Cuisine, nature and history – in a word, Italy
When talking about tourism in Italy, it’s very difficult to even pin point a place to start – the Italian peninsula has so much to offer in terms of culture and nature, that one can spend a lifetime in it and still not be able to see everything. Rome, Milan and Firenze each compete for the symbolic title of the “world’s cultural capital”, the Amalfi coast is one of the wonders of our planet, and Piedmonts Alps are home to thousands of ski-lovers every winter. So where should one start their tour of Italy?
A good place to take off is Rome; or Milan, for that matter. Both served by major international airports, they are riddled with exquisite monuments (the Coliseum in the capital and the Dome, in Milan, just to name two), rich cuisine and bustling shopping streets. A walk in the evening in the streets near Piazza Navona, in Italy’s capital, will melt your heart for sure.
The next stop in your journey should be Tuscany. The regional capital, Firenze, has for centuries been considered Italy’s cultural power center, with the likes of the Di Medici family funding artists and thinkers when others in Europe were burning them at the stake. The Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery and the Statue of David (by Michelangelo) are not to be missed here. A stick’s throw away, there’s Pisa, with its world-famous leaning tower waiting for you to do goofy pictures with it.
A trip to the country’s main islands, Sardinia and Sicily is also worth a try: these two Mediterranean unique societies have recently seen a tourist surge. Sardinia’s northern beaches provide a unique opportunity for scuba diving (yeah, in Europe, you heard me), while Sicily’s Taormina can truly be considered a corner of Heaven on Earth. If you do end up in Sicily, be sure to go and see some lava, on Etna’s Valle del Bove.
The last stop on your tour should be way up north, on the banks of the Como and Garda lakes. These two water surfaces guarded by the Italian Alps provide a spectacular end to your journey around Italy. It is not a coincidence that the rich of the world have bought properties around these lakes – they say the air here is among the freshest on our planet.
To end our journey, it’s worth to say that cuisine differs a lot from region to region (despite what people commonly think) – Sicilia has its Granita and volcano-shaped pastries, the North has the veal and the wine, Naples has the pizza – do try them while travelling around. Nothing more to say than: Buon Viaggio!
