According to UNESCO, Italy is home to two-thirds of the world’s historical artistic heritage, so it’s a dream destination for city breaks.
And the British love affair with Italy shows no sign of abating: ABTA reports a 15% increase in visits to Italy between 2003 and 2007.
While Rome is the country’s most visited destination, with Venice and Florence among the other main contenders, the lesser-visited cities are blessed with equally attractive museums, amazing sights, fantastic restaurants and, of course, that inimitable Italian style.
Even if clients have seen all the big-name places, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy a taste of Italy. All prices are for March 2008.
If you like Milan…try Parma
Why? Milan is celebrated the world over for its fashion and football. Every pavement is a catwalk and even the policemen look as if they have just walked off a fashion shoot. The awesome Duomo is the world’s third-largest cathedral with 3,500 statues adorning the exterior.
One of the most famous paintings of all time, Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, can be seen at Santa Maria delle Grazie. Later, visitors can hit the high notes at the ‘temple of the opera’, La Scala.
Parma, an 80-minute train ride away, is one of the most beautiful Italian cities. Birthplace of composer Giuseppe Verdi and famous for its ham and Parmesan cheese, it’s been voted the best place to live in Italy. Although relatively small, Parma has breathtaking architecture and a rich artistic heritage. The starting point for sightseeing tours is Piazza Parma, an old Roman court surrounded by palaces.
Sample product: Somewhere2stay offers three nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Palace Maria Luigia in Parma, from £121 per person, excluding flights. If you still want to make tracks to Milan, Citalia has three nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Grand Verdi from £303 per person, including flights.
If you like Rome…try Turin
Why? The Eternal City wasn’t built in a day and visitors need more than that to explore its treasures, from the Vatican and St Peter’s Square to the Colosseum, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. And that’s before you’ve even shopped, or indulged in a spot of people-watching. Rome can be exhausting – Turin is much more ‘do-able’ if time is limited.
It may have a backbone built on industry, but a massive urban regeneration programme has seen Turin reinvent itself as a tourist destination. Via Roma is heaven for shoppers and the pedestrianised Via Garibaldi leads to Turin’s grandest square, Piazza Castello.
Turin also has a brilliant cinema museum, tracing the country’s movie history from its birth in the city to the present day.
Sample product: Kuoni offers three nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Townhouse 70 from £375 per person, with flights. To roam in Rome, Classic Collection offers three nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Hotel Dei Mellini from £450 per person, including flights.
If you like Venice…try Verona
Why? The Queen of the Adriatic may be sinking under the weight of tourists, but Venice remains an irresistible destination. The city is undoubtedly unique – everyone should see the Grand Canal, St Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace at least once.
Although nothing overshadows Venice, outstanding examples of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance architecture can be found throughout the region, particularly in Verona, the second-biggest city in the region.
Verona’s old town is framed by the Adige River and is criss-crossed by bridges. Like Venice, the heart of the city is based around squares, in this case the Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori. Built over 2,000 years ago, the amphitheatre is one of the best-preserved Roman monuments in Italy.
Originally used for gladiatoral combat, today it hosts opera and theatre. Verona, home to the most famous lovers in literature, Romeo and Juliet, is just as romantic as Venice.
Sample product: Two nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Hotel Mastino in Verona costs from £330 per person with Mundi Color, including flights. Back in Venice, Thomson Cities offers a two-night accommodation-only stay at the three-star Tre Archi Hotel from £171 per person, including flights.
If you like Florence…try Lucca
Why? There is more to Tuscany than Florence, even though the city is unrivalled as the cradle of Renaissance art and home to the Uffizi Gallery, one of the greatest museums in the world. Then there’s the majestic Duomo with its intricate inlaid exterior of pink, white and green marble.
But despite Florence’s relatively small size, deciding what to see next can seem overwhelming in a city with more artistic treasures per square metre than anywhere else in the world.
A visit to Lucca, however, will allow culturally minded visitors to draw breath. Birthplace of composer Giacomo Puccini, whose home is now a museum, Lucca’s golden age was in the Gothic era and there is marvellous architecture from that period.
Lucca’s centrepiece is the church of San Michele in Foro, located in Piazza San Michele, with its elaborate façade of sculpture, carving and inlay work. That most famous of Italian landmarks, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is just 20 miles away.
Sample product: Superbreak offers three nights’ bed and breakfast in Lucca at the four-star Grand Hotel Guinigi from £148.50 per person. In Florence, hotels4u.com has three nights’ bed and breakfast at the four-star Hotel Fenice Palace from £127 per person. Both prices exclude flights.
If you like Naples…try Brindisi
Why? Port cities are always excitingly cosmopolitan and the hustle and bustle will particularly appeal to repeat visitors and clients who want to be in the thick of things.
Naples, gateway to the Amalfi Coast, the ruins of Pompeii, the island of Capri and the Royal Palace of Caserta, is home to the National Museum, containing one of the world’s most important archaeological collections and masterpieces by Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael, and Caravaggio.
Brindisi, in the neighbouring region of Puglia, has many attractions of its own. Overlooked by the mighty Castello di Terra, it has an archaeological museum and 11th century cathedral. The coastline from Brindisi to Santa Maria di Leuca, with its 48 metres tall lighthouse and numerous grottoes, is a dramatic drive.
Inland is Alberobello, famous for its whitewashed trulli houses with distinctive conical roofs.
Sample product: Interhome offers a week at the three-bedroom Due Pini, a two-star self-catering villa in Brindisi, from £435. Alternatively, HotelConnect offers three-nights’ bed and breakfast at the three-star Grand Hotel Europa in Naples from £90 per person. Both prices exclude flights.
If you like Palermo…try Cagliari
Why? Away from the mainland, Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, and Sardinia, are good choices. Palermo, founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th century around a natural harbour, is the capital of Sicily. Shaped by conquest, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Spaniards have all left their mark.
The cathedral dates back to 1185, and other sights include the Royal Palace with its ancient mosaics, Chinese Villa and Capuchin catacombs. Day excursions run to Mount Etna, Europe’s biggest active volcano.
Cagliari, provincial capital of southern Sardinia, also nestles in a harbour. The Castello, the oldest part of the city, boasts a cathedral and an archaeological museum. Sardinia has many conical fortresses built from basalt blocks – the largest are at Su Nuraxi, north of Cagliari.
Sample product: Timeaway Villas offers seven nights’ self-catering at the one-bedroom five-star Mediterraneo property in Palermo from £830, excluding flights.
In Sardinia, Holiday Options has a seven-night half-board stay at the four-star Hotel Costa dei Fiori, Santa Margherita di Pula on the gulf of Cagliari, in May from £699 per person, including flights.
