Italian touristic guide

ABRUZZO: Abruzzo holds a record: 30 per cent of its territory is protected by environmental legislation. No other region in Europe can boast as much. Not without good reason is it known as "the region of parks". Three national parks, a regional park and many protected sites and nature reserves. In a region like this, it seems natural that the regional capital is called L'Aquila ('The Eagle'). Dominated by an imposing sixteenth-century castle (which houses the National Museum of Abruzzo), L'Aquila has splendid civic and religious monuments from the medieval and renaissance eras. On the coast of Abruzzo (which vaunts popular bathing areas) one of the most popular locations is Pescara, birthplace of Gabriele D'Annunzio. The house where he was born is now a small and evocative museum. At Chieti there i...

ALTO ADIGE guide: The Autonomous Province of SudTirol lies at the climatic intersection point between the bracing north and the warm south. SudTirol has therefor long been a meeting point for traders, carriers, pilgrims and keen travellers, which has required the setting up of suitable accommodation. As Trentino, it is rich in valleys from which you can often have a different view of the same spectacular peaks. The SudTirol shares with Trentino a unique mountain landscape of exceptional beauty, with jagged pinnacles, craggy ridges and sheer rock faces: the Dolomites.These mountains, so often described, painted and sung about are yours to be experienced, climbed and to get to know. Nowhere else there are so many nature reserves as here. The many Dolomite legends, customs and traditions speak a language of ...

AOSTA: Five centuries under the Roman influence have left impressive marks in this town. After the defeat of the Salassi (the local population), in 25 B.C. Augustus founded a city. He gave it his name and stationed there three thousand soldiers of the praetorian cohorts: hence the name Augusta Praetoria Salassorum. It was the mark of Roman military colonisation: a strategic centre to establish control over a newly conquered territory and over the way to Gaul. Born at the peak of an extraordinary town-planning experimentation, Aosta holds and synthesises the best architectural aspects of the Roman empire; it constitutes a sort of ideal city, a model which is still visible today in the preservation of the original layout and tis most significant structures. The city is a rectangle bound by the cit...

APULIA: Apulia is a many-sided country, heterogeneous both from its geographical and morphological points of view, as well as under the aspects of culture and history. In Bari - Apulia's capital city - they say: "If Paris was by the sea, it would be like a small Bari". Presumption or arrogance? No, just pride (for which these people are famous, apart from their strong sense of humour). The pride of living in a city that successfully blends art and deep historic roots with a very modern spirit of business enterprise. Traditionally the "land's end" that bridged Italy with the worlds of Greece and the Middle East, Bari enjoyed its "golden age" during medieval times. The Cathedral and Church of St. Nicholas with their Romanesque forms, bear majestic witness to that period. Traces of the ancient trad...

ASIAGO and 7 COMUNI: The orographic conformation of the Altopiano enabled the development of more than 300 km of cross-country ski runs. Many international athletes train here for the competitions, on that same snow that, in 1996, housed the Jr. Northern Skiing World Championship for the second time. While on one side of the mountain the territory spontaneously offers its lanscape for cross-country skiing, on the other side of it downhill skiing is possible. Here, the local operators were able to create other opportunities such as wonderful ski runs with different levels of difficulty. All of this is obviously matched by marvellous extensive panoramas where the ski-lifts fit in perfectly. The covering of artificial snow guarantees a white mantle in case of poor snowfalls. Ski instructors are at your disposal ...

ASOLO: "Marca Trevigiana's pearl" is a town dating back to pre-Roman times, located in a magnificent spot above a hill overlooking the plain. Asolo has a charm that few other towns possess, starting with its glorious and unusual history. Famous figures such as the English poet Robert Browning, the actress Eleonora Duse and the explorer Freya Stark all lived here. At the end of the 1400's it was also home and prison to the Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, to whom Venice offered the symbolic dominion of the town in exchange for rule over the Cypriot kingdom. If you would like to book a hotel in Asolo, we have a selection of charming, relaxing places to stay. Those wishing something a little different, can book an apartment or bed and breakfast right at the heart of Asolo or on the surrounding...

