Every year, the U.S. Tour Operators Association, a professional association of travel agents and tour operators who arrange travel for more than 10 million travelers every year, runs an informal survey among members to name the world’s top vacation destinations. Year after year, one country tops the list of international vacation destinations – Italy, the heart of civilization, the cradle of romance and the home of the Holy Sea.
What is it that makes Italy so special? The spectacular scenery and warm, wonderful climate are only the background of the picture. Italy is a colorful mosaic of travel experiences, a delicious mélange of flavors and cultures that offers something for every traveler. From cosmopolitan culture buff to adventurer, from the serious student of history to the socialite, Italy truly is the country that caters to them all and everyone in between.
Italy’s cities and countryside offer a true embarrassment of riches. You could easily spend months touring the countryside and never see half of what the country has to offer. What is it that brings so many to bella Italia every year?
See Italy for the Art
Italy was the center of the Renaissance, and is one of the most artistically rich countries in the entire world. According to UNESCO, half the world’s artistic and historic treasures are located in Italy. In Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, Milan and other cities, you’ll find artistic and architectural wonders that you won’t find anywhere else. Michelangelo, da Vinci, Botticelli, Tintorello, Correggio, Donatello – the most famous artists of all the eras worked and left their legacies in frescoes, paintings and statues throughout the country. And while much of the art is held in museums in nearly every city, there is art everywhere, from the stunning stained glass windows in a tiny chapel in Abruzzi to the painted ceilings of cathedrals.
See Historic Italy
History lives in Italy. Long known as the cradle of Western civilization, Italy’s cities and countryside are a treasure trove of historical sites. You can walk the Via Appia and feel the weight of centuries drop away as you realize that two thousand years ago, this very road was traveled by the armies and citizens of Imperial Rome. Visit the Coliseum in Rome, or wander through the preserved city of Pompeii and become a part of history. And of course, there is the Vatican, the walled city inside Rome that is the home and the heart of the Catholic Church, where scholars come to study ancient texts and treasures.
Visit Italy for the Scenery
The scenic vistas of Italy are as varied as its twenty regions. From snowcapped mountains to sweeping, white sand beaches, the natural beauty of Italy is as alive and vivid as the paintings of its most famous artists. When you venture beyond the cities, you’ll still find the untamed beauty of the Tuscan hills with their craggy, winding paths and terraced vineyards. You can wander through twenty three national parks and nearly 500 protected nature preserves that are protected by the government. There are sea cliffs and alpine mountains, rolling hills and open plains. And there is always, of course, the sea with its ever-changing yet everlasting face.
Come to Italy for the Food
Italian food and hospitality is famous the world over for its abundance. Abondanza is a concept that is well-understood in the Mediterranean country. Everywhere you go, you’ll find groaning tables and open, welcoming arms inviting you to mangia! Mangia!! A full tour of Italy is a gustatory delight, for there is no single style of Italian cooking. Instead, each region of Italy has its own unique flavors and combinations that are drawn from the local specialties and available foods. Tuscany is famous for its seafood, Milan for its rich sauces and complex flavors, Bologna for its traditional red sauce. Eating and drinking well is a way of life in Italy, and whether you treat yourself to a fine meal in one of Rome’s five-star restaurants, or stop at a roadside ristorante in a small province, you’re sure to be served the best of the best.
To Your Health!
Italy has been famous for its thermal spas and springs since the times of Hippocrates. Italian spas enjoy the benefits of both sea and fresh water springs. Hot water thermal springs are plentiful, thanks to the country’s geological peculiarities and the network of underground volcanic springs. Today, the thermal spas are a popular attraction in nearly every region of Italy, and have become popular holiday destinations in their own rights. Italian health spas offer more than just the baths. Many are located close to cultural and leisure attractions, and make a wonderful base of operations for your stay in the country.
Travel Gems in Italy
If you visit Rome, spend at least one day just walking around the city. You’ll discover many tiny sites and historical finds that are not on any tourist map. These sites may have been uncovered during the construction of another building and never completely excavated, but are there to stumble across and enjoy away from the bustling crowds.
By all means, visit the well-known museums in the major cities, but for a real treat take a drive outside the cities and seek out small towns and villages. You’ll discover some of the most amazing and unexpected treasures tucked into alcoves or painted on the walls of village churches throughout the country.
Skip the hotels and rent a villa or cottage in a small town if you’re staying in Italy for more than a few days. In many cases, it won’t cost much more – and will often be less – than a stay in a good hotel, and your hosts will treat you as part of the family while you’re there.
