If you ask an Italian where in the world they would most like to live, the chances are they’ll want to stay right where they are. Most people love Italy. It seems to have everything the visitor would want: diverse and beautiful landscapes, a great hoard of art treasures on display in suitably spectacular places; a friendly climate; and, most important of all for many, delicious, authentic cuisine. Of course, Italy isn’t perfect - its historic cities have often been marred by development and, beyond the showpiece sights, the infrastructure is looking shaky. However, many of the old clichés still ring true; once you’ve visited, you may never want to travel anywhere else.

Whilst it’s a most celebrated destination, Italy only became a unified state in 1861. As a result, Italians still have a strong sense of loyalty to their particular locality. This can be seen in its different cuisines, dialects, landscapes and often varying standards of living. However, if there is such a thing as a national Italian characteristic, it is to embrace life to the full and to be fiercely loyal to one’s family. This manifests itself in the hundreds of local festivals taking place across the country on any given day, in celebration of a saint or the local harvest; in the importance placed on good food; in the obsession with clothes and image; and in the daily ritual of the collective evening walkabout (passeggiata) – a sociable affair enjoyed by young and old alike in every town and village.

Of course, we can’t ignore Italy’s enormous cultural legacy: Tuscany alone has more classified historical monuments than any country in the world; all across Italy, one can find considerable remnants of the Roman Empire, notably in Rome itself; and every region retains a rich history as witnessed by its own relics of artistic tradition. However, if all you want to do is chill out, there’s no reason not to do so. There are plenty of places to just lie on a beach, whether they be the resorts filled with regimented rows of sunbeds and umbrellas favoured by the Italians themselves, or the secluded and less developed spots. If you’re looking for an active holiday, there’s no better place: mountains run the country’s length, from the Alps and Dolomites in the north right along the Apennines, which form the spine of the peninsula; skiing and other winter sports are practised avidly; and all kinds of wildlife thrives in the country’s national parks.

The capital city of Rome owes allegiance neither to the north nor south. It’s a tremendous city, quite unlike any other. In terms of historical sights, it’s considerably more endowed than anywhere else in the country. It’s the focal point of Lazio, in part a poor and sometimes desolate region where rugged landscapes, particularly south of Rome, contrast with the more manicured beauty of the other central regions. Piemonte and Lombardy, in the northwest, make up the country’s richest and most cosmopolitan region, while the two main centres, Turin and Milan, are its wealthiest cities. In their southern reaches, these regions are flat and scenically dull, especially Lombardy, but in the north the presence of the Alps dictates the character of each: skiing and hiking are prime activities and the lakes and mountains of Lombardy are time-honoured tourist territory. Liguria, the small coastal province to the south, and long known as the “Italian Riviera”, is crowded with sun-seekers for much of the summer. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful stretch of coast, and its capital, Genoa, is a vibrant, bustling port town with a long seafaring tradition.

It’s within the smaller northern regions where you’ll find much of the most dramatic mountain scenery. In the far northwest, the tiny bilingual region of Valle d’Aosta is home to some of the country’s most frequented ski resorts, and is bordered by the tallest of the Alps – the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. In the northeast, Trentino-Alto Adige, another bilingual region and one in which the national boundary is especially blurred, marks the beginning of the Dolomites mountain range, where Italy’s largest national park, the Stelvio, lies amongst some of Italy’s most striking landscapes.

The Dolomites stretch into the northeastern regions of the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. However, here the main focus of interest is, of course, Venice: a unique city, and every bit as beautiful as its reputation would suggest - and every bit as crowded as you might have feared. If it’s too crowded for you, the plainer alternatives of Verona, Padua and Vicenza are all within easy distance. To the south, the region of Emilia-Romagna was at the heart of Italy’s postwar industrial boom and enjoys a standard of living on a par with Piemonte and Lombardy. Its coast is popular among Italians, where the brash and trendy seaside resort of Rimini is renowned for its nightlife. However, you might want to avoid the beaches altogether and concentrate on the ancient centres of Ravenna, Ferrara, Parma and the regional capital of Bologna, one of Italy’s liveliest, most historic but least appreciated cities – and traditionally Italy’s gastronomic and academic capital.

Central Italy represents perhaps the most commonly perceived image of the country. Tuscany, with its classic rolling countryside and the art-packed towns of Florence, Pisa and Siena, is to many the quintessential Italy and one of its most visited regions. Neighbouring Umbria is similar and almost as popular, as visitors flock into towns such as Perugia, Spoleto and Assisi. Even further east, Le Marche has gone the same way, with old stone cottages being turned into foreign-owned holiday homes and the highlights of the region being the ancient towns of Urbino and Ascoli Piceno. South of there, the hills begin to pucker into mountains in the twin regions of Abruzzo and Molise, one of Italy’s remotest areas, centring on one of the country’s highest peaks – the Gran Sasso d’Italia.

The true south of Italy begins with the region of Campania. Its capital, Naples, is an unforgettable place, being the spiritual heart of the south and close to some of the country’s finest ancient sites in Pompeii and Herculaneum, not to mention the spectacular Amalfi coast. Basilicata and Calabria, which make up the instep and toe of Italy’s “boot”, are harder territory but still rewarding, with the emphasis less on art and more on the landscape and quiet, relatively unspoilt coastlines. Puglia, the “heel” of Italy, has underrated pleasures, too, notably the landscape of its Gargano peninsula, the market town of Bari, and the Baroque glories of Lecce in the far south. Then we have the island of Sicily. It’s really an altogether different place, with a variety of attractions ranging from some of the finest preserved Hellenistic treasures in Europe to the delightful beach resorts in Taormina and Cefalu, not to mention the beautiful scenery. At this location, you’re closer to Africa than to Milan, and it shows in the climate, the architecture and the cooking, with couscous featuring on many menus in the west of the island. Sardinia, too, feels far removed from the mainland, especially in its relatively undiscovered interior, though you may be just as happy with its excellent beaches.

Title Image Credit: Luigi Torreggiani (Image Cropped)