Reasons why you should add Italy to your bucket list

Don’t let yourself say ‘I never saw Venice’. We could fill a book with reasons why you should add Italy to your bucket list, but here are a few that will make you realise that experiencing la dolce vita needs to be on your bucketlist.

Cities

Venice – need we say more? How about Rome, Florence, Milan or Verona? There’s no end to the list of stunning and unique cities in Italy. Take a step back in time when you visit Rome and discover a 3000 year saga. Float down the canals of Venice, visit its colourful churches and museums and enjoy an espresso with a view of the Grand Canal. Visit the fashion capital of the world in Milan, or marvel at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.

Embrace your romantic side when you visit Verona, the city that Romeo and Juliet was set in. Even if you’re not a city-slicker, Italy will have you hanging on its every baroque detail.

Food

Italy is more than just the land of pizza and pasta. The food is rich with herbs, oils, fresh seafood and home-baked breads. Antipasto abounds and the selection of cheeses is unreal. Gooey, smoked, sharp or blue, Italy has it five ways you like it. Italy is the home of Tartufi; the white truffles so sought after by chefs across the globe that they’re worth more than their weight in gold, and in Italy, they really know how to use them. Did we mention gelato?

Book a food tour of Italy

Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream

Wine

In Italy, a meal isn’t complete without wine – and oh the wine in Italy… Chianti, Barbaresco, Borolo and Amarone, there’s something for everyone. Italy is one of the top five wine producers in the world, and is best known for its bold, full-bodied reds.

World Heritage Sites

With 51 UNESCO inscribed sites, Italy is home to more World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world. While some are well-known, like those in Rome, Venice and Florence, you might be surprised to know that among them are ancient cave dwellings from a prehistoric troglodyte community and 140 000 prehistoric rock drawings and petroglyphs dating back over 7000 years.

Fountain di Trevi in Rome

If you think the only sites you’ll see in Italy are architectural, you couldn’t be more wrong. There’s even a botanical garden which was founded 600 years ago and hosts an amazing collection of carnivorous plants.

Art

The birthplace of Michelangelo, da Vinci and Galileo, Italy has been the epicentre of the art world since antiquity. Although there are thousands of museums, a handful of them are absolute musts. The Vatican Museums are home to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and countless sculptures by the masters of the renaissance period.

David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created by Michelangelo.

The Gallery of the Academy of Florence houses Michelangelo’s David and several of his unfinished pieces, which give you a glimpse into how he worked. Last, but not least is the Bargello National Museum, which once served as a prison. The museum now holds many of Donatello’s most famous pieces.

The Ocean

Beach Holidays in Italy

The Mediterranean Sea, the Ionian Sea or the Tyrrhenian Sea, you can take your pick. Why not visit all three? Dig your toes into the soft sand at the Maddalena Archipelago and take a dip in the temperate turquoise water. Visit the Scala dei Turchi in southern Sicily and climb the cliffs for amazing views and take a mud bath – the wet marl is said to have fantastic skin benefits. It doesn’t stop at the beaches though; Italy has some of the world’s most fascinating dive sites, including Il Cristo degli Abissi – Christ of the Abyss – a massive bronze statue of Christ that sits 18 metres below in the ocean floor.

Book a beach holiday to Italy