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Tourist Guide and Information about Italy

 

 

 

 
Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice, Italy

Italy (Repubblica Italiana) is located in Southern Europe, the country comprises the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, and it's surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. Italy is a member of the European Union. The capital city is Rome. Italy is subdivided into 20 regions: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta and Veneto. The Italian Peninsula is one of the greatest peninsulas of Europe, spanning 1,000 km from the Alps in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The Apennine mountains form the backbone of this peninsula, leading north-west to where they join the Alps, the mountain range that then forms an arc enclosing Italy from the north. The terrein is mostly hilly and mountainous; some plains (a large alluvial plain, the Padana plain, is drained by the Po River, that's Italy's longest river with 652 km), and coastal lowlands. Italy's highest point is Monte Bianco at 4,810 metres in the Alps on the border between Italy and France. Between the lakes the most important are Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como and Lago di Garda on the southern side of the Alps.

  

Climate: The moderating influence of the sea and the protection given by the Alpine barrier from the cold north winds join to bless Italy with a temperate climate. Nevertheless, the weather varies considerably according to how far one is from the sea or the mountains. The winter is very cold in the Alps, cold and foggy in the Po Plain and the central Apennines; mild and even warm on the Ligurian coast, the Neapolitan coast and in Sicilia. The summer is hot and dry, but the temperature is mitigated on the coast by sea breezes and in the Apennines and Alps it is pleasantly cool. In mountain areas, winter is ideal for skiing, and summer for excursions, hiking, etc. Seaside and lake resorts, with their excellent hotel facilities, have an intense tourist season in the summer, while the cities that are rich in art treasures are ideal in spring and autumn. Every season is suitable and every month is the most interesting time depending on the region you choose to visit or what you want to do. Nevertheless, the best times to visit Italy is between April and June, when the climate is mild and temperate everywhere, the blooming countryside affords breathtaking landscapes and you can visit the cities and enjoy the mild climate at the same time.

Tourist attractions: Tourist attractions in Italy include historical cities and villages (Rome, Florence, Venice, Neaples, Padua, Siena, Verona, Pisa, Ravenna etc); architecture, art and museums (Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio, David of Michelangelo in Florence, Colosseum and Vatican City in Rome, Egyptian Museum in Turin, The Last Supper of Leonardo in Milan, St Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace in St Mark’s Square in Venice, the Leaning Tower in Pisa and many many others); and beautiful countryside throughout the country (Alps, Chianti, beaches, Dolomiti, Volcanoes (Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvio), Val d'Orcia, Costiera Amalfitana, Cinque Terre etc).

Italy is at the first place in the world in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Site, there are 41 Italian sites: Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (1979), Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci (1980), Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (1980, 1990), Historic Centre of Florence (1982), Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (1987), Venice and its Lagoon (1987), Historic Centre of San Gimignano (1990), I Sassi di Matera (1993), City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto (1994, 1996), Crespi d'Adda (1995), Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta (1995, 1999), Historic Centre of Naples (1995), Historic Centre of Siena (1995), Castel del Monte (1996), Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna (1996), Historic Centre of the City of Pienza (1996), The Trulli of Alberobello (1996), 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex (1997), Archaeological Area of Agrigento (1997), Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (1997), Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua (1997), Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena (1997), Costiera Amalfitana (1997), Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) (1997), Residences of the Royal House of Savoy (1997), Su Nuraxi di Barumini (1997), Villa Romana del Casale (1997), Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia (1998), Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula (1998), Historic Centre of Urbino (1998), Villa Adriana (Tivoli) (1999), Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites (2000), City of Verona (2000), Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) (2000), Villa d'Este, Tivoli (2001), Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) (2002), Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy (2003), Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (2004), Val d'Orcia (2004), Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (2005), Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli (2006).

Between the properties submitted on the Tentative List are: Lake Maggiore and Lake D'Orta lakelands (2006), Historic centre of Pavia and Chartreuse (2006), Mantua and the Gonzaga domains (2006), The city of Bergamo (2006), Cividale and the Early Centres of Lombard Power in Italy (2006), Hanbury botanical gardens (2006), Historic Centre of Lucca (2006), Orvieto (2006), Via Appia "Regina Viarum" (2006), Villas of the Papal Nobility (2006), Palermo and Monreale Cathedral (2006), Medici Villas (2006), Historic Centre of Parma (2006), Salento and the "Barocco Leccese" (2006), Cattolica Monastery in Stilo and Basilian-Byzantine complexes (2006), Ponds in the Bay of Oristano and the Sinis Peninsula island of Mal di Ventre (2006), Scrovegni's Chapel (2006), Fortress Town of Palmanova (2006), Romanesque Cathedrals in Puglia (2006), Monte Sant' Angelo and the Via Sacra Langobardorum (2006), Taormina and Isola Bella (2006), Alps: a) Western Alps, b) Dolomites, c) Eastern Alps (2006), Monte San Giorgio (2006), Archipelago of La Maddalena and Islands of Bocche di Bonifacio (2006), Mothia Island and Lilibeo: The Phoenician-Punic Civilization in Italy (2006), Bradyseism in the Flegrea Area (2006), Cascata delle Marmore and Valnerina: Monastic sites and ancient hydrogeological reclamation works (2006), Pelagos: The Cetacean Sanctuary (2006), Wine Grape landscapes: Langhe, Roero, Monferrato and Valtellina (2006), Island of Asianra (2006), Sulcis Iglesiente (2006), The Marble Basin of Carrara (2006), The Transhumance: The Royal Shepherd's Track (2006), Volterra: Historical City and Cultural Landscape (2006), The Rhaetian Railway and the Cultural Landscape from Tirano to the Swiss Border (2006), The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli (2006), The Murge of Altamura (2006), The Porticoes of Bologna (2006), Karstic caves in prehistoric Apulia (2006), Citadel of Alessandria (2006), The Lower Palaeolithic Palaeosurfaces at Isernia-La Pineta and Notarchirico (2006).  

