There is a great deal of variety in the landscape of Italy, although it is characterised predominantly by two mountain chains: the Alps and the Apennines.
The former extends over 600 miles from east to west.
It consists of great massifs in the western sector, with peaks rising to over 14,000 feet, including Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc), Monte Rosa and Cervino (the Matterhorn).
The height of the chain is lower in the eastern sector, although the mountains are still of an extraordinary beauty (the Dolomites).
At the foot of the Alpine arc stretches the vast Po Valley plain, cut down the middle by the course of the river Po, the longest in Italy (390 miles), which has its source in the Pian de Re (Monviso) and flows into the Adriatic through a magnificent delta. The Alpine foothills are characterised by large lakes: Lake Maggiore and the lakes of Como, Iseo and Garda.
The Apennines form the backbone of the peninsula, stretching in a wide arc concave to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Corno Grande (Gran Sasso d’Italia) is the highest peak. A large part of central Italy is characterised by a green hilly landscape, through which the rivers Arno and Tiber run and some lakes such as Trasimeno, Bolsena and Bracciano.
The southern section of the chain pushes out to the east forming the Gargano promontory and, sloping down further south, the Salentine peninsula.
It then proceeds to the west with the Calabrian and Peloritano massif stretching across the Strait of Messina into Sicily.
Volcanoes
Mount Etna - active (in Sicily between Catania and Messina, altitude 3323 metres); Vesuvio (in Campania near Naples, 1281 metres); Stromboli – active (Aeolian Islands, 924 metres); Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, 391 metres).
The Italian cities
After Rome, the other regional capitals of Italy are Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Trieste, Aosta, Milan (Milano), Venice (Venezia), Turin (Torino), Bologna, Genoa (Genova), Florence (Firenze), Ancona, Perugia, L’Aquila, Campobasso, Naples (Napoli), Potenza, Bari, Catanzaro, Palermo and Cagliari.
These cities are important not only for their size and population, but also for their history, the fame and wealth of their monuments and museums, and the natural beauties of which almost all of them can boast, as well as the intensity of their social and economic life.
Each of Italy’s main cities jealously guards its own character, its citizens taking special pride in their history, art, food and commerce.
Sprawling Milan is the industrial, banking and fashion capital of Italy and an art and culture centre.
Turin (Torino), at the foot of the Alps, is well known for the manufacture of cars and its baroque architecture.
Genoa (Genova), birthplace of Columbus, has been Italy’s most important port since Roman times.
Venice (Venezia) floats dream-like on canals and lagoons.
Trieste is a bustling and attractive port.
Trento is an historic old city that has had many battles fought for it.
Bologna is famous for its University and gastronomy.
Florence (Firenze), “the cradle of the Renaissance” is an Art City to rival any in the world.
Ancona, the main town (of the Adriatic region) of the Marche, is a beautifully situated seaside city.
Perugia, the hilltop queen of the Tiber plain, is the seat of the University for Foreigners.
L’Aquila, crisscrossed by steep streets, is a mountain centre in the Apennines.
Naples (Napoli), on its famous blue bay, is the great city of the South.
Bari, where the bones of St. Nicholas lie, is a modem city surrounding a tiny medieval town.
Palermo, major town of Sicily, merges Norman and Arab history and culture.
Cagliari, the chief town of Sardinia, bears the stamp of a long and varied history.
The Italian seas
Italy is a peninsular in the Mediterranean Sea, with a coastline of more than 5,310 miles.
Rocky, wooded cliffs are indented by an infinite variety of beaches and bays.
Along the full length of Liguria extend the two Italian Rivieras with Genoa (Genova) in the middle.
To the west, almost an extension of the French Côte d’ Azur, is the Ponente including such famous seaside resorts as San Remo, Alassio and Varazze.
The eastern (Levante) Riviera boasts Nervi, Portofino, Santa Margherita, Rapallo and Sestri Levante.
Other beaches popular with foreign visitors are Forte dei Marmi, Viareggio, Castiglioncello, Porto Santo Stefano, Porto Ercole and the Island of Elba in Tuscany; Ostia - Lido of Rome (Roma), Fregene, Anzio, Nettuno in Lazio; Capri, Sorrento and the Island of Ischia, Positano, Amalfi and Maiori on the Gulf of Naples (Napoli) and Salerno; Sardinia; and from North to South along the Adriatic Coast: Grado, the Lido of Venice (Venezia), the Lido of Jesolo, Lignano Sabbiadoro and then the enchanting string of towns along the Coast of Romagna, among which Milano Maritima, Cervia, Rimini, Riccione and Cattolica stand out.
