Italy Overview

Overview

Italy embodies the term la dolce vita. Its wonderfully warm climate, rich cultural heritage, world famous food and welcoming people make this an ideal travel destination whatever the time of year. Whether it is lying on a beach in Tuscany, skiing in the Alps, swimming in Lake Garda, taking a ride in a gondola down the Grand Canal in Venice or enjoying Italy's endless cultural treasures in any one of its numerous cities, Italy provides it all.

In fact the biggest problem a traveller to Italy will face is deciding which of the numerous attractions to visit first. Italy's wealth of culture is unrivalled. Tuscany alone accommodates more classified historical monuments than any whole country in the world and is the undisputed cradle of art. Here you can find examples of every age, style and period, even without entering a gallery, simply walking the streets is like visiting a living-museum.

Due to Italy's growth as a collection of independent city-states, each of its twenty regions varies greatly, often with completely different customs, food and dialects, which makes this a unique place to visit. The north/ south divide is something that many travelers experience. The north being the more advanced industrial area with its capital Milan the epitome of a thoroughly European city. The south, which begins somewhere between Rome and Naples, is comparatively poorer and less industrialized, consisting mainly of agricultural land and in many places is still largely untouched. By stepping off the beaten track and heading further south you can find largely undiscovered resorts and beaches, often still the preserve of Italian tourists.

Whichever region you chose to visit though, what unifies this country is its appreciation of good food, obsession with clothes and image, and love of art and life.