Italy is a country of contrasts and beauties whose charm grows deeper and warmer with every visit. It’s no wonder that it regularly tops the list of holiday destinations worldwide, or that so many who visit return again and again to its warm and welcoming arms.
Every travel to Italy is mainly an artistic and historical immersion inside the world of artistic treasures characterizing past and present of this magnificent country which vaunts one of the biggest artistic heritage in the world.
Italy counts an immesureable cultural tradition of very well known figures, who made the Italian grandeur by working in all the artistic fields, from painting to sculpture and architecture, from music to poetry and literature, and whose works are source of constant attraction for both tourists and academics. Some of them are known as the world’s greatest exponents of artistic genius and have become icons of culture itself in the course of the time, famous names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Masaccio, Botticelli, Piero dela Francesca, Mantegna, Donatello, Raffaello, Bramante and Tintoretto. But, it is also important to remember the great names of the Renaissance time, who created real masterpieces and tried to revolutionize the Italian thought: philosophers like Giordano Bruno and Tommaso Campanella, scientists like Copernico and Galilei, scholars like Machiavelli, poets like Ariosto or musicians like Palestrina and Monteverdi.
Entire Italy is a long path of signs – painting, statues, churches, buildings, palaces and fountains – through which the visitor can ideally reconstruct a civilisation that really changed the world.
Spend a period of time in Italy, to study Italian as a second language, could be the best and funniest way for discovering this unique path of art and cultural tradition which always attracts lots of tourists from all over the world.
Italy is in fact a small country with a great concentration of language schools engaged in the spread of Italian culture through the learning of Italian language, from North to South the main cities host accredited cultural institutes teaching Italian for foreign students of any age, which regularly arrange leisure activities, organized with the aim of making students’ travel vacation even more funny and unforgettable!
Now you have the chance of studying a second language while travelling abroad. On Learn Languages Abroad you will find a wide choice of high quality courses, both standard and specific, suitable for students of all ages and with any degree of Italian language knowledge. Come to visit our language schools located in Florence, Milan, Rome, Siena and Viareggio and discover the variety of courses offered.
For more info write to: webmaster@learn-language-abroad.co.uk
Known for its food, wine, people, culture, music, countryside – Italy Trip happens to be one of the most required after holiday destinations in the world.
Italy Tour is where culture, history and traditions mix together beautifully with modernity and fashion. What is attractive about Italy is that you will never find a single Italian flag, but they are still very particular about their culture and traditions – and of course soccer.
Whether you’re vacationing to Spain, Kenya, Greece or Egypt your stay will be well worth the flight. Italy boasts several 5 star resort hotels that accommodate to every need you could imagine. Italians are measured to be one of the best-looking people in the world. They are very proud of their history, their culture and for them it is all about family. Italians are very friendly. They are friendly and will talk to anyone, what’s most attractive about them is their sense of good humor and humor. In Italy Trip you will hear the various kinds of dialects and accents of Italian, which sound so melodious to the ear.
Italians have an ongoing love affair with food and fashion. The Italian Food is well-known worldwide and is a gastronomical to all the senses. Fashion is a very important part of the Italian culture, after all Milan is the fashion capital of the world, where haute couture is the word most heard. Italian food finds it roots back to different regions and is influenced by a variety of factors. If you are looking for healthy and cheaper food, then you must venture into South Italy. The world famous and supremely popular Pizza.
Enjoy the hidden beauty of the Italian Riviera while discovering a land of quaint harbors and trendy seaside resorts, where the tranquil Ligurian Sea beckons visitors. Experience the mystic allure of the famous Cinque Terre, where the Mediterranean landscape is at its very best.
The Italian Language School in Italy Leonardo da Vinci presents the “Academic School Year in Italy” program for the year 2009: a special course for people who want to live in Italy and learn the Italian language and culture.
