MILAN

TRAVELLING AROUND ITALY

TRAVELLING AROUND ITALY

Discover the beauties of Italy from the North to the South. There are so many wonderful places to visit for a vacation that can be relaxing but at the same time offer adventure, culture, emotion and experience. Tradition, gastronomy, atmosphere and history are quality and charms that can be found in every Region and in every place waiting to be uncovered. For further information on vacations in Italy, please contact

Capri is an Italian island of the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples. It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.

Features of the island are the Marina Piccola (Small Harbor), the Belvedere of Tragara, which is a high panoramic promenade lined with villas, the limestone masses called Sea Stacks that stand out of the sea (the Faraglioni), Anacapri, the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra), and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas.

The City of Capri is the main centre of population on Capri. It has two adjoining harbours, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande (the main port of the island). The separate commune of Anacapri is located high on the hills to the west.

Capri is a tourist destination for both Italians and foreigners. In the 1950s, Capri became a popular destination for the international jet set. The central piazzetta of Capri, though preserving its modest village architecture, is lined with luxury boutiques and expensive restaurants.

During summers, the island is heavily touristed, often by day trippers from Naples and Sorrento.

Amalfi is a town in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 meters, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. The town of Amalfi was the capital of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200.

Amalfi occupied a high position in medieval architecture; its cathedral of Sant' Andrea, of the eleventh century, the campanile, the convent of the Capuccini, founded by Cardinal Capuano, richly represent the artistic movement prevailing in Southern Italy at the time of the Normans, with its tendency to blend the Byzantine style with the forms and sharp lines of the northern architecture.

Sorrento is a small city in Campania, Italy, with some 16,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination. The town can be reached easily from Naples and Pompeii, as it lies at the south-eastern end of the Circumvesuviana rail line. The town overlooks the bay of Naples, as the key place of the Sorrentine Peninsula, and many viewpoints in the city allow sight of Naples itself (visible across the bay), Vesuvius and the island of Capri.

The Amalfi Drive (connecting Sorrento and Amalfi) is the narrow road that threads around the high cliffs above the Mediterranean.

Ferry boats and hydrofoils provide services to Naples, Amalfi, Positano, Capri and Ischia. Sorrento's sea cliffs are impressive and its luxury hotels have attracted famous personalities, including Enrico Caruso and Luciano Pavarotti.

Sorrento is famous for the production of limoncello, an alcoholic digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar. Other agricultural production includes citrus fruit, wine, nuts and olives. Wood craftsmanship is also developed.

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). The area of Sardinia is 24,090 square kilometres (9,301 sq mi). The island is surrounded (clockwise from north) by the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands. Sardinia is a constitutional part of Italy, with a special statute of regional autonomy under the Italian Constitution.

Around the beginning of the nuragic age circa 1500 BC the island was first called Hyknusa (Latinized Ichnusa) by the Mycenaeans, probably meaning island (nusa) of the Hyksos, the people who had just been expelled by Ahmose I of Egypt circa 1540 BC. Sandalyon was another name, probably due to its shape, resembling a footprint. Its present name is Sardinia, after the Shardana (whose invasion of Egypt was defeated by Ramesses III circa 0 BC).

Sicily is an autonomous region of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km² and currently has five million inhabitants. It is also the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, several much smaller islands surrounding it are also considered to be part of Sicily.

Throughout much of its history, Sicily has been considered a crucial strategic location due in large part to its importance for Mediterranean trade routes.[The area was highly regarded as part of Magna Graecia, with Cicero describing Siracusa as the greatest and most beautiful city of all Ancient Greece.

Although a region of Italy today, Sicily was once its own country as the Kingdom of Sicily, ruled from Palermo. The kingdom originally ruled over the island, the southern Italian peninsula and Malta before the Sicilian Vespers. It later became a part of the Two Sicilies under the Bourbons, with the capital in Naples rather than Sicily. Since that time the Italian unification has taken place and Sicily is now an autonomous part of Italy.

