Italy
Travel, vacations, tours and tourism

Travel, Vacations, Tours and Tourism information for Italy. Our topics inlcude Restaurants, Overviews, Attractions, Common events, Recreation, Tipical weather, Activities and more.

From colossal ruins to romantic seaside villages, Italy presents an exquisite feast. Savor the crisp air of an alpine ski area. Fill your eyes with turquoise seas. Taste the coolness of Italy's famous gelatto.

Venice gracefully emerges from the Adriatic Sea while Milan reveals itself as one of Italy's most sophisticated cities.

In the Tuscany region, with Florence as its splendid capital, the rolling hills are dotted with olive groves, vineyards and medieval towns.

Chianti country is just a short trip from Florence as are the delightful cities of San Casciano, once home of Machiavelli, and Siena, which seems perpetually frozen in time.

The Seven Hills of Rome present treasures of the past. Naples, rich with natural assets, is a gateway to the spectacular coastal villages of Amalfi and Capri.

No matter what your appetite, Italy offers up the right amount of seasoning for a memorable vacation.

Destinations in Italy

Florence, Italy

Florence (Firenze in Italian) is a cradle of Western culture and artistic tradition. This great city is one of Europe's preeminent cultural destinations, holding claim to some of the world's greatest works of art. This was the birthplace of the Renaissance in the early 15th century, when the study of the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome became a Florentine passion. This cultural and artistic rebirth brought with it a new respect for learning and creativity, a remarkable moment in history that is still in evidence everywhere in Florence today. Politician and historian Niccolò Machiavelli, artist Botticelli, and sculptor Donatello all lived and worked here during that great time. And the wonders didn't cease after the Renaissance. It is in Florence that you'll also find works by Leonardo, Raffaello, and others, including Michelangelo's David, perhaps one of the most famous works of art in all the world.

Milan, Italy

Considered Italy's most sophisticated city, Milan is the fashion and financial center of the country. When leading designers showcase their latest fashions on Milan's catwalks and in the haute boutiques, it attracts world-wide attention. But this northern Italian city has not lost its historic charm. The wide tree-lined boulevards display beautiful Romanesque and Gothic churches, fine galleries, and museums. And it's obvious that this highly cultured city is committed to achieving the very best in the arts, especially when the La Scala opera season opens every December.

Rome, Italy

Ah, the Eternal City. In the nearly 3,000 years of its life, Rome has known it all - victory and defeat, joy and tragedy, glory and misery. A playground for gods and emperors, its power once stretched from Syria to Scotland and even today, long after the empire crumbled beneath the feet of barbarian hordes, our lives are steeped in its traditions, laws, and language making us all, in some small way, Citizens of Rome. A visit here is something of a homecoming, then, and your longing and excitement builds to a fever pitch as you emerge onto the ancient streets. Church bells wake you as the city comes to life and you are surrounded by an urban symphony of animated Italians, shop grilles opening, scooting Vespas, bustling tourists, and cascading fountains.

Venice, Italy

La Serenissima, The Serene Republic, shimmers with an essence as alluring as the visions of a romantic imagination. Mists rise on the canals and glimmer in the sunlight as if lifted from an impressionist's canvas. A city of islands, its dignified buildings and warm, confident people thrive now as surely as they did during 1,000 years of sovereignty over the seafaring world. Today, it isn't merchants who flood the canals and winding streets, but enchanted travelers from every corner of the globe. They come in search of that which has inspired artists, composers, writers, and poets for centuries. Vivaldi, Titian, Hemingway, and countless others criss-crossed the world to reach this Adriatic muse. Byron, with characteristic passion, literally threw himself into the heart of Venice, swimming often from his home on the Grand Canal to the resort of The Lido.

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