Info about Italy

 

Italy has so much to offer; the stunning historical monuments of Rome, the outstanding Renaissance beauty of Florence; the romantic honeymooning ambience of Venice, the stylish boutiques of Milan, Florence, Rome; the sun soaked shores of the Amalfi coast and the rolling hills of Tuscany.
If you are planning a vacation in Italy, you may want to check out the following useful travel resources:

 

	Museums Online - information on museums in Italy by type and location		TrenItalia - official site for the Italian railways with timetables and ticket information
	Vagabondo - the independent traveler's site		Wonderful Italy - directory of sites useful to tourists in Italy
	ENIT - useful travel resources from the Italian State Tourism Board		Ferries Online - timetables for ferry companies working in the Mediterranean Sea
	Italian Motorways - useful site on driving in Italy, with information on the motorway network and toll roads		Italy's Natural Parks - web portal for natural parks, nature reserves and other protected areas in Italy.
	Ministry of Foreign Affairs - information useful to foreign visitors including travel tips

Cities Info

1) Rome - Roma 

Rome is the capital of modern Italy. Rome is full of history everywhere you look. It has many ancient monuments, interesting medieval churches, beautiful fountains, museums, and Renaissance palaces. Modern Rome is a bustling and lively city and has some excellent restaurants and nightlife. The Vatican and St. Peter's are also found in Rome.

more info...

2) Venice - Venezia

Venice is a unique city built on water in the middle of a lagoon. It is considered to be one of Italy's most beautiful and romantic cities. The heart of Venice is Piazza San Marco with its magnificent church. There are many museums, palaces, and churches to visit and wandering along the canals is interesting. Venice is in the northwest of Italy and historically was a bridge between East and West.

3) Florence - Firenze

Florence is one of the most important Renaissance architectural and art centers. Its Duomo and Baptistry are magnificent but crowded with tourists as is their large piazza. Florence has several interesting museums with many famous paintings and sculptures. There are also Medici palaces and gardens. Florence is in Tuscany.

4) Turin - Torino

Turin hosts the winter Olympics in February, 2006. It is a major cultural hub with excellent museums, elegant shops, and good restaurants. There are also some very nice examples of baroque architecture and historic palaces. It has many historic cafes, artisan workshops, and arcades. Turin is in the northeast of Italy, between the Po River and the foothills of the Alps.

5) Milan - Milano

Milan, one of Europe's richest cities, is known for stylish shops, galleries, and restaurants and has a faster pace of life than most Italian cities. It also has a rich artistic and cultural heritage. Its Duomo, with its beautiful marble facade, is magnificent. La Scala is one of the world's most famous opera houses. Milan is in northern Italy, about 30 miles south of the alps, and near Lakes Como and Maggiore.

6) Naples - Napoli

Naples is one of Italy's most vibrant cities. It lies on the coast south of Rome and is the most important city in southern Italy. Naples has recently undergone some renovation but still retains much of its old character. It holds many historical and artistic treasures.

7) Bologna

Bologna is known for its beauty, wealth, cuisine, and left-wing politics. Its streets are lined with beautiful arcades, making it a good place to walk even in the rain. It has one of Europe's oldest universities and a nice medieval center. There are several attractive squares, lined with buildings with nice porticoes. Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy.



8) Perugia

Perugia is a very cosmopolitan city and home to two universities. It hosts a world-famous jazz festival in the summer and its University for Foreigners is a great place to learn Italian. It's a walled city on a hilltop with great views over the valley and has several important monuments and a good central square. Its history goes back to the ninth century BC. Perugia is in the center of Italy and is the capital of the region of Umbria.

9) Genoa - Genova

Genoa, on the northwest coast of Italy, is Italy's principal seaport. Genoa was a 2004 European Culture Capital; money flowed into the port city made famous by Columbus and now it's a better place than ever to visit. Genoa has a fascinating aquarium, an interesting port area, and a historic center said to be the largest medieval quarter in Europe, with a wealth of churches, palaces, and museums.



10) Padua - Padova

Padova is a university city and has some of the best nightlife in the Veneto. It has lively squares and narrow medieval streets and is home to the oldest botanical garden in Europe as well as Giotto's frescoes. Its Basilica of Sant'Antonio is one of Italy's main pilgrim shrines. Not far from Venice, it makes a less expensive base for exploring Venice for a day trip by train.
 

11)  Siena

 Siena (often mispelled "Sienna") may be the best-preserved medieval city in Italy, thanks to its conquest by Florence nearly 500 years ago. While the Florentines were busy launching the Renaissance, the Senese played the role of country cousins--and as a result, Siena (or at least the walled portion of the city) still looks much as it did in the Middle Ages. 

12) Capri

 Twenty miles from Naples, rising abruptly out of the azure gulf, is the little island of Capri, its shape something like a gigantic hour glass. It seems to exercise a peculiar fascination on all visitors to Naples, and few can withstand the temptation of braving the not always pacific Bay of Naples, in order to visit the island which has inspired so many pens. 

13) San Marino

San Marino claims to be the oldest republic in the world, with a history of independence dating back to 301 A.D. It's certainly the smallest country you're likely to visit; the total area is just 24 square miles (61 sq. km.), or about 1/3 the size of Washington, D.C. 

14) Lucca

The walls around the old town remained intact as the city expanded and modernized, unusual for cities in the region. As the walls lost their military importance, they became a pedestrian promenade which encircled the old town, although they were used for a number of years in the 20th century for racing cars. They are still fully intact today; each of the four principal sides is lined with a different tree species.

15) Verona

Verona is famous for its Roman amphitheatre , the Arena , completed around 30 AD, which is the third largest in Italy, after Rome's Colosseum and the arena at Capua . It measures 139 meters long and 110 meters wide, and could seat some 25,000 spectators in its 44 tiers of marble seats.

16) Palermo

Palermo was founded in the 8th century BC by Phoenician tradesmen around a natural harbour on the north-western coast of Sicily.

17) Pisa

Pisa's origins are unknown. The city lies at the junction of two rivers, Arno and Auser (now disappeared) in the Ligurian Sea forming a laguna area. The Pelasgi , the Greeks , the Etruscans and the Ligurians have variously been proposed as founders of the city.

18) Ferrara

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna , Italy , capital city of the province of Ferrara .
It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna , on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River , located 5 km north.

map of italy, venice italy, rome italy, florence italy, italy tour, italy flag, italy hotel, italy weather, italy vacation, little italy, rome italy hotel, naples italy, milan italy, florence italy rental, yahoo italy, maggianos little italy, picture of italy, flight to italy, venice italy hotel, florence italy lodging, car rental italy, italy eyewitness travel guide, history of italy, jamies italy, florence italy hotel, map of italy city, italy villa, toscana italy, rome italy weather, italy food, lonely planet italy, italy beach, italy soccer, sicily italy, italy music, fact about italy, 2007 italy rick rick steves steves, italy real estate, sorrento italy, rome city italy, world cup italy, italy travel guide, florence italy accommodation, exultet in italy southern apartment florence italy, by hand her humanists, immaculate italy medieval, quattrocento renaissance, selected study text woman works, criticism, crosspaths in italy, literary state theory united, in italy participation pattern political, italy tourism, information on italy, map of rome italy, pompeii italy, siena italy, italy culture, verona italy, capri italy, under the tuscan, sun at home in italy, italy cruise, 2006 italy rick rick steves steves,