Stylish,
cultured, good-humored and volatile -
Italy, with its golden light, stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage, has inspired
poets and painters for centuries. Perhaps more than any other country, it has influenced the course of European development, particularly in culture and political thought.
Today, besides the
renowned cities of Venice, Florence, Siena and Naples, each with its own unique identity and
architecture, Italy features romantic
medieval hill towns, such as San Gimignano in Tuscany, and
unspoilt fishing villages, like Positano
on the Amalfi coast.
Operatic productions are staged in Verona’s ancient amphitheater, while the influence of Federico Fellini is celebrated in Turin’s museum of cinema.
Throughout the country visitors can find
vineyards and cellars to taste fine regional wines, workshops where crafts are produced by hand, and
friendly trattorie where simple but superb dishes are served.
The most important
early settlers were the enigmatic Etruscans, but by the third century BC their culture had been displaced by the mighty city state of Rome.
At its greatest extent, the
Roman Empire stretched from Egypt to England and for several centuries conferred on its inhabitants the benefits of the Pax Romana: culture, law, relative peace and comparative prosperity. This sophisticated society left a rich architectural legacy - Rome is still dominated by buildings like the mighty Colosseum.
In the 15th century, Italy was at the heart of the Renaissance, an extraordinary flowering of art and culture. It produced artists such as Fra Angelico, Raphael, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, whose works take pride of place in Italy’s galleries.
Italy combines
art,
history and
contemporary fashion with stunning natural landscapes: the
turquoise waters of Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda offer one of Europe’s most beautiful stretches of sand, sea and sunshine, while the snow-covered slopes of the
Dolomite mountains are a haven for
winter sports enthusiasts.
GeographyItaly is situated in Europe and attached in the north to the European mainland. To the north, the Alps separate Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.
Northern Italy: The Alpine regions, the Po Plain and the Dolomites. Piedmont and Val d’Aosta contain some of the highest mountains in Europe and are good areas for winter sports. Rivers flow down from the mountains passing through the beautiful Italian Lake District (Maggiore, Como, Garda) to the fertile Po Basin, which extends as far south as the bare slopes of the Appennines, and has long been one of Italy’s most prosperous regions.
Central Italy: The northern part of the Italian peninsula. Tuscany (Toscana) has a diverse landscape with snow-capped mountains, lush countryside, hills and a long sandy coastline. To the east is Umbria, known as the ‘green heart of Italy’; hilly with broad plains, olive groves and pines, and Le Marche - a region of gentle mountains, rivers and small fertile plains. Further south lies Rome, Italy’s capital city. Within its precincts is the Vatican City.
Southern Italy: The south is wilder than the north, with mile upon mile of olive trees, cool forests and rolling hills. Campania consists of flat coastal plains and low mountains, stretching along a rocky coast to the Calabrian border. The islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida in the Tyrrhenian Sea are also part of Campania. Puglia, the ‘heel of the boot’, is a landscape of volcanic hills and isolated marshes. Calabria, the ‘toe’, is wild, heavily forested and thinly populated.
The Islands: Sicily (Sicilia), visible across a 3km (2-mile) strait from mainland Italy, is famed for its active volcano Mount Etna and lava fields. Sardinia (Sardegna) has a mountainous landscape, fine sandy beaches and rocky offshore islands.
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