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The Italy of today is littered with the relics of more than 3,000 years of history, Although Italy has only been unified since 1861, the rich and complex history of the peninsula has, perhaps more than that of any other country, influenced the course of European development, particularly in the fields of culture and political thought. The most important early settlers in the area were the Etruscans, who had established settlements in northern Italy by the sixth century BC.
Today an atmosphere that ranges from the Armani-wearing-scooter-driving-espresso-drinking buzz of its cities to the quiet, pastoral existence of its hillside olive farms and seaside fishing villages.
Italy is generally divided into Four Parts.
- Northern Italy: The Alpine regions, the Po Plain and the Dolomites. Piedmont and Val d’Aosta contain some of the highest mountains in Europe and are good areas for winter sports. Rivers flow down from the mountains passing through the beautiful Italian Lake District (Maggiore, Como, Garda) to the fertile Po Basin, which extends as far south as the bare slopes of the Appennines, and has long been one of Italy’s most prosperous regions.
- Central Italy: The northern part of the Italian peninsula. Tuscany (Toscana) has a diverse landscape with snow-capped mountains, lush countryside, hills and a long sandy coastline. To the east is Umbria, known as the ‘green heart of Italy’; hilly with broad plains, olive groves and pines, and Le Marche - a region of gentle mountains, rivers and small fertile plains. Further south lies Rome, Italy’s capital city. Within its precincts is the Vatican City.
- Southern Italy: The south is wilder than the north, with mile upon mile of olive trees, cool forests and rolling hills. Campania consists of flat coastal plains and low mountains, stretching along a rocky coast to the Calabrian border. The islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida in the Tyrrhenian Sea are also part of Campania. Puglia, the ‘heel of the boot’, is a landscape of volcanic hills and isolated marshes. Calabria, the ‘toe’, is wild, heavily forested and thinly populated.
- The Islands: Sicily (Sicilia), visible across a 3km (2-mile) strait from mainland Italy, is famed for its active volcano Mount Etna and lava fields. Sardinia (Sardegna) has a mountainous landscape, fine sandy beaches and rocky offshore islands.
Rome - Capital of Italy and the country’s largest city, Rome, littered with relics of over 2000 years of history, exerts an enduring fascination over its countless visitors.
 The monuments of ancient times to the crumbling magnificence of the Colosseum. Nestled into the outskirts of Rome and on the west bank of the Tiber, is the independent Vatican City, the seat of the Pope and home to the famous St Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. The influence of the Holy Catholic Church on the people of Italy is still evident today in a series of holy festivals, carnivals, and parades involving young and old alike in almost every city, town and village.
Siena’s most prosperous era pre-dated the Renaissance and consequently much of the fabric of the city is in the older Gothic and Romanesque styles.
 Located north of Siena, Pisa is famous for its Leaning Tower, a free-standing campanile or bell tower.Closed to the public since 1990, the tower has now reopened following a lengthy restoration project to reduce its tilt. Next to the tower, on Campo dei Miracoli, stand the elegant 11th-century Gothic Cathedral and the Baptistry. Italy's cities reveal awe-inspiring architecture from the curved arches of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.
Home of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Carvaggio and Botticelli, its artworks are a visual delight to all visitors.
From the depths of the canals in Venice, which floats on a series of islands in an Adriatic lagoon, and the bleached sands of San Remo on the Riviera, to the rocky crags of the Alps, Dolomites and Apennines, Italy has everything from beach holidays to luxury mountain ski resorts. Italy’s most sophisticated city, Milan (Milano) is a financial and commercial center of world importance and a rival to Paris in the spheres of modern art and fashion Its international character is marked by a concentration of skyscrapers found nowhere else in Italy Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper, may be viewed at the convent of Santa Maria della Grazie.
The Riviera - This narrow strip of coastline is divided into two sections: the Riviera di Ponente (to the west), from Ventimiglia to Genoa, and the Riviera di Levante (to the east), from Genoa to La Spezia. Here one finds the region’s least exploited beaches. Bologna
One of the oldest cities in Italy and the site of Europe’s oldest university.
Naples- The third-largest Italian city, Naples is famous as the place where pizza was invented.The Amalfi Coast, running from Sorrento to Salerno, is one of Europe’s most beautiful coastlines Sicily strategically situated between Italy and North Africa and with fertile soil and rich coastal fishing grounds.
The most important ancient Greek sites are: the temples of the Valle dei Templi at Agrigénto, said to be better preserved than any in Greece itself; the Greek Theater at Syracuse (where there is also a Roman Amphitheater); and the vast Temple of Apollo at Selinunte. Other notable monuments include the Norman Cathedral at Monreale, containing 1.5 acres of dazzling mosaics, and the Byzantine cliff dwellings atCavad’Ispica near Modica. Palermo The capital, is a splendid city in a grand style, opulent, vital and full of remarkable architecture, particularly Norman and Baroque.
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