ASSISI: The territory of the touristic area of Assisi, also including Bastia Umbra, Bettona and Cannara- occupies the northern part of the Umbrian valley, bounded to the North East by Mount Subasio and to the South East by the hills that separate it from the Tiber Valley. It is crossed by various water courses (the Chiascio - a tributary of the Tiber, the Topino, the Ose and the Sambro), whose waters make the beautiful countryside fertile. Assisi, situated in one of the most characteristic spots in Umbria on a spur of Mount Subasio is an obligatory stop on the international tourist trail for a multitude of reasons of a religious nature or otherwise. Things to see: Basilica of S. Francesco and the Holy Convent, the Basilica of S. Chiara, the Cathedral of S. Rufino, Church of S. Stefano; Pinacoteca...

Bardonecchia and Sestriere: IT WANTS OF SNOW? Sciare in Piemonte The Piemonte is one of the Italian regions that the best localities boast mount some in all the Country. Between all they detach the names of Sestriere and its comprensorio "the Milky Way" and Bardonecchia. The history, the culture, the piemontese gastronomia will favorably impress the tourist who for before the time will visit its goes them. Sestriere m. 2035-2832 Systems: 1 cable car - 3 ovovie - 34 seggiovie - 53 sciovie - 1 manovia. Tracks from reduction: 400 Km total - 30 difficult ones - 73 averages - 42 easy ones. Ski of bottom: 2 rings of medium difficulty. Artificial snow: The innevamento is previewed on 75 Km of tracks. Sestriere represents the most famous sciistica locality of the Piemonte and one of most prestigious in Italy and Europe. Its ...

BASILICATA and CALABRIA: On travel between the Calabrian mountains, in a great land of wonderfull beauty, in a region bounded with two seas of around eight hundred kilometers coast limit, where for tis particular configuration, measureless views are present and where "the nature has plot in a magnificient way the lines that talent and human work must follow, or art efforts can improved". Calabrian land must not only be limited to approach, even if essential, cliffs and beaches but also must look fro the centuries-old roots, the unpulluted and superb environment, traditions and ethnics that has been survived along the time because of generosity of the nature. Closed in the north with the Pollino and Orsomarso imponent reliefs, Calabria has a predominantly territory mountainous, large green reserves, and lakes wit...

BIBIONE and CAORLE: Caorle goes back to the first millennium BC., along with the first settlements in the Venice lagoon. Caorle continued its history into the Roman era as a natural port for supplying nearby Julia Concordia. The depredations of Attila the Hun in Italy dorve the peoples of Venetia and Friuli to take refuge in these lidos and the town wa probably founded in 452 AD. Today, Caorle offers the visitor an attractive picture, both when viewed from the land and from the sea. Its cylindrical 12th Century bell tower and the extremely old Romanesque Cathedral can be seen nestling against the delightful cliff top whilst the large old fishermen's town that runs along it offers houses in lively pastel shades, "calli" or Venetian alleys and sunny "campielli" or little squares. These attractions are unique t...

BRESCIA: Brescia, called “the lioness of Italy”, is a dynamic, hardworking city whose inhabitants are famous for their tenacity and dedication to work. The city is also able to display a rich heritage of history and art, which spans from prehistoric times to the present. Tourists will be fascinated by the atmosphere created by its airy piazzas and picturesque lanes, its fountains and aristocratic residences, the intimacy of its cloisters and the art treasures waiting to be discovered in its churches and museums.

Breuil-Cervinia: Breuil-Cervinia... the beautifulst panorama of the Alps in they of Aosta to m Goes. 2006, common one of Valtournenche. The magical, isolated, wonderful pyramid of the Cervino dominates to the summits and the ghiacciai that they enclose the conca of the Breuil. The opening of the street connection in 1934, the installation of the systems of gone back, the realization of lodges, residence and apartments have allowed the ancient one and silente conca alpine of first of the nine hundred, to become one of the most prestigious tourist stations it mounts some of Europe. Base for ascensions to the Cervino and the Breithorn. The understood one them of the ski... For who it loves to sciare, of winter and summer, Cervinia represents an irrenounceable experience. Imposing a sciistico comprensorio with...

CALABRIA and BASILICATA: On travel between the Calabrian mountains, in a great land of wonderfull beauty, in a region bounded with two seas of around eight hundred kilometers coast limit, where for tis particular configuration, measureless views are present and where "the nature has plot in a magnificient way the lines that talent and human work must follow, or art efforts can improved". Calabrian land must not only be limited to approach, even if essential, cliffs and beaches but also must look fro the centuries-old roots, the unpulluted and superb environment, traditions and ethnics that has been survived along the time because of generosity of the nature. Closed in the north with the Pollino and Orsomarso imponent reliefs, Calabria has a predominantly territory mountainous, large green reserves, and lakes wit...

