Trips to Italy

Rome- credit: Laura Padgett

There are many reasons to vacation in Italy: museums and ruins, Florence and Venice, pizza and pasta. But if you dare to leave the well-worn path you’re bound to discover some of Italy’s hidden jewels.

In Italy you find more than half of the art works and sights of the entire world. They are also varied, as they are expression of various historical eras, covering nearly 2,800 years. They are also the result of different societies and political realities. Half of this legacy can be found in Rome.

The Italian civilization was the first to stress the importance of cities. No other country in the world has so many towns, so different, so rich in art and history, and so beautiful.

Farm House in Trentino, Northern Italy- credit: ezioman

All over Italy, in picturesque hilltop hamlets where feudal counts once housed their serfs and stored their oil and wine, holidaymakers can now enjoy the comforts of modern living.

There are hundreds of these ”agriturismo” (Farm Houses) enterprises whose owners seek to secure the future of their estates by renting out accommodation.

Patient and curious travellers will discover villages that have hardly changed in the last 500 years, see wine and cheese being made, or walk on the stone-paved roads of the ancient Romans.

Via Ferrata in the Dolomites - credit: Charles Masters

For walkers with a real head for heights, there are opportunities to join guided groups tackling some of Italy’s vie ferrate (iron ways) in Dolomites. Built to aid troop movement through the Dolomites during the First World War, these footpaths use fixed cables and steel ladders to help walkers climb rock faces and traverse narrow ledges.

Palermo, Sicily - credit: Vanbest

Separated from the mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina, Sicily is an exotic island, in west of the southern end of the Italian peninsula, in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily also includes the Aeolian Islands, the Egadi Islands, the Lipari Islands, the Pelagie Islands, the Pantelleria Island, and Ustica Island.

Lying on the Arno River, Florence is the ‘Renaissance capital’ of the art world. Often dubbed as “Athens of Italy,” Florence was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. It is a destination for art lovers.

Gargano Long Beach - credit: nataledirodi

Apulia and Gargano. It’s the heel of the Italian “boot” (Also called Salento peninsula) The region is rich of natural resources and parks. Gargano offers different natural environments. It’s a place where find the routes of migratory birds between Europe and Africa.

Alpi Apuane - credit: bettola

Italy is not only famous for its cultural patrimony, arts, great cuisine or beaches…it’s also one of the biggest outdoor adventure destination of Europe.

You can practice different types of activities:

• Trekking
• Mountain biking
• Horseback riding
• Winter sports