Italy

Few things capture the quintessential easy glamour of Italian culture more than the sight of Anita Ekberg taking a sultry swim in Rome’s Trevi Fountain, a pivotal scene in Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita. Indeed, Italians truly have discovered the sweet life, and in addition to inventing the Renaissance, the opera, Lavazzo espresso, pasta, and, arguably, contemporary haute fashion, Italy’s biggest global export might just be a luxe frame of mind.

Many of history’s great artists and art movements originated here, and today ‘Europe’s boot’continues to draw creatives in flocks as it is the home of both Milan’s Salone del Mobile andthe Venice Biennale, two of the world’s largest design fairs. Venice will always be one of Italy’s biggest draws, its watery world of canals, bridges and crumbling palaces giving way to major works of art and architecture, well-known landmarks being St Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace. 

With the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, it’s hard to find an area that isn’t rich with art, monuments, castles or even entire medieval villages like in the wonderfully romantic Tuscany, where its natural beauty and historic buildings are only matched by its incredible foodie creations and traditional wine culture. Sister region Umbria is a little under the radar, yet its culture runs deep with one of the oldest university towns - Perugia and perhaps the world’s most benevolent saint found at Assisi amid a cuisine that forages from the earth for rich ingredients like truffles, porcini and legumes.

Similarly, the southern stretch of Puglia, where the sun beats strong, is a region that celebrates its culinary genius with understated cucina povera and gleaming olive oil and a coastline that is Italy’s longest, dotted with rocky coves, azure water and clifftop towns with their own architectural style from the humble masseria farmhouse to the Baroque cathedral and tufty trulli towns.

Wander off the beaten tourist path and visit the north, which boasts the beautiful coastlines of the Italian Riviera, the colourful mountain architecture and turquoise waters of Portofino and the Cinque Terre and the unspoilt coastal villages of Liguria where Italians holiday in low-key style. Inland, Emilia-Romagna, in the hills of Matilde di Canossa between Parma and Reggio Emilia, is a region in northern Italy that runs from the Apennine Mountains down to the Adriatic coastline and famed for parmesan, balsamico, wine and Parma ham. 

Italy’s crystal-clear lakes – Como, Garda and Maggiore are shimmering sights, surrounded by verdant hills, belle epoque mansions, Italian landscaping and the glitzy good life accessed via glossy wooden vaporina’s that zip across the water. Go north again and you reach the hybrid regions which benefit from the history and culture of both Austria and Italy where Ladin is still spoken – this is of course South Tyrol where mountain pleasures in the UNESCO-protected Dolomites are rewarded with an earthy cuisine sourced from the hills and meadows. Here life is wholesome and centred around nature – skiing, hiking and climbing powered by the humble mountain hut to the high-end architectural wonder. The cities of both vibrant Bolzano and tropical Merano are cultural hotspots in their own right plus a welcome gateway to the Dolomites. Italy does it all, and always in style.