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Abruzzo l Calabria l Campania l Emilia Romagna l Friuli-Venezia Giulia l Lazio l Liguria l Lombardia l Marche l Molise l Piemonte l Puglia l Repubblica di San Marino l Sardegna l Sicilia l Switzerland l Toscana l Trentino Alto-Adige l Umbria l Valle d'Aosta l Veneto |
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Information
about Italy and its regions and
attractions. Florence,
capital of the region of Tuscany Italy, spreads on the banks of the
Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the
middle of the Italian peninsula. It is a city which bustles with
industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on
the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most
important places both in Italy and abroad. Italy
is a land celebrated for the arts, and not the least among the arts
that have attained their highest expression in Italy is the art of
hospitality. The Italian welcome is as warm and traditional as a
glass of fine wine. Italy is one of the most popular vacation
countries in Europe, all seasons being good for a visit. In summer,
Italy is an international playground, with visitors from all
continents mingling with vacationing Italians at the famous resorts.
Arezzo administrative centre of the province, is situated at the
northern end of the Valdichiana and can be easily reached as it is
linked to the Autostrada del Sole and is crossed by the main
Milan-Florence-Rome railway line. Arezzo
was founded by the Etruscan and called Aretium; the most
representative work of the etruscan period is the Chimera, a bronze
statuette of the Vth century B.C. which has become the symbol of the
town. Later Arezzo passed into the hands of the Romans (IV-III
century) and had a great development.
Ask most people to name the first Italian city that comes into their
head and few will trump out Bologna.
That suits this city just fine. While the tourist hordes clog up
Florence, Rome and Venice, Bologna remains relatively tourist free,
letting the locals enjoy one of the highest standards of living in
Italy unmolested.The history of Catania,
like any other place in the Mediterranean, is made up by the sequence
of cultures passing through, conquering and being conquered by the
locals, all leaving their mark in every aspect of life. It was
founded by the Greek Chalsidian people in 729 b.c..Cefalu! A town of
Medieval origins, going back to the V century B.C., which was built
on a headland dominated by an overhanging cliff. Cefalu
is characterized by
beaches of fine sand, by the old houses which look onto the sea, and
by its Cathedral of Norman origins, built by Ruggero II in
fulfillment of a vow which he made when, overcome by a terrible
tempest when at sea with his fleet, he managed to land in this
town.
Five miles of rocky coast in eastern Liguria, two promontories lie at
each extremity, thousands of kilometres of dry walling, cultivated
into vineyards, five southerly villages castled up on spurs of stone
or disposed in clusters of very small inlets. These are the
co-ordinates of the Cinque
Terre
(Five lands). From a high
Tuscan hill, fifty miles from Florence between Arezzo and Perugia,
rises the equally ancient and nobile city of Cortona.
Before the city lies a vast and beautiful plain, it is flanked on
either side by distant hills and valleys while behind it are towering
yet fruitful mountains. Cortona has a picturesque aspect, quite a bit
longer than wide, turned toward the midday sun. Her district is
fertile and is abundant with all that is necessary to human life. It
is Cortona marked by the Meridian-Antartic star sign, feminine, in
motion, pungent, earthy, frigid and dry and under the noble reign
of...Lago
di Garda is located on
the border of Lombardia, Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige. It is one of
the most beautiful places in Italy and that's saying quite a lot.
Over the centuries the lake has always been very popular with holiday
makers. The area has been rich in well-known products since Ancient
Times: marble and wine, which were exported in all parts of the
world. Worth a special mention is the Riviera degli Oliviâ, the
long golden shore running along the lake for 50 kilometres (from
Peschiera to Malcesine).
Como is a nice town with a beautifully maintained historical centre
and a scenic location at the southernmost point of
Lake
Como. The impressive
Duomo (cathedral) was developed and added to over a period of several
hundred years ( so you can admire Gothic and Renaissance features
including fine tapestries and paintings. The town's earlier cathedral
(built in the tenth century), San Fedele, is another popular
attraction, as is the tall nine hundred years old city gate Porta
Vittoria. Lucca
likes to promote itself as a diminutive Florence or Siena without the
afflictions of mass tourism, offering a cheerful normality not always
encountered in its more illustrious neighbours. Yet with its refined
churches, family palaces and the remarkable imprint of a Roman
amphitheatre, all joined together by a spider's web of medieval
streets, this carefully preserved, walled Roman town, the birthplace
of Puccini, is worth a visit in its own right.
Palermo, synonym for one of the most prestigious cities of the
Mediterranean , as well as being the ‘capital' city of
Sicily
rises up in a beautiful bay on the northern coast of the island. The
history of Palermo
goes back to the VIII-VI centuries B.C., the era of the Phoenecians
of Carthage and then took the name of Ziz (flower). Perugia
in Umbria, the great "Guelf
strong-hold" rises up in the region's heart, with its 5 storical
quarters closed-in by its Etruscan town walls. These enormous
bastions formed by cyclopic square masses, were constructed 22
centuries ago and are still visible for long stretches. Rising 4 m.
above sea level on the banks of the Arno river, on a fertile alluvial
plain, this town is approximately 10 km. from the Tyrrhenian Sea. A
centre of ancient origin, Pisa
was already an important port
in Roman times, definitively asserting itself as a seagoing power in
the 12th century when it became a Republic after participating in the
First Crusade. It extended its influence over the whole Tuscan coast
and Sardinia, succeeding in defeating its rival Amalfi and the
Saracens.
The Amalfi
Coast. Nowhere do
colours shine with such different, clear tones as on the Amalfi Coast
in Italy, which has always attracted visitors of the greatest
prestige. Set like an incomparable gem in a precious diadem, the
villages scattered along the coast enchants even the most astute
visitor. The Cinque
Terre in Liguria Italy!
Five miles of rocky coast in eastern Liguria, two promontories lie at
each extremity, thousands of kilometres of dry walling, cultivated
into vineyards, five southerly villages castled up on spurs of stone
or disposed in clusters of very small inlets. These are the
co-ordinates of the Cinque Terre (Five lands).
