Italy - overview
Italy is a modern, industrialized nation;
it is the forerunner of style, its designers
leading the way with each season's fashions,
it is strongly family-oriented, with an emphasis
on the traditions and rituals of the Catholic
Church, and also largely agricultural. But
it is also a Mediterranean country, with
all that it implies.
Italy stretches from the snow-covered Alps
in the North to the sun-kissed island of
Sicily in the extreme South. Italy has some
truly spectacular natural landscapes: the
deep blue waters of the Mediterranean offer
one of Europe's most beautiful stretches
of sand, sea and sunshine, while the snow-covered
slopes of the mountains of the Italian Alps
make for a fabulous retreat for winter sports
enthusiasts.
Rome combines a sense of living history with
a bustling, lively capital city. It is endlessly
fascinating, utterly compelling and a feast
for the eye with fountains, churches, palaces
and ancient monuments at every turn. From
the awesome splendour of the Colosseum, the
Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain,
the Spanish Steps, the Vatican and St. Peter’s
Basilica oozes romance and excitement. Visitors
come to Milan for its fashion, cuisine, opera,
church, Renaissance castle and da Vinci's
Last Supper fresco. But this is very much
a working city, the country's business and
finance capital.
Other cities not to be missed are Venice,
with it’s maze of canals, mysterious narrow
streets, wonderful bridges and impressive
architecture. Florence, the jewel of the
Italian Renaissance, is one of the world's
great historic cities. It is a commercial,
industrial, and tourist centre full of art
galleries and fabulous architecture. |
