I love Italy, and have been fortunate enough to go there many times for pleasure and business.

Beautiful country, wonderful people, delicious cuisine, endless beaches, Mediterranean climate and lots of history…

You can’t go wrong going there on vacation.

There is so much discover – it’s beyond anybody’s imagination.

I hope you enjoy reading my article about Italy that will give you an idea about this amazing country. 

In this article you will learn interesting facts about Italian history, geography, religion, cities, famous travel destinations and much more…. *****************************************************

Italy is one of Europe’s most complex and alluring destinations.

A modern, industrialized nation, with an artistic and architectural legacy that few other countries can rival.

It is also a Mediterranean country with a southern European sensibility, where traditional attitudes still prevail.

Thriving small businesses contribute to strong regional identities, helping Italy avoid some of the bland effects of globalization.

In towns and villages all over the country, life grinds to a halt in the middle of the day for a long lunch, and is strongly family-oriented with an emphasis on the traditions of the Catholic Church, which notwithstanding a growing skepticism among the country’s youth, still dominates people’s lives.

If there is a single national characteristic, it’s to embrace life to the full:

1) in the hundreds of local festivals taking place across the country on any given day, to celebrate a saint or the local harvest

2) in the importance placed on good food

3) in the obsession with clothes and image

4) and above all in the daily domestic ritual of the collective evening stroll or passeggiata – a sociable affair celebrated by young and old alike in every town and village across the country.

Italy only became a unified state in 1861, and, as a result, Italians often feel more loyalty to their region than to the nation as a whole – something manifest in different cuisines, dialects, landscape and often varying standards of living.

There is also, of course, the country’s enormous cultural legacy:

Tuscany alone has more classified historical monuments than any country in the world (!)

There are considerable remnants of the Roman Empire all over the country, notably in Rome itself.

Every region retains its own relics of an artistic tradition generally acknowledged to be among the world’s richest.

Interesting Facts about Italy 

Italy is a peninsula, shaped rather like a boot, jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea.

It covers a surface area of 301,230 square km and includes the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.

The distance from the tip of the country’s “toe” to its northern border is about 1,380 km.

Much of the land is mountainous, the highest point being Mont Blanc (4748 m) in the north.   

1. Italy’s population is nearly 58 million, with around 3 million living in the capital, Rome.

The dominant ethnic group is Italian, with small clusters of German-, French- and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian- and Greek-Italians in the south.

There is also a growing Muslim immigrant community.

2. Italy has been a democratic republic since 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum.

The Parliament consists of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, elected for five-year terms of office.

The President is elected for a seven-year term by a joint session of parliament and regional representatives.

Real power, however, is in the hands of the Prime Minister, who is generally the leader of the party with the biggest majority in the Chamber of Deputies.

Yet there’s no reason to be intimidated by the art and architecture.

If you want to lie on a beach, there are any number of places to do so, from resorts filled with regimented rows of sun beds and umbrellas favored by the Italians themselves, to secluded and less developed spots in the south.

Mountains, too, run the country’s length – from the Alps and Dolomites in the north right along the Apennines, which form the spine of the peninsula – and are an important reference-point for most Italians.

Skiing and other winter sports are practiced avidly, and in the national parks, protected from the national passion for hunting, wildlife of all sorts thrives.

Rome
The Romans have much to be proud of.

They have the wonderful remains from 500 years of being the world’s greatest ancient empire.

Then, there is the heritage of the great popes of the Renaissance and Baroque.

Today, Rome is one of the great wonders of the world. One can feel the profound history the city of Rome possesses.

Thousands head to Rome every year to immerse themselves in the unique city and of course “do as the Roman’s do”.

Whether it is for the historical landmarks, the exquisite food or the irresistible fashion, one cannot resist the temptation of Rome at least once in their lifetime.

Rome is the ageless City.

Quite a different city as well, because of the absolutely opposite styles of art and life that manage to live side by side there: Imperial Rome and Baroque Rome, sophisticated Rome and working-class Rome.

Rome has a long and tempestuous history.

No other city had the attention center of the world for such a long period.