On the coast of Apulia, one finds the Lido of Siponto on the Gulf of Manfredonia, the Gargano peninsula and the Tremiti Islands.
The Italian mountains
The Alps: The highest and the most fascinating mountains in Europe, the Alps separate Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.
Almost all of the sunny southern slopes are in Italian territory.
The highest peaks include Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, the Cervino and the Gran Paradiso.
These giants are all found in the Valle d’Aosta, which is not only unique, but perhaps the most beautiful in the whole Alpine range.
It is a magic realm for the tourist with mountain climbing, holiday and winter sports centres.
Among the most famous of which are Cervinia and Courmayeur. The Valle d’Aosta is rich in magnificent natural scenery, monuments and castles.
The Dolomites: To the east between the valleys of the Adige and Piave rivers lie the Dolomites – the entire alpine range.
A happy combination of factors has made the whole region – Trentino, Alto Adige, an immense park of natural beauty.
And although it’s the northernmost zone of Italy, it is one of the most favoured for its constant good weather and the frequency of its warm and sunny days.
As a consequence, the fame of the Dolomites is worldwide.
Around such centres of international renown such as Merano, Madonna di Campiglio, Canazei, Ortisei and Cortina d’Ampezzo have sprung up a host of smaller summer holiday and winter sports centres, health resorts and spas.
These resorts can be found in the valleys, on the gentle uplands and beside the famous Alpine Lakes.
Thanks to up-to-date transport facilities, cable cars and chair lifts, tourists can reach the highest and most celebrated viewpoints with ease.
The Apennines: “The backbone of Italy” runs the full length of the peninsula, from the hills of Cadibona (near Savona) down into Calabria.
The Apennines reach their highest point in the Gran Sasso (9,558 feet) which, along with the Maiella (9,151 feet), forms a magnificent winter sports area.
Variously named from north to south – the Apennines in Emilia and Tuscany, the Apuan Alps north of Lucca, the Lattari Mountains between the Gulf of Naples and Salerno, the Matese Mountains also in Campania, the Sila in Calabria and Aspromonte, the southern tip of the Apennines.
The mountains of Sicily and Sardinia repeat the natural beauties of the Alps and the Apennines, Etna, an active volcano on Sicily’s eastern coast and snow-capped most of the year, epitomises the incomparable contrast of nature, which is the miracle of Italy.
The Italian lakes
Mirroring the snow-covered Alps that surround them, the lakes of Lombardy are the first magic wonder welcoming to Italy the tourist who enters from the Simplon, St. Gothard or Spluga Passes through the mountains.
The three largest lakes are Maggiore (82 sq. miles.), Como (56 sq. miles), and Garda (143 sq. miles).
These, along with the smaller lakes, Orta, Iseo and Idro constitute a second Riviera of resorts with fine hotels and villas on their shores that provide a busy season of swimming, sailing, golf and tennis from early spring to the late mild autumn.
Jewel-like smaller lakes scattered among the valleys of the Alps include Caldonazzo, Molveno, Levico, Carezza, Misurina and Santa Croce.
Boating, bathing and fishing are specialities of lakes in central and southern Italy: Trasimeno in Umbria, Bolsena, Bracciano, Nemi, Albano in Lazio; Lucrino and Fusaro near Naples; and Varano and Lesina in Apulia.
The Italian Spas
The restorative powers of the mineral waters and mud baths that bubble up from Italian springs – many of volcanic origin – have been renowned since Roman times, and the remains of Roman baths are still to be seen in a number of watering places.
The accent on rest and recreation has made many spas into fashionable resort centres with excellent hotels, golf courses and theatres.
The best known spas are Acqui, St.Vincent and Lurisia in Piedmont; San Pellegrino, Salice Terme, Bagni di Bormio and Sirmione in Lombardy; Abano and Montegrotto in Veneto; Merano in Alto Adige; Roncegno and Levico in Trentino; Salsomaggiore in Emilia; Montecatini and Chianciano in Tuscany; Fiuggi, close to Rome; Agnano, Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, Ischia Porto on the island of Ischia and Sciacca in Sicily.
The Italian food
It is estimated that every year more than two million tourists visit the Italian countryside and its famous wine cellars.
The gastronomy, which is extremely popular in its simple and genuine tastes, takes its origin from a large range of products offered in great quantity from nature reflecting the warm climate of our land.
Autumn is the favoured season for enoturismo, which has become very popular owing to the growth of wine routes. There are itineraries which include visits to wine cellars with their own vineyards opened to the public.
There are also historical buildings and museums where the tourist can taste various home-made products.