Sicily is considered to be highly rich in its own unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, cuisine, architecture and even language. The Sicilian economy is largely based on agriculture (mainly orange and lemon orchards); this same rural countryside has attracted significant tourism in the modern age as its natural beauty is highly regarded.Sicily also holds importance for archeological and ancient sites such as the Necropolis of Pantalica and the Valley of the Temples.

This is without question Sicily's best known and most popular natural attraction. Mount Etna, with a height of almost 11,000 feet, is the tallest and most active volcano in Europe. Mount Etna is characterized by frequent periods of intermittent activity in the summit area and major eruptions from its flanks every 2-20 years. Guided tours to the mountain are offered daily.

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with more than 2.7 million residents, and a metropolitan area of almost 4 million inhabitants. It is located in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, on the Tiber river.

Rome stands on top of more than two and a half thousand years of history, was once the largest city in the world and a major centre of Western civilisation. Rome is still the seat of the Roman Catholic Church which controls the Vatican City as its sovereign territory, an enclave of Rome.

Today, Rome is a modern and cosmopolitan city and the third most-visited tourist destination in the European Union.Rome's international airport, Fiumicino, is the largest in Italy and the city hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Italian companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world's 100 largest companies: Enel, ENI, and Telecom Italia.

As one of the few major European cities that escaped World War II relatively unscathed, central Rome remains essentially Renaissance and Baroque in character. The historic centre of Rome is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Between the most famous attractions, onescan mention the following:
The Pantheon- The Colosseum- The Trevi Fountain- The Spanish Steps- The Vatican-
St. Peter's Cathedral- The Catacombs of St. Callixtus- The Baths of Caracalla- The Roman Forum- The Spanish Square.

Cities: Perugia is the capital. Other important cities are Assisi, Gubbio, Orvieto, Todi, Spoleto,Terni.
Art: In Umbria the traces of the Etruscan civilization are remarkable, as visitors can see in Todi, Bettona, Orvieto and Perugia. Spoleto has important Roman remains; Spello is a city where the Romans left some impressive remains. Other important Roman works can be found in Assisi and Gubbio. The Romanesque architecture thrived in thins region at the beginning of the twelfth century: some beautiful examples are the Cathedrals of Spoleto and Assisi, St. Silvestro and St. Michele in Bevagna. The Gothic style reached very high levels, and imposing examples are present in almost every city. The Renaissance can be seen in magnificent monuments in Perugia, Gubbio, Todi, but it enjoyed a smaller development than other styles.

To be visited: Rich in history and in nature, Umbria offers the Falls of the Marmore, which are the highest in Italy; the sources of the Clitunno and Mount Subasio. The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Rocca Maggiore. The ancient city of Spoleto offers the Roman Theater and Druso?s Arch. Near Perugia, people can visit the Ipogeo del Volumni, which is an Etruscan tomb.

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22,990 km² and a population of about 3.6 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence.

Tuscany is known for its landscapes and its artistic legacy. Six Tuscan localities have been UNESCO protected sites: the historical center of Florence (1982), the historical center of Siena (1995), the square of the Cathedral of Pisa (1987), the historical center of San Gimignano (1990), the historical center of Pienza (1996) and the Val d'Orcia (2004).

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,251 (census estimate January 1, 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light". It is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.[1]

The city stretches across small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 62,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.

The Venetian Republic was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce (especially silk, grain and spice trade) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century.

Since the XVIth century sumptuous summer residences had been built along the banks of rivers and canals within reach of Venice. The Brenta Canal, which linked together with other rivers Venice and Padua, was the fashionable canal, place of enjoyment and ideal continuation of the Grand Canal in Venice, where more than 70 villas were built. Here, not far from the town, the richest noblemen spent their holidays, leaving Venice on board of confortable boats called ' burchielli '- beautiful boats - which sailed up the Brenta canal; the vessels were moved with oars from St. Mark's Square, across the lagoon, to Fusina, and then they were pulled by horses to Padua, across the Brenta Canal. At the end of the XVIIIth century, with the fall of the Republic due to the arrival of Napoleon, the end of the ' sweet life ' in Venice reached also the mainland.