Travel Documents: European Union citizens need just to show their identity card at the time of entry in Italy. For tourists arriving from non-EU countries, in particular from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States, you won’t need to ask for a tourist visa if your stay in Italy lasts less than 90 days. For all other tourists, you will need to obtain a tourist visa even for shorter visits. Entry visas, which are generally valid for 90 days, can be granted for a maximum of six months.

Health: Healthcare in Italy is good. First Aid Service (Pronto Soccorso) with a doctor on hand is found at airports, ports, railway stations and in all hospitals. Medicines can be obtained only from the pharmacy, whether they are on prescription or over the counter. Tourists requiring urgent medical care should go to the nearest hospital emergency room (airports and many train stations also have medical teams and first aid facilities). Those with serious illnesses or allergies should always carry a special note from their physicians certifying in detail the treatments in progress or that may be necessary. Pharmacies (Farmacia), generally follow shops times (approx. from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 3:00 to 7:30 p.m., Monday to Saturday, but in large cities many are open no-stop. Night-time service is provided on a shift basis. Business hours and night shifts are displayed outside of each chemist's (they are also published in local papers). A citizen of EU member state with the European Health Card (EHC) will receive the same temporary healthcare services as any other Italian citizen. Before departure, it is advisable to procure a document certifying coverage by the national health-care service. Italy has no medical program covering U.S. and Canada citizens. Therefore, U.S. and Canadian tourists are advised to take out an insurance policy before traveling.

Shopping hours: Although normally shops are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30/4 p.m. to 7:30/ 8 p.m., in large cities and tourist areas there is a tendency to stay open from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. with possible variations from town to town. Department stores such as La Rinascente, Coin, Upim, Pam, Esselunga, Carrefour, Panorama, Coop* are found in many Italian cities and towns and are open from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.

*Attention in the Coop stores it's not possible to pay with credit cards!

Electricity: Current may be either 220 or 125 volts AC. The Continental two-round-pin plug is standard.

Typical products: Clothes for men and women (dresses, shoes, gloves, silk ties, shirts); lacework, jewellery, leather goods (handbags, cases, boxes, luggage), ceramics, gold and silver items, alabaster, woodwork, straw, embroidery, glass and crystal ware; wine, olive oil, food.  

Cuisine: Italian cuisine is extremely varied, its cuisines reflect the cultural variety of its regions and its diverse history, each area has its own proud specialties, primarily at regional level, but also even at provincial level, Italian cuisine is not only highly regionalised, it is very seasonal. Pizza, Pasta (Spaghetti, Tortellini, Orecchiette, Ravioli, Tagliatelle etc), Risotto, Polenta, Cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Pecorino, Mozzarella), Meat, Fish, Cakes (Panettone, Pandoro, Tiramisu, Cassata, Pastiera, Gelato (Ice-cream) etc) Wines etc. Most Italian wines of great renown are produced in three main Italian regions: Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello), Piedmont (Barolo) and Veneto (Amarone, Pinot Grigio). A traditional Italian menu consists of: antipasto (hot or cold appetizers); primo (usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or soup); secondo (the main dish, usually fish or meat) with contorno (may consist of a salad or vegetables); dolce ("dessert"); caffè (espresso); digestivo (which is liquors/liqueurs: grappa, amaro, limoncello). ITALIAN CUISINE RECIPES.

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Airports and Flights: The main international airport in Italy is the Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino airport, but a large number of intercontinental flights also land at Milan Malpensa. Italy has flight connections to the majority of European countries, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and all continents.

Area: 301,230 sq km

Population: 58,883,958 (July 2006 est.) Italians (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)

State Capital: Rome

Language: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area).

Religion: mainly Roman Catholic (88%) with Islam (1,4%), Orthodox, Protestant, Buddihists and Hebrew minorities.

Money: Euro

Time: Central European time. Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

 

 

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