However, as well as the official wine routes, the visitor also has an opportunity to make his or her own wine route discovery on the basis of individual taste and preference.
The wine regions provide an enormous wealth for Italy and they should be explored.
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There is a great deal of variety in the landscape of Italy, although it is characterised predominantly by two mountain chains: the Alps and the Apennines.
The former extends over 600 miles from east to west.
It consists of great massifs in the western sector, with peaks rising to over 14,000 feet, including Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc), Monte Rosa and Cervino (the Matterhorn).
The height of the chain is lower in the eastern sector, although the mountains are still of an extraordinary beauty (the Dolomites).
At the foot of the Alpine arc stretches the vast Po Valley plain, cut down the middle by the course of the river Po, the longest in Italy (390 miles), which has its source in the Pian de Re (Monviso) and flows into the Adriatic through a magnificent delta. The Alpine foothills are characterised by large lakes: Lake Maggiore and the lakes of Como, Iseo and Garda.
The Apennines form the backbone of the peninsula, stretching in a wide arc concave to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Corno Grande (Gran Sasso d’Italia) is the highest peak. A large part of central Italy is characterised by a green hilly landscape, through which the rivers Arno and Tiber run and some lakes such as Trasimeno, Bolsena and Bracciano.
The southern section of the chain pushes out to the east forming the Gargano promontory and, sloping down further south, the Salentine peninsula.
It then proceeds to the west with the Calabrian and Peloritano massif stretching across the Strait of Messina into Sicily.
After Rome, the other regional capitals of Italy are Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Trieste, Aosta, Milan (Milano), Venice (Venezia), Turin (Torino), Bologna, Genoa (Genova), Florence (Firenze), Ancona, Perugia, L’Aquila, Campobasso, Naples (Napoli), Potenza, Bari, Catanzaro, Palermo and Cagliari.
These cities are important not only for their size and population, but also for their history, the fame and wealth of their monuments and museums, and the natural beauties of which almost all of them can boast, as well as the intensity of their social and economic life.
Each of Italy’s main cities jealously guards its own character, its citizens taking special pride in their history, art, food and commerce.
Sprawling Milan is the industrial, banking and fashion capital of Italy and an art and culture centre.
Turin (Torino), at the foot of the Alps, is well known for the manufacture of cars and its baroque architecture.
Genoa (Genova), birthplace of Columbus, has been Italy’s most important port since Roman times.
Venice (Venezia) floats dream-like on canals and lagoons.
Trieste is a bustling and attractive port.
Trento is an historic old city that has had many battles fought for it.
Bologna is famous for its University and gastronomy.
Florence (Firenze), “the cradle of the Renaissance” is an Art City to rival any in the world.
Ancona, the main town (of the Adriatic region) of the Marche, is a beautifully situated seaside city.
Perugia, the hilltop queen of the Tiber plain, is the seat of the University for Foreigners.
L’Aquila, crisscrossed by steep streets, is a mountain centre in the Apennines.
Naples (Napoli), on its famous blue bay, is the great city of the South.
Bari, where the bones of St. Nicholas lie, is a modem city surrounding a tiny medieval town.
Palermo, major town of Sicily, merges Norman and Arab history and culture.
Cagliari, the chief town of Sardinia, bears the stamp of a long and varied history.
Italy is a peninsular in the Mediterranean Sea, with a coastline of more than 5,310 miles.
Rocky, wooded cliffs are indented by an infinite variety of beaches and bays.
Along the full length of Liguria extend the two Italian Rivieras with Genoa (Genova) in the middle.
To the west, almost an extension of the French Côte d’ Azur, is the Ponente including such famous seaside resorts as San Remo, Alassio and Varazze.
The eastern (Levante) Riviera boasts Nervi, Portofino, Santa Margherita, Rapallo and Sestri Levante.
Other beaches popular with foreign visitors are Forte dei Marmi, Viareggio, Castiglioncello, Porto Santo Stefano, Porto Ercole and the Island of Elba in Tuscany; Ostia - Lido of Rome (Roma), Fregene, Anzio, Nettuno in Lazio; Capri, Sorrento and the Island of Ischia, Positano, Amalfi and Maiori on the Gulf of Naples (Napoli) and Salerno; Sardinia; and from North to South along the Adriatic Coast: Grado, the Lido of Venice (Venezia), the Lido of Jesolo, Lignano Sabbiadoro and then the enchanting string of towns along the Coast of Romagna, among which Milano Maritima, Cervia, Rimini, Riccione and Cattolica stand out.
On the coast of Apulia, one finds the Lido of Siponto on the Gulf of Manfredonia, the Gargano peninsula and the Tremiti Islands.