The city more loved of the Roman Empire, lavished with architectural jewelry by her emperors, but also often seized raided and destroyed.

Also fires and earthquakes left their scars, but each time the eternal city recovered from her injuries.

Rome‘s history is strongly related to the history of Europe.

Not just the Roman emperors, but also medieval emperors and kings like Charlemagne or Otto I saw Rome as the true seat of power.

They confronted the new rulers, the popes for the supreme power.

It was the dispute about who was the true representative of God.

Both emperor and pope claimed to be true inheritors of the Roman Empire.

It is said that one life is not enough to get to comprehend Rome.

Maybe you’ll require about ten, as much as the countless stray cats that also occupy the city, but a week will do for a first introduction.

At each corner of each street there’s a story to tell.

Thousands of stories together tell the history of a three thousand year old city.

Two weeks may be enough for a hasty tour through most everything; a month would be better.

Fortunately, Rome (population 2,900,000) is compact enough to skim the best in three (full) days, and if you have more time we guarantee you will find delightful and fulfilling ways to use it.

The most impressive features in Rome comprehend the Trevi fountain (remind Anita Ekberg in the classic scene in La Dolce Vita) and the Spanish Steps, the Roman heritage sights such as the Pantheon, the Coliseum and the Forum Romano, at least some of the world famous churches such as Il Gesu, S. Giovanni in Laterano or Sta. Maria Maggiore.

Make sure not to miss a stroll through the Vatican City with the incredibly huge St. Peter’s Cathedral and the unrivalled Vatican Museum.

The eternal city of Rome has thousands of years of history under its belt. From the Coliseum of Roman times to the Renaissance art of the Trevi Fountain to the modern Stadium Olimpico, there is something for everybody’s interest. 

Venice

Venice is like a beautiful dream that shines on the waters.

It is a city of antique churches and gorgeous painted palaces.

This unique urban masterpiece has canals instead of streets, boats instead of buses, and ornate bridges instead of subways.

A trip to Venice provides an unforgettable glimpse of life’s defining moments played out on watery avenues: weddings, funerals, carnivals and regattas.

Yet, in these opulent surroundings the daily grind continues: commuters pack on to the rush hour vaporetti (waterbuses), dustmen collect rubbish in their refuse boats and fishermen deliver their catch to the market.

Particularly tourists visit Venice to experience its inimitable charm.

The inconvenient of this can be felt in the narrow streets and cramped piazzas of its sought-after areas.

good way to get to know a more personal side of Venice is to saunter through its romantic back streets and residential quarters.

Maybe the only ways of getting around Venice are walking and paying up for the ‘expensive-but-worth-it’ gondola, water bus/taxi or a regular taxi is officially banned in the lagoon city, a bicycle won’t help you much.

The classic gondola ride with the opera-warbling operator is pretty touristy and expensive, but the traghetto is a commuter gondola that crosses the Grand Canal at strategic points.

It’s entirely a balance test for newbies, as you have to stand.

Water taxis (motorboats) are almost as expensive as gondolas, but their pilots don’t wear stripy shirts and sing out ‘O Sole Mio’.

If you are looking for the cheerful bars and restaurants, you can’t go wrong with the area surrounding Campo di Santa Margarita in San Polo.

There you will get an Irish pub, trendy bars that do the limbo, and just plain fun.

The area is visited by students from the University and is buzzing with life during the weekends as market stalls of fish and vegetables open up.

The Venice Carnival

The Venice Carnival, which takes place in February, is the most internationally known festival celebrated in Venice, Italy, as well as  one of the oldest.

This congregation of masked people, called Venice Carnival, began in the 15th century, but the tradition can be traced back to the beginning of the 14th Century.

During those years one of the first laws made by the Serenissima was that masks cannot be used around the city at night.

Later, Venice Carnival attracted foreigners, including princes from all over Europe, who came to enjoy the wild festivities while spending fortunes.

These days the carnival is one of world most famous events.

Florence

Florence is considered one of the most magnificent cities in Italy, as well as the world.

Located in the heart of Tuscany, the tourist can find fields of sunflowers, miles of vineyards, rolling hills and mountaintop castles.

