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Italy is more than the monumental arches of the Colosseum or the Sistine Chapel. This country is many things to many people with sites like St. Peter's Basilica, elegant boutiques lining the Via Condotti and espresso cafes which have become synonymous with the relaxed Italian lifestyle.

Rome is the capital of Italy, Christianity and tourism. It also lays claim to being the most artistic capital in Europe, and it's architecture is an inspiration to all. Florence is bursting with flavor. On the banks of the Arno and encircled by hills, it's a peaceful haven for art lovers of all ages - especially the Renaissance.

Strung together with a network of romantic canals, Venice is an enchanting and wondrous sight filled with masterpieces and treasures from the Orient- it's where Marco Polo called home. Milan is a colorful plate of the world's most latest fashions - a city of intrigue that guards many treasures, including the Duomo, Sforzesco Castle and Leonardo de Vinci's "Last Supper." Visit these cities and more in exciting Italy.

People who love mountains have an extraordinary variety to choose from in Italy – more than 1,500 resorts with 12,000 hotels, pensions and other accommodation. The Dolomites are famous and enchantingly beautiful, and the Tre Cime of Lavaredo, in Cadore on the border of Alto Adige, are equally well known and spectacular. The areas with the greatest number of internationally popular mountain resorts are Trentino, Alto Adige and the Val d’Aosta, but there are well known centres in numerous other regions in Italy. Among the most prestigious and best-equipped winter sports resorts are Cortina d’Ampezzo, Madonna di Campiglio and Courmayeur.

With its 9,000 kilometres of coastline, Italy has some of the most interesting and varied marine scenery in the world – sandy beaches, rocky shores, bays, pine woods, marinas and steep cliffs follow one after the other in more than 600 resorts set in beautiful landscape which tourists love. The Emilia Romagna coastline (Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica etc) is particularly popular thanks not only to its lovely beaches and well-organised hotel industry, but also to the wide range of entertainment that it offers holiday-makers. Another beautiful, well known area is the Costa Smeralda on Sardinia, which attracts celebrities from all over the world, and there are also other enchanting places such as the Amalfi coast, Sanremo and the “Riviera of Flowers”, the Versilia and the northern Adriatic coast.

The romantic and scenic lakes of Italy have always attracted visitors. The beautiful countryside, the Mediterranean vegetation and the mild climate make the lake areas amongst the most thriving health and holiday destinations in Italy. The villages, towns, holiday locations and health resorts scattered along the lakeshores are very popular with tourists. There are regular ferry services linking the main lakeside towns and the islands, which have luxuriant vegetation and traditional buildings. The many grand country houses standing on the lakesides make these areas even more fascinating.

The resorts and towns in the Italian countryside give it great charm and are also a storehouse of art accumulated over the centuries. The countryside in Italy is a favourite destination for nature lovers and offers great variety – hillsides wooded with olive trees and cypresses or vineyards, such as the Chianti area in Tuscany, areas which are loamy or covered with chestnut and beech woods, and others which are wild and dense with Mediterranean maquis, such as the Maremma, around Grosseto. The landscape is wonderful, amongst the most beautiful in the world perhaps, sometimes shaped by man himself as he cultivated the land over the centuries and built the grand country houses and villages which are scattered here and there and make these places particularly attractive.

The Italian islands are easily reached by an excellent network of ferries and have some of the most charming scenery in Italy. The great variety marks a unique natural heritage – at times the coastlines are rocky, wild and impenetrable, while elsewhere there are wide bays with accessible sandy beaches. Typical Mediterranean maquis is found everywhere. The white beaches on Elba, the curative sands of Ischia, the cliffs of Ponza, the black sands of the Eolian islands and the caves and little creeks of the Tremiti islands continue to attract more and more tourists. The islands, such as Capri, are also famous for their elegant resorts and towns, and Capri itself is famous not only for the Faraglioni but also for the quality and chic of its hotels and tourist facilities.

The many national and regional natural parks in Italy now cover more than two and a half million hectares which is equivalent to 9% of the country, and thus occupy vast areas in proportion to the country as a whole. They serve to protect and safeguard a natural heritage of undoubted beauty and also as a means of linking and exploiting the different types of locality which find the cohesion and key resource of their development in the beauty and delicacy of the land. There are, of course, the biggest historical Italian parks, but the Stelvio, the Abruzzo, the Gran Sasso and the Gran Paradiso National Parks must also be mentioned.

The large number of resorts combining natural beauty and effective thermal treatment make Italy one of the main international spa destinations in the world. There are more than 200 centres in Italy scientifically recognised as providing treatment which is highly beneficial to the health. Some, such as Abano Terme and Sirmione, have been known since antiquity and were well known thermal stations in Roman times. The best known are the mud and thermal baths in the well-organised centre of Abano Terme where treatments are carried out in the hotels, the waters at Fiuggi, which you can drink from fountains amidst gardens and fine avenues, as well as Montecatini, Salsomaggiore and Boario. There is also Saturnia with its cascades of sulphurous water – bathing in this makes your skin young and smooth.