The “Academic School Year” is a 32 weeks language and cultural course for students who wish to experience living and studying in Italy. The course consists in 480 lessons of a standard language course, 80 lessons of exam preparation and you can choose two Italian language diplomas between the “Firenze” Diploma AIL: DELI-A2, DILI-B1, DILS-B1, DILS/DILI-B2, DALI-C1 (elementary, intermediate and/or advanced levels). To the other side the Academic part consists in 80 lessons of Italian Civilisation and History, Art History, Business Italian, History of Italian and Fashion Design. Finally there are 10 hours of tutoring for the final thesis which will be discussed and evaluated. So as you can see the “Academic school year” is not a classic Italian language course but it combines an Italian language course with Italian culture classes at the Leonardo da Vinci Italian language schools and its syllabus also includes fundamental elements of level C2 of the European Language Portfolio (CEF). Lessons are only taught in Italian from the very beginning. At the end of the general course you will have to write an essay on a topic of your own choosing, with the help of our school library and of a personal tutor (10 lessons). This will be assessed as part of the final test. That task accomplished, you will have progressed from beginner to connoisseur of Italy and its language and culture. The duration of the whole stay is 32 weeks and you can also choose to study in one of the four most beautiful cities in Italy: the capital Rome, the world famous Florence, the quiet and beautiful Siena and the cosmopolitan and lively Milan. From a qualitative point of view the Scuola Leonardo is one of the leading language school in Italy and it was among the first institution in teaching Italian as second language officially authorized and regulated by the Italian Ministry of Education. It is member of FIYTO (Federation of International Youth Travel Organizations) and the European Federation of Schools, which is an advisory branch of UNESCO. It has been also a founding member of AIL (Italian Language Academy) and of ASILS (Association of Schools for Italian as Second Language).
If you want to spend a long time in Italy by learning and improving your knowledge of Italian culture and language this is the suitable course for you.
Starting dates for the Academic School Year Course in Italy: from 22 September 2008 to 22 May 2009 (including three weeks of Christmas Holidays where no courses are held).
For more information about the program visit the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci specific webpage on the Academic School Year: http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/gap-year-in-italy.php
Known for its food, wine, people, culture, music, countryside and even the mafia – Italy happens to be one of the most sought after holiday destinations in the world.
Italy is where culture, history and traditions blend beautifully with modernity and fashion. What is interesting about Italy is that you will never find a single Italian flag, but they are still very particular about their culture and traditions – and of course soccer.
Whether your vacationing to Florence, Rome, Naples, Milan, or Venice your stay will be well worth the flight. Italy boasts several 5 star resort hotels that accommodate to every need you could imagine.
Italians are considered to be one of the best-looking people in the world. They are very proud of their past, their culture and for them it is all about family. Italians are very sociable.
They are friendly and will talk to anyone, what’s most appealing about them is their sense of good humor and wit. In Italy you will hear the various kinds of dialects and accents of Italian, which sound so melodious to the ear.
Italians have an ongoing love affair with food and fashion. The Italian food is famous worldwide and is a gastronomical to all the senses. Fashion is a very important part of the Italian culture, after all Milan is the fashion capital of the world, where haute couture is the word most heard.
Northern Italy is more educated, hectic and fast paced, where as South of Italy is rural and laidback. People in Italy love spending money on their expensive attire, be it clothes, watches, shoes, jewelry or their fast cars.
If you want to be understood in Italy, you will have to rely on your English-Italian dictionary or your gesturing skills, because English is not spoken or understood by many people there.
People in Italy have a gastronomical affair with food. Eating is a passion and an integral part of the culture in Italy. So when you are in Italy, expect to add a few pounds to your frame.
Italian food finds it roots back to different regions and is influenced by various factors. If you are looking for healthy and cheaper food, then you must venture into South Italy.
The world famous and supremely popular Pizza was born in Campania along with tubular pizza and the various tomato based pizza and pasta sauces. Even if you are one of those few people who do not like pizzas, you should try one.
The reason the Italian pizzas are popular is because of its simplicity and its fresh ingredients. Pizza margherita is the most popular pizza in Italy named after Queen Margherita.
If you are looking for food with Greek influence with figs, honey, aubergine and aromatic spices, then Calabria is the place to go. Sicily will give you mouthwatering, finger-licking desserts like cannoli, sweet cheese, chocolate and cassata pastries. And Italian ice-cream Gelato is oh so popular.
A typical Italian dinner would consist of an appetizer or an antipasto like bruschetta which is a type of herbed and spiced garlic bread; prosciutto which is cured ham and melon.
The primo piatto, which is the first main course, is usually a soup or pasta; the second piatto will have meat, chicken or fish with contorno, which is vegetable. The meal is then ended with dessert, fruits and coffee.
www.culturediscovery.com – “Imagine” – A video Montage featuring highlights from Culture Discovery Vacations’ 2009 season (and a little from 2008) of tuscany cooking vacations and classes, tours through tuscan villages and umbria countryside, tuscany wine tours, and much more from our home…
