Italy Overview

The historic and storied land of Italy has been at the centre of Western civilisation for over two millennia now. Once home to the prosperous Etruscans, the peninsula later became the seat of the ambitious and far-reaching Roman Empire. With an astonishing number of UNESCO World Heritage sites, Italy is a preferred destination for tourists from around the world.

Bound on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea, Italy hosts numerous port cities that blossomed during the 15^th and 16^th centuries when maritime trade was at an all-time high. The Alps hem in the north and the Apennine Mountains are the country’s backbone, stretching across the peninsula from north to south.

Italy's regional capitals each have their own rich and varied histories. Florence is full of museums and galleries that capture the spirit of the Renaissance; Naples has thousands of layers of history and boasts the nearby well-preserved Pompeii; and Milan remains synonymous with cutting-edge fashion.

Of course, Rome is a destination in and of itself. With more impressive ruins and staggering landmarks than any other place on earth, the capital city has more to see and do then any itinerary allows. Within its historic centre, Rome houses the autonomous Vatican City, the beating heart of the Roman Catholic world and home to some of the world's most well-respected art and architecture.

Italians take food very seriously, and wherever visitors venture there's a local delicacy to reward their visit. From pasta, pizza and risotto to delicate truffles, artichokes and espressos, the Italians know how to dine.

Accommodation in Italy is widely available in a variety of budgets. However, hotels can fill up in popular cities during peak travel periods. Options range from elite, internationally recognised brands to quaint bed and breakfast establishments and holiday villas in the countryside.

The ever-popular holiday destination of Italy has as much charm and grand architecture as it did 2,000 years ago. Given the vast array of destinations and attractions within the country, to truly experience Italy requires a few return visits.

Italy has been a bustling centre of political activity, crossing back and forth between prosperity and turmoil, for over 2000 years. In fact, evidence of the region’s first human inhabitants suggests that hunter gatherers had established themselves here as long as 100,000 years ago. Neolithic farming communities formed 6,000 years ago and stronger strides of civilisation in the wake of the Bronze Age followed.

Legend has it that Romulus, owing his lineage to Aeneas, Venus and Mars, founded the city of Rome in 753 BC. While much of his legacy sounds like fanciful storytelling (in infancy, he was purportedly nursed by a she-wolf), historians have not dismissed Romulus as complete fantasy. Most allow that there is at least a grain of truth at the centre of the story.

The Roman Republic grew out of a series of wars with the Etruscans and steadily gained momentum after the 6^th century BC. There was a degree of representation in early Roman rule. As the republic assimilated its neighbours, it allowed provincial governments to remain so long as they paid homage to Rome and helped staff its military.

The republic eventually gave way to autocratic rule under Julius Caesar and his successor Octavian (Caesar Augustus). A succession of emperors continued with varying degrees of success for several centuries. In the 4^th century AD, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and moved the centre of the empire to Constantinople.

During this time that followed the split of the Roman Empire, much of modern-day Italy was sectioned off into quasi-independent city-states that owed allegiances either to themselves or to various outlying kingdoms. These city-states were occasionally caught up in conflicts with one another, or against the meddling of the church.

The church grew in political power however during the age of Humanism (which ultimately gave way to the art and philosophy of the Renaissance period), papal authority was threatened by the new impetus on free thought and the secular disciplines of science and mathematics.

By the 19^th century, Italians were hungry for a unified homeland and whisperings of unity and independence led to a series of ineffectual uprisings. The Franco-Austrian War (1859 to 1861) saw the realisation of unity, if not of prosperity. WWI, in which Italy fought on the side of the Allies, claimed more than half a million of the country’s fighting men. This left an unstable nation ripe for the fascist ideological takeover of Mussolini before WWII. Italy was invaded by the Allies in 1943 and Mussolini was arrested. Afterwards, the country was turned into a battlefield as Hitler confronted Allied forces here over the coming two years.

In recent decades, Italy has struggled to maintain a strong government though in 2001 it became a founding member of the European Union. Even so, the country remains stable and continues to host a steady stream of international tourists who come for the art, history and unparalleled architecture that still stands proudly over this ancient land.

As the country is spread across a large expanse of latitude and passes through extreme altitudes, Italy is a land of varied climates. Coastal portions of the country—particularly south of Florence—are classified as Mediterranean climate zones, characterised by hot and dry summers followed by mild winters. Summertime highs regularly approach 30°C in this part of the country, and precipitation intensifies from October to December. Conditions become more arid and temperatures increase the further south you travel.

Inland portions of the peninsula fall under the humid subtropical climate zone. Here, at slightly higher altitudes, summer and winters are cooler. Rainfall during the winter months can also turn to snow in Italy’s interior.

In the foothills of the Alps, summers remain relatively hot, though winters can be cool. However, the Alps shield the low-lying lands from weather patterns on mainland Europe, a fact that keeps temperatures from falling too low during the winter. Heading north into the actual mountain range, altitudes soar and temperatures plummet. There are several smaller villages above the tree line in the Alps. In this part of the country, temperatures seldom exceed 10°C