Italy
Situated in Mediterranean Europe, Italy has land frontiers with France in the
north-west, Switzerland and Austria in the north and Slovenia in the north-east.
The peninsula is surrounded by the Ligurian Sea, the Sardinian Sea and the
Tyrrhenian Sea in the west, the Sicilian Sea and the Ionian Sea in the south
and the Adriatic Sea in the east. Italian is the language of the majority of
the population but there are minorities speaking German, French, Slovene and
Ladino.
Geographical Profile
There is a great deal of variety in the landscape in Italy, although it is characterized
predominantly by two mountain chains: the Alps and the Apennines. The former
extends over 600 miles from east to west. It consists of great massifs in the
western sector, with peaks rising to over 14,000 feet, including Monte Bianco
(Mont Blanc), Monte Rosa and Cervino (the Matterhorn). The the chain is lower
in the eastern sector, although the mountains, the Dolomites, are still of extraordinary
beauty.
At the foot of the Alpine arc stretches the vast Po Valley plain, cut down the
middle by the course of the river Po, the longest in Italy (390
miles), which has its source in the Pian de Re (Monviso) and flows
into the Adriatic through a magnificent delta. The Alpine foothills
are characterized by large lakes: Lake Maggiore and the lakes of
Como, Iseo and Garda. The Apennines form the backbone of the peninsula,
stretching in a wide arc concave to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Corno
Grande (Gran Sasso d'Italia) is the highest peak. A large part of
central Italy is characterized by a green hilly landscape, through
which the rivers Arno and Tevere (Tiber) run. The southern section
of the chain pushes out to the east forming the Gargano promontory
and, sloping down further south, the Salentine peninsula. It then
proceeds to the west with the Calabrian and Peloritano massif stretching
across the Strait of Messina into Sicilia. The principal islands
are Sicilia, rising up to the great volcanic cone of Etna (10,860
feet) and Sardegna. The main archipelagos are the Tremiti Islands in the Adriatic Sea,
the Tuscan Archipelago, the Pontine Islands, the Aeolian Islands
and the Egadi Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Sicilia.
The miracle of Italy is that all its treasures come packaged in
a gorgeous country of majestic mountains, placid lakes, idyllic
islands, splendid cities and wonderful walled villages. An ideal
climate plus warm and gracious people make Italy a perfect destination
for an active vacation, the art lover, the gourmand, the hedonist
combined, why not, with business.
Active Holidays
Doing nothing is not easy! For active holidaymakers Italy features
a wide variety of distraction to choose from, when you want to
gain new strength and energy from your adventures and activities.
Art Cities
The great artistic legacy of Italy, unequalled anywhere in the world,
is not only distributed throughout the major cities and their famous
museums; one can say in truth that there is no Italian city, however
modest, which does not contain and cherish some share of this wealth
of art. Indeed, many of them can be considered real treasures -
so beautiful and valuable are the works they contain. The artistic
riches of Italy's main cities have already been described.
Food & Wine
The gentle lifestyle of Italy is partly a product of its civilized
eating habits: eating and drinking in tranquility at least once
a day are a norm here.
Alternative Vacation
Do you want to tailor yourself a different vacation ? Italy offers
a variety of opportunities. Why don't try your hands at pottery
or blowing glass ? why not experience ancient music classes or test
yourself in cooking or learning italian ? and a lot more...
Thermal Spa
The culture linking spas and health runs throughout the history
of mankind. "For
more than 600 years the only doctors the Romans ever saw where their
spas" Pliny observed. Ideas on how to spend your leisure time, proposing a new kind
of holiday looking after both body and soul.
Meetings & Incentives
Old castles and modern hotels, magnificent villas and beautiful
holiday resorts - Italy offers a wide choice of prestigious localities
and venues, all fully equipped, for a perfect combination of work
and pleasure.
