Itlay

From quaint villages to breathtaking vistas, Italy is a perfect travel destination

Italy, a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s "David" and Brunelleschi's Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.

The country is known for its more than 3,000 years of history, in 753 BC. Rome was founded. Italy was a center of ancient Greco-Roman culture, and in the 15^th century, they invented the Renaissance. Caesar, Galileo, and Columbus were Italians.

The world's first bank was in Genoa, Italy; the first casino was in the Palazzo Dandolo in Venice. The first public opera house opened in Venice in 1637.

Italy is famous for its food, like pizza, pasta, prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, salami, wine, and ice cream (gelato).

There are several types of Italian coffee (espresso etc.) Venice, then a commercial metropolis, was one of the first European ports to import coffee beans in the 16th century.

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Italy is located in southern Europe, and it is also considered a part of western Europe, between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. To the north, Italy borders Switzerland, France, Austria, and Slovenia and is roughly delimited by the Alpine watershed, enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines and the two Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to many smaller islands. The sovereign states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. The country's total area is 301,230 square kilometers (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km2 (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km2 (2,784 sq mi) is water. Including islands, Italy has a coastline of 7,900 km (4,900 mi) on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia, and Strait of Sicily, and borders shared with France (488 km (303 mi)), Austria (430 km (267 mi)), Slovenia (232 km (144 mi)) and Switzerland (740 km (460 mi)). San Marino (39 km (24 mi)) and Vatican City (3.2 km (2.0 mi)), both enclaves, account for the remainder.

CLIMATE

The climate of Italy is influenced by the large body of water of the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds Italy on every side except the north. These seas constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity for Italy. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a particular climate called the Mediterranean climate with local differences due to the geomorphology of the territory, which tends to make its mitigating effects felt, especially in high-pressure conditions.

Because of the length of the peninsula and the mostly mountainous hinterland, the climate of Italy is highly diverse. The inland northern areas of Italy (for example Turin, Milan, and Bologna) have a relatively cool, mid-latitude version of the Humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), while the coastal areas of Liguria and the peninsula south of Florence generally fit the Mediterranean climate profile (Köppen climate classification Csa).

Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer. Between the north and south there can be a considerable difference in temperature, above all during the winter: on some winter days, it can be −2 °C (28 °F) and snowing in Milan, while it is 8 °C (46.4 °F) in Rome and 20 °C (68 °F) in Palermo. Temperature differences are less extreme in the summer.

CULTURE & HERITAGE

Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower. Italian culture is the culture of the Italians, a Romance ethnic group, and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.

Italian culture is commonly associated with art, music, and food. It is the homeland of the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, and the main center of the Renaissance, which flourished throughout Europe for centuries.

When we say Italy, Pizza, Pasta and the famous Rome come to our mind. Italy is worldwide famous for its Art, culture, food, beautiful location, and architecture.

Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (58) to date, and according to one estimate, the country is home to half the world's great art treasures. Overall, the nation has an estimated 100,000 monuments of any sort (churches, cathedrals, archaeological sites, houses, and statues).

It has a rich heritage in art, history, religion, cuisine, architecture, and fashion. These cultural legacies have been deeply influential in defining Western cultural tradition.

HOLIDAYS, TRADITIONS, AND CUISINE

Italy's best travel months are May, June, September, and October. They're also the busiest and most expensive time to visit (with the north remaining just as busy throughout midsummer). Crowds aside, these months combine the convenience of peak season with pleasant weather.

The low season, particularly November, is generally considered to be the most affordable time to go to Italy. Although there is enough to do in Italy to fill a week, we recommend a stay of at least ten days for a complete Italy experience. However, if you've only got a couple of days in Italy, you will still be able to cover many of the main highlights of the country.

Italians go to church regularly, where they pray and share their traditions. Italians embrace any reason to get together with family. They celebrate most Christian holidays, including Christmas and Easter. The Monday after Easter is usually celebrated with family picnics to mark spring's arrival.

Here are 10 of the most popular Italian festivals that you must attend during your vacation in this European country.

1. Carnevale

2. Palio di Siena

3. Battle Of Oranges

4. Game Of The Bridge

5. Infiorata Festival

6. Easter Procession/Procession Of Mysteries

7. Regatta

8. La Quintana

9. Oh Bej! Oh Bej!

10. Festa Della Madonna Bruna

Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula since antiquity, and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common to the whole country, as well as all the regional gastronomies, different from each other, especially between the north, the center, and the south of Italy, which are in continuous exchange.  Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Italian cuisine offers an abundance of taste and has influenced several other cuisines around the world, chiefly that of the United States. 

TOURISM

Tourism in Italy is one of the economic sectors of the country.

With 65 million tourists per year (2019) according to ISTAT, Italy is the fifth most visited country in international tourism arrivals, but the second after Spain in terms of nights spent in the hotel, with 220,7 million foreign visitor nights spent and a total of 436,7 million nights. According to 2018 estimates by the Bank of Italy, the tourism sector directly generates more than five percent of the national GDP (13 percent when also considering the indirectly generated GDP) and represents over six percent of the employed.

People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to visit the peninsula for tourist reasons were aristocrats during the Grand Tour, beginning in the 17th century, and flourishing in the 18th and 19th century. This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British and French, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.[6] For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, and local culture and to admire the natural beauties.

Nowadays the factors of tourist interest in Italy are mainly culture, cuisine, history, fashion, architecture, art, religious sites and routes, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites, and spas. Winter and summer tourism is present in many locations in the Alps and the Apennines, while seaside tourism is widespread in coastal locations along the Mediterranean Sea. Rome is the 3rd most visited city in Europe and the 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals in 2017 while Milan is the 27th worldwide with 6.8 million tourists. In addition, Venice and Florence are also among the world's top 100 destinations. Italy is also the country with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world (58). Out of Italy's 58 heritage sites, 53 are cultural and 5 are natural.

