Most people, but perhaps not all, know that Italy is the third most well-known country in the world, but do they also know that it’s the single most popular travel destination?
We are proud that Italy is the country with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the world, and that it is home to almost half of the world’s art masterpieces. We are understandably partial, but, even if we add a bit of objectivity, it is impossible to deny that Italy is an extraordinary mix of natural beauty, art and history, all of which translate into an unforgettable travel experience.
Since antiquity, Italy has been at the crossroads of Mediterranean civilization, history, culture and art. Its museums, archeological sites and cities still have traces of the many civilizations that have succeeded each other along the peninsula and on the islands, blending and growing into what would become modern-day Italy. Signs of the Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Norman civilizations can be found side by side in the layouts of cities and in medieval churches and castles, Renaissance monuments, baroque and neoclassical piazzas. Evolving as they have over centuries, Italian cities are veritable open-air museums and walking is the best way to experience the many wonders they have to offer.
Rome, Florence and Venice are all certainly deserving of a visit, but I encourage travellers to also seek out smaller, less well-known cities as well. There are hundreds of gems scattered throughout the peninsula and on the islands, and visitors will be richly rewarded for their efforts. Among churches, fortified towns, palaces and gardens, archeological sites, monuments and museums, there are hundreds of thousands of treasures to be discovered.
If it is natural beauty you seek, Italy has 7,500 kilometres of coastline to be explored, featuring gulfs both large and small, inlets and coves in abundance and beaches for every preference. There’s sand, pebble and rock, all with inviting clear water in different shades of blue. Above sea level, the Alps define the country’s northern border and the Apennines run from north to south. Both offer magnificent panoramas, forests, high-altitude lakes, historic cities rich in tradition, opportunities to indulge in every type of winter sport as well as hiking, cycling, mountain and rock climbing in the spring, summer and fall.
Poet Giovanni Papini offers this vivid description of Italy’s many and varied landscapes: “…wooded valleys like Scandinavia, heaths as in Scotland, the wide river mouths and sandy dunes of The Netherlands, quiet hills covered with olive groves and vineyards like Greece, orange-scented woods as in Andalusia, flat deserts baked and made chalky by the sun as in Africa, rice paddies flooded and silent as in China, smoking volcanoes… flowering woods like Japan, islands of peace, light, and myth equal to the Cyclades…”
There are unforgettable experiences to be found in Italy’s untamed landscapes, its many nature reserves, protected areas, maritime reserves and national or regional parks. These spectacular settings are ideal for those who wish to spend their vacation immersed in nature, discovering Italy’s flora and fauna, climbing its mountains and hiking or skiing its valleys or kayaking around its sunny islands and camping surrounded by the fragrances of the Mediterranean scrub, macchia.
For a relatively small country, Italy contains an astounding diversity of terrain, traditions and gastronomy. Often, the landscape changes significantly within the same region — from the wide Po River Valley to the mountains and the sea and back again, all while tumbling down escarpments, crossing hills, fields, forests, lakes and rivers of all types. There is little resemblance between the hills of Piedmont, the Marches and Tuscany. Meanwhile, if you cross the Apennines, the landscape changes significantly enough to seem like a different country. From the north, through the centre to the south and out to the islands, the folklore and traditions vary greatly, informed over the centuries by human settlers who brought with them their beliefs and customs.
The varied landscape also accounts for an outstandingly diversified agriculture, which, of course, is closely linked to culinary tradition. Every region — and sometimes even towns fewer than 50 kilometres apart — has distinctive cheeses, salumi and other specialties typical of its location. Italians will be happy to share their thoughts and opinions on where to find the very best expressions of their cuisine.
Italy’s gastronomy is inextricably linked to its culture, with recipes and techniques developed and refined over centuries. Visitors who choose to base their itineraries on cultural-culinary exploration will not be disappointed. In fact, 2018 is a special year because the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, together with the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies have declared it the Year of Italian Food. These 12 months will feature a wide range of initiatives to promote and celebrate the cultural importance of Italian food, including its symbolic, social, esthetic and life-affirming qualities, from the Greco-Roman era to the advent of the Baroque and all the way to the cutting-edge chefs of the present.
And we mustn’t forget the excellence of Italy’s wines. With more than 2,000 grape varietals, the country is the largest producer of wine in the world, and continues to gain popularity as an eco-tourism destination, attracting increasing numbers of visitors to wine regions and wineries to learn more about the history of wine and its characteristics, its terroir and the perfect integration of the land, its history and the winemaker’s art and skill.
If, throughout this diversity, there is a constant, it is the Italian way of life. We are welcoming and warm. To us, human interaction is an art, and we take special pride in introducing newcomers to what we consider to be the “finer things in life,” such as good company, excellent food, beautiful surroundings, all enjoyed unhurriedly. We are aware of the very special home we have inherited and are happy to share it with others.
With its millennia of history and culture, Italy offers diversity, depth and an experience that will make any and every trip memorable. I invite you to explore and enjoy our magnificent unique country.
Claudio Taffuri is Italy’s ambassador to Canada.