The Alps: The highest and the most fascinating mountains in Europe, the Alps separate Italy from France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.
Almost all of the sunny southern slopes are in Italian territory.
The highest peaks include Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, the Cervino and the Gran Paradiso.
These giants are all found in the Valle d’Aosta, which is not only unique, but perhaps the most beautiful in the whole Alpine range.
It is a magic realm for the tourist with mountain climbing, holiday and winter sports centres.
Among the most famous of which are Cervinia and Courmayeur. The Valle d’Aosta is rich in magnificent natural scenery, monuments and castles.
The Dolomites: To the east between the valleys of the Adige and Piave rivers lie the Dolomites – the entire alpine range.
A happy combination of factors has made the whole region – Trentino, Alto Adige, an immense park of natural beauty.
And although it’s the northernmost zone of Italy, it is one of the most favoured for its constant good weather and the frequency of its warm and sunny days.
As a consequence, the fame of the Dolomites is worldwide.
Around such centres of international renown such as Merano, Madonna di Campiglio, Canazei, Ortisei and Cortina d’Ampezzo have sprung up a host of smaller summer holiday and winter sports centres, health resorts and spas.
These resorts can be found in the valleys, on the gentle uplands and beside the famous Alpine Lakes.
Thanks to up-to-date transport facilities, cable cars and chair lifts, tourists can reach the highest and most celebrated viewpoints with ease.
The Apennines: “The backbone of Italy” runs the full length of the peninsula, from the hills of Cadibona (near Savona) down into Calabria.
The Apennines reach their highest point in the Gran Sasso (9,558 feet) which, along with the Maiella (9,151 feet), forms a magnificent winter sports area.
Variously named from north to south – the Apennines in Emilia and Tuscany, the Apuan Alps north of Lucca, the Lattari Mountains between the Gulf of Naples and Salerno, the Matese Mountains also in Campania, the Sila in Calabria and Aspromonte, the southern tip of the Apennines.
The mountains of Sicily and Sardinia repeat the natural beauties of the Alps and the Apennines, Etna, an active volcano on Sicily’s eastern coast and snow-capped most of the year, epitomises the incomparable contrast of nature, which is the miracle of Italy.
Mirroring the snow-covered Alps that surround them, the lakes of Lombardy are the first magic wonder welcoming to Italy the tourist who enters from the Simplon, St. Gothard or Spluga Passes through the mountains.
The three largest lakes are Maggiore (82 sq. miles.), Como (56 sq. miles), and Garda (143 sq. miles).
These, along with the smaller lakes, Orta, Iseo and Idro constitute a second Riviera of resorts with fine hotels and villas on their shores that provide a busy season of swimming, sailing, golf and tennis from early spring to the late mild autumn.
Jewel-like smaller lakes scattered among the valleys of the Alps include Caldonazzo, Molveno, Levico, Carezza, Misurina and Santa Croce.
Boating, bathing and fishing are specialities of lakes in central and southern Italy: Trasimeno in Umbria, Bolsena, Bracciano, Nemi, Albano in Lazio; Lucrino and Fusaro near Naples; and Varano and Lesina in Apulia.
The restorative powers of the mineral waters and mud baths that bubble up from Italian springs – many of volcanic origin – have been renowned since Roman times, and the remains of Roman baths are still to be seen in a number of watering places.
The accent on rest and recreation has made many spas into fashionable resort centres with excellent hotels, golf courses and theatres.
The best known spas are Acqui, St.Vincent and Lurisia in Piedmont; San Pellegrino, Salice Terme, Bagni di Bormio and Sirmione in Lombardy; Abano and Montegrotto in Veneto; Merano in Alto Adige; Roncegno and Levico in Trentino; Salsomaggiore in Emilia; Montecatini and Chianciano in Tuscany; Fiuggi, close to Rome; Agnano, Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, Ischia Porto on the island of Ischia and Sciacca in Sicily.
It is estimated that every year more than two million tourists visit the Italian countryside and its famous wine cellars.
The gastronomy, which is extremely popular in its simple and genuine tastes, takes its origin from a large range of products offered in great quantity from nature reflecting the warm climate of our land.
Autumn is the favoured season for enoturismo, which has become very popular owing to the growth of wine routes. There are itineraries which include visits to wine cellars with their own vineyards opened to the public.
There are also historical buildings and museums where the tourist can taste various home-made products.
However, as well as the official wine routes, the visitor also has an opportunity to make his or her own wine route discovery on the basis of individual taste and preference.
The wine regions provide an enormous wealth for Italy and they should be explored.