The Roman Empire, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the following centuries of the history of Italy have left many cultural artifacts that attract tourists. In general, the Italian cultural heritage is the largest in the world since it consists of 60 to 75 percent of all the art assets that exist on each continent, with over 4,000 museums, 6,000 archaeological sites, 85,000 historic churches, and 40,000 historic palaces, all subject to protection by the Italian Ministry of Culture. As of 2018, the Italian places of culture (which include museums, attractions, parks, archives, and libraries) amounted to 6,610. Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean Sea.

In Italy there is a broad variety of hotels, going from 1-5 stars. According to ISTAT, in 2017, there were 32,988 hotels with 1,133,452 rooms and 2,239,446 beds. As for non-hotel facilities (campsites, tourist villages, accommodations for rent, agritourism, etc.), in 2017 their number was 171,915 with 2,798,352 beds. The tourist flow to coastal resorts is 53 percent; the best-equipped cities are Grosseto for farmhouses (217), Vieste for campsites and tourist villages (84), and Cortina d'Ampezzo mountain huts (20)

TOP 10 TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ITALY

Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world. High art and monuments are to be found everywhere around the country. Its great cities of art, like Rome, Venice, and Florence are world-famous and have been attracting visitors for centuries. Besides its art treasures, Italy also features beautiful coasts, alpine lakes, and mountains. No wonder it is often nicknamed the Bel Paese (beautiful country).

With so many amazing sights, putting together a compilation of things to do is no easy task. The following list of top tourist attractions in Italy however should give a good indication of why over 40 million foreign tourists visit this country every year.

1. COLOSSEUM IN ROME

The Colosseum in Rome is the largest and most famous amphitheater in the Roman world. Its construction was started by emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty in 72 AD and was finished by his son Titus in 80 AD.

The Colosseum was capable of holding some 50,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances. Spectators were protected from the rain and heat of the sun by sails called the “velarium”, which was attached around the top of the attic.

2. GRAND CANAL IN VENICE

Referred to as “The City of Water”, Venice is the crown jewel of water cities. Though, Venice has decayed since its heyday and has more tourists than residents, with its romantic charm it remains one of the top tourist attractions in Italy. The central waterway in the city is the Grand Canal, and it snakes its way through the city between the lagoon and the Saint Mark Basin.

While strolling through Venice offers plenty of opportunities to see the Grand Canal, the best way to experience it is on the water. Locals get around via the water buses called vaporetti, but many travelers prefer private water taxis or even the romantic gondola.

3. SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE IN FLORENCE

Begun in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed in 1436, The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is Florence’s beautiful cathedral and symbol of the city. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.

The basilica is one of Italy’s largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

4. PIAZZA DEL CAMPO IN SIENA

One of Europe’s greatest medieval squares, the Piazza del Campo is the principal public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and its famous tower, as well as various palazzi signori belonging to the wealthiest of Siena families, surround the shell-shaped piazza.

The twice-per-year horse race, Palio di Siena, involves circling the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of dirt has been laid, three times and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds.

5. POMPEII

On August 24, 79 AD, the volcano Vesuvius erupted, covering the nearby town of Pompeii with ash and soil, and subsequently preserving the city in its state from that fateful day. Everything from jars and tables to paintings and people was frozen in time.

Its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of people living two thousand years ago. Today Pompeii is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.

6. POSITANO

Positano is a small town located on the Amalfi Coast, a stretch of coastline renowned for its rugged terrain, scenic beauty, picturesque towns, and diversity. The city seems to be scattered from top to bottom down a hillside leading to the coast.

Though Positano grew and prospered in medieval times, by the mid-19th more than half of the population was gone. In the 20th century it went from being a poor fishing village to a very popular tourist attraction with the help of author John Steinbeck who wrote about its beauty.

7. LAKE COMO

Lake Como is part of the Italian Lake District an area popular with visitors for well over 100 years for its combination of fresh air, water, mountains, and good weather. The lake is shaped much like an inverted ‘Y’, with two branches starting at Como in the southwest and Lecco in the southeast, which join together halfway up and the lake continues up to Colico in the north.

The lake is famous for the attractive villas which have been built here since Roman times. Many have admirable gardens which benefit from the mild climate and are able to include tropical as well as temperate plants.

8. LEANING TOWER OF PISA

The world-famous Pisa Tower was built over a period of about 177 years. Soon after the construction started in 1173 the tower began to sink due to a poorly laid foundation and was left alone for almost a century.

When the construction resumed the engineers built higher floors with one side taller than the other to compensate for the tilt and the tower was finally finished in the 2nd half of the 14th century. Since 2001, the famous tower in Pisa is again open to those wishing to climb its 296 steps.

9. MANAROLA

Nestled in the Italian Riviera, Manarola is one of the oldest towns in Cinque Terre. The “Five Lands” comprises five villages noted for their beauty. Part of the Cinque Terre charm is the lack of visible modern development. Paths, trains, and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The towns sprout out of the mountainside to provide a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea.

10. SAN GIMIGNANO

Nicknamed the medieval Manhatten, San Gimignano is a village in Tuscany famous for its 14 stone towers. At the height of San Gimignano’s wealth and power, more than 70 towers were built to defend the town against enemy attacks.

After the plague devastated the city in 1348, San Gimignano’s power faded, which kept enemies away and preserved many of the city’s medieval towers.