This place is the Renaissance capital of the world.

Its famous sons are Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, Machiavelli, Fra Angelico and Michelangelo.

It is a destination not to be missed.

Florence has an exceptional artistic patrimony, celebrated testimony to its secular civilization.

Cimabue and Giotto were considered the fathers of Italian painting, they lived in this place, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance.

The Italian Renaissance, Europe’s richest cultural period, began in Florence when the artist Brunelleschi finished the Duomo, with the huge dome.

Everyone knows Botticelli and the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Their works are exhibited in the city’s many museums and known around of the world.

Boccaccio wrote his ‘Decameron’ in Florence.  

From the 13th to the 16th century it was a seemingly endless source of creative masterpieces and Italian genius.

During the Italian Renaissance Florence constructed its renaissance palaces and squares, turning it into a living museum.

Many squares, such as Piazza della Signoria exhibit famous statues and fountains.

Probably Florence is a city of incomparable indoor pleasures.

Its chapels, galleries and museums are an incomparable treasure, apprehending the complex, often elusive spirit of the Renaissance more fully than any other place in the country.

The most famous museum in Florence is the Uffizi which houses works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens.

Other great art museums include the Pitti Palace, Galleria dell’Accademia and Palazzo Vecchio.

Florence is also home to some of the biggest churches in Italy, including the famous Duomo of Florence, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce.

The surroundings of Florence have many things to offer to the visitor.

You can explore this region for weeks without being bored. For these day trips the city of Florence is the perfect starting point.

Milan

is the capital of Lombardy, city of business organization and haute couture, the tourist can easily stay weeks without being bored.

Bergamo is only an hour of distance and has an upper Old Town.

On every corner you will observe something new.

Venice and Verona are the most famous tourist attractions in the north-east of Italy, maybe you can think about romantic love affairs here.

Milan is a city that evokes extreme feelings; the city lifestyle is extreme too.

A frenetic, restless rhythm is an element of work and leisure, so much so that it is difficult to stay unmoved and not get overwhelmed by the entire cultural and social stimulus.

Perhaps to this reason, Milan makes itself indispensable, because it is impossible to stay so alive and full of energy when you are away from the city.

Milan is always one step ahead: a laboratory of artistic experiments and a building site for social behavior that is continuously changing.

City full of contradictions, ancient and modern trends and counter-trends, fashion and underground, middle class and working class, but always simply “cool”.

This city is whole about worldly pleasures.

Theater and cinema prosper in this fashionable milieu, as does a hopping club scene and a slew of tempting restaurants.

Apart from a few gems, the city is not renowned for its looks; it’s lifestyle that counts. Shopping is of quasi-religious significance.

Milan is one of the principal artistic centers of Italy of the north.

Some Cultural Centers of Milan:

1. The Duomo, the second largest cathedral of the world and the world’s largest collection of marble statues

2. The Castello Sforzesco

3. The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio

4. The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Lorenzo

5. The Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, containing drawings and notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci among its vast holdings of books, manuscripts, and drawings, and is one of the main repositories of European culture.

The city is also the home of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. 

6. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, housing one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper

7. The Pinacoteca di Brera, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Poldi Pezzoli, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum and the Musei del Castello galleries, which host a great number of pictorial masterpieces.

Milan is also one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala). 

The people can discover easily the beautiful landscapes of Italy.

The Province of Verona can be the most fascinating.

Many persons say that the north-west of Italy is a paradise for every culinary interested traveler.

For the people who adore the wine, Piemonte is related with Barolo and Barbaresco, the most famous wines made out of the Nebbiolo grape.

Turin is the capital of Piemonte. 

This city provides more than just a starting point to visit these wine regions.

Lots of tourist attractions like museums, modern art, music and book fairs make of this city, one of the notable Italian cities concerning cultural life.

At the same time it is a booming industrial and multimedia city.

One of the most popular areas in Italy is Tuscany which is located in central Italy.

Known for its beautiful landscape and picturesque towns and villages including Florence, Lucca, Siena and Cortona.

The Tuscan region is a popular vacation destination with many nice hotels and villas for rent.

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