon Castle for The Guardian in a 2001 interview.
• Sites in Wales that Martin and callers mention enjoying include the southern coastal towns of St. David's and Fishguard, the resort town of Llandudno in the north, plus Betws-y-Coed, Penrhyn Castle, Caerleon (near Cardiff), and Chepstow Castle, the oldest in Britain.
• The Snowdon Mountain Railway takes you to "the rooftop of Wales."
• St. Fagan's National History Museum, near Cardiff, is one of Rick's favorite sites in Wales.
• Tinturn Abbey is a popular attraction in the Wye valley of southeast Wales, near a number of other important historical sites.