CAMPANIA guide: The Romans called this wonderful region Campania Felix due to its beautiful landscapes, its pleasant, permanently spring-like climate, its fertile soil and the wonderful aromas and colors that filled one’s senses and revitalized one’s mind. Travelers can still see all those things that the ancient Romans loved today: Campania provides you with the possibility of spending time on nature, artistic and archeological tours, and also of trying the real tastes of its prestigious food and wine traditions. Art and culture Campania’s history dates far back, to the 9th century B.C. when the city of Partenope was founded. This region’s greatest moment in history was during the Roman Empire, when famous, wealthy people from Rome came to this area to visit the thermal spas. There are still traces ...

CAPRI: The island of Capri is located in the southern part of the Bay of Naples and consists of two plateaus, separated by a fertile plain. The island has been inhabited since the VIII century B.C., when the Greeks and Phoenicians settled there. However, the first person to really appreciate Capri was the Emperor Tiberius, the man who took control of Rome after Augustus. In around 30 A.D., Tiberius had 12 sumptuous villas built for him on the island, including the Villa Jovis, naming each building after a god. From the fall of the Roman Empire (476 A.D.) until the end of the Early Middle Ages (1000), Capri was under the control of Naples, without however being influenced by the political changes that occurred in the ruling city due to the alternation of various dynasties, from the Angevins to t...

CATANIA: An ancient, medieval and then finally Baroque city, often attacked by the violence of nature and just as often rebuilt with determination and obstinacy. Catania, the cradle of theatre and music, is a city to experience day and night, when the sun shines on its Baroque palaces, whose black lava stone and white limestone dominate the vision, and when the evening comes, the clubs open, the squares fill up with people up to the next morning.

CERVIA and CESENATICO: Cervia, the antique city of salt, with its verdant pinewoods and beaches , has become over the years a modern seaside resort. With its over nine-kilometre-long sandy beach, it is today one of the most renowned Italian tourist centres. It has become famous internationally because of its dedication to tourism, the incredible hospitality and warm welcome which its visitors receive. Today it is one of the main destinations for Italian tourists because it puts guests first and ensures them high-quality services and also provides an exceptional environmental setting combining sea, pinewoods and saltpans. Cervia hosts an important and famous health spa. The activities of the "Terme di Cervia", immersed in the green of the centuries-old pinewood, are tied in with the salt of the surrounding saltpa...

CINQUE TERRE:

The Cinque Terre are five coastal villages in the province of La Spezia in Italy. "Discovered" by foreigners in the late 20th century they have come to be among the most touristed areas of Italy; they can be reached by train via the line from La Spezia to Genoa. The coast line, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all encapsulated in a national park of the same name. There are nominal fees to use the more popular trails, but the less frequently travelled (and most arduous) are free of charge. Most of the hotels in the village accept advance reservations. There are many bed and breakfast throughout the area and these offer excellant service and frequently beautiful views of the Mediterranean and the surrounding hills. The best times to visit are in Apri...

COMACCHIO : Each of the seven lidos has its own special reality and spirit, so it ensues that holidays in Lido di Volano, Lido delle Nazioni, Lido di Pomposa, Lido degli Scacchi, or in Porto Garibaldi, in Lido degli Estensi and in Lido di Spina, are completely different one from the other. The Seven Lidos are located along the 25 kilometers of the Ferrara Province which is characterized by vast sandy beaches and numerous pine forests. Modern bathing resorts grew up here starting from the 1960's and are today a well-established international tourist attraction. With their dozens of hotels and campsites and thousands of houses and apartments for rent, the "seven Lidos" represent one of the most popular areas of the Adriatic coast, lying just adjacent to the Po Delta Park, one of the largest natural re...

COMO and LECCO: The Lake Como is clearly the most distinctive feature of the whole area: it is 46 km long and has a width which varies from 4,3 km (between Cadenebbia and Fiumelatte) and 0.43 km (between Torriggia and Careno). The lake covers an area of 146 sq km and has maximum depth of 410 metres. It has two dependables winds known as the Breva and Tivano. The lake is surrounded by both high mountains and gentle hills; some narrow and impassable valleys and others which are wide and mild; densely populated plains; still untouched woods, small suburbs and big towns; lake and mountain villages; raging torrents and big rivers. The territory - which is now divided into two provincies, Como and Lecco has always been an area of intense activity, being a crossing point between Central Europe and the Mediterran...