Regions of Italy

Hotel of the Day Italy

Hotel Lieto Soggiorno, Assisi

The Regions of Italy with their hotels and the capital of the region

Short Description of the Italian Regions

Apulia - Apulia (Puglia), is located on the Adriatic Sea, at the spur and heel of the Italian boot. From the cliffs and beaches of the Gargano Peninsula, through vine and olive covered plains growing some of Italy's most robust wines, and the coast lined with many beaches to the southernmost tip of Italy's heel, Puglia offers the most variety of the southern regions, equal in wealth and artistic talent to the north. You can see Greek ruins at Taranto, Norman Romanesque cathedrals and castles, and the Trulli, whitewashed houses with conical stone roofs turning the plains into a fairy-tale landscape. Further south on the Salentine Peninsula there is baroque Lecce, the south's most beautiful city.

Travel to Basilicata - Basilicata is a tiny southern region, occupied for the most part by mountains that in places reached by two seas: the Tyrrhenian sea for a short section of coast line, and the Ionian sea. It is one of the poorest region in Italy but it boast a piece of prehistory in the modern world: "The Sassi". They are located at Matera, the second main city of Basilicata

Calabria - Calabria is one of the most beautiful parts of the country with perfect weather year-round and a relaxed Italian way of life. Once part of the Greek Empire, Calabria was colonized by the Romans, Byzantines, French and Spanish, becoming part of the Italian Republic in 1861. Each invading population brought its own influence to Calabrese culture and cuisine making the region unique in Italy. The area is well known for it's flavorsome and spicy food as well as seafood, lamb, capers, figs and olives all of which influence local cooking. The Calabrese people are warm, open and welcoming, traditionally hospitable and eager to share the beauty of the region they live in.

Campania is the most popular southern region for tourists, as it is home to the breathtaking islands of Capri and Ischia, known for their breathtaking cliffs and ocean views. Capri, boasting one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Blue Grotto, is a sight to see for anyone not afraid of venturing through the cave in a tiny rowboat. The Campania region is full of history, both mythological and factual. The Amalfi Coast, south of Naples, is the vacation destination of many who are lucky enough to have discovered its beauty. Campania is famous for foods such as pizza, buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and homemade pasta with pomodoro sauce. Lemons also grow plentifully in the region, which result in the refreshing liqueur Limoncello and the plentiful grapes are transformed into excellent wines.

Emilia Romagna - Emilia-Romagna is the gastronomic heartland of Italy. It is in this passionate countryside that homemade pasta, prosciutto and parmigiano are produced without equal. And it is here where each and every town has its own specialty as remarkable and unique as the next. Bordered by six other regions, this extremely fertile land skirts both the Po River and the Apennines. Most of the region's important towns lie on the Via Emilia, a road built in Roman times that cuts a swath from Piancenza at the top of the region to Rimini on the Adriatic. The area from Bologna to the north is Emilia; from Bologna to the south is Romagna. The region's capital is Bologna, which is located just about dead center and draws characteristics from both Emilia and Romagna.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia - Friuli-Venezia Giulia is often skipped by tourists. It does not receive half as many people as nearby Veneto. This means that Friuli offers you a chance to discover a truly interesting region without too many other tourists around. To get to know one of Italy's most versatile regions, a "small digest of the universe" as the writer Ippolito Nievo defined Slovenia. This varied region is characterized by different landscapes which go from the smooth hills of Collio to the picturesque Trieste coastline, from the middle-European architecture of Trieste to the graceful Venetian architecture of Udine and by different cultures, heritage of various invasions which marked history. This variety can be savoured also by its rich cuisine together with its world known top white wines and its outstanding red ones.

Latium - a region of fascinating nature and environment, with an extraordinary variety of landscape: wide beaches, great pinewoods, mountains like Terminillo (an excellent ski resort), gentle hills and expansive plains, a region rich in artistic monuments that bring to mind the long and extraordinary history of this region in the most immediate fashion. At Tarquinia, Cerveteri and Tuscania, necropolises and museums bear evidence of ancient and mysterious Etruscan people (seventh to sixth centuries B.C.) who ruled central Italy before the rise of Rome. There are countless testimonies of the Roman and later historical eras outside Rome, in the other provinces of Latium and in the local centers: Rieti, Viterbo, Latina and Frosinone. It is enough to think of the splendid and grandiose Villa Adriana in Tivoli (where the renaissance Villa d'Este can also be found), the seventeenth-century Palazzo Barberini in Palestrina, and the Cathedral in Anagni. The same grandiose style of the Roman religion seems to be projected and duplicated outside Rome: in the abbeys of Montecassino, Casamari, and Fossanova and in the monasteries of Subiaco, places dear to Saint Benedict of Norcia. Latium, therefore, is not just Rome. And Rome is also Latium.

Travel to Liguria - Liguria, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, forms an imposing arc, with the Gulf of Genoa in its center. It is a mountainous and hilly region, which includes part of the Maritime Alps and the Ligurian Apennines, whose the spurs plunge almost everywhere into the sea, leaving scant space to the plains, which form a narrow coastline. Here landscapes of great beauty can be admired. The region is divided in two sections: the Riviera di Ponente (to the west), from Ventimiglia to Genova, and the Riviera di Levante (to the east), from Genoa to La Spezia. The terminal strip of the Riviera di Levante is known as “Le Cinque Terre” (the Five Lands) and still today represents a beautiful example of intact landscape.

Lombardy - Unlike the other regions in Italy, Lombardy is best known for its economical supremacy but its tourist attractions are no less important. As well as the vast and industrious Po Valley, Lombardy can boast charming hilly areas, large lakes in the foothills of the Alps and a great variety of mountain scenery - from the wooded valleys of the Pre Alps to the Bernina, Ortles-Cevedale and Adamello glaciers. In addition to these it conserves a remarkable historical and artistic heritage: from the spectacular prehistoric rock carvings of Valcamonica to the the great works of art such as the famous Duomo in Milan. In such a limited space it is impossible to list all the monuments, churches and abbeys, the castles, palaces and villas in the cities of Lombardy and scattered all over the region. The beauty of their scenery and a mild climate have for centuries made Lakes Como, Iseo, Garde and Maggiore the most popular of holiday choices.

The Marches - Travellers who want the best of central Italy are now heading for Le Marche, the third region, alongside Tuscany and Umbria, that makes up the area. It is pronounced "lay markay", is plural (Le Marche) and is sometimes translated into English as "The Marches". The region lies on the eastern side of central Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the high Apennine mountains and much of it remains unspoilt by the ravages of mass tourism. True, the Adriatic coast has been a mecca for "sun n' sand" holiday makers for decades; but few venture far from the beaches. Inland, perhaps more so than anywhere else in central Italy, you will find places where time really has stood still. Compared to its central Italian sisters, here culture comes in more easily digestible proportions but quality, as at Urbino, is often of the very best.

Molise - Molise Italy is a small and undiscovered region where tradition, intricate craftsmanship, and hospitality are still points of pride for its inhabitants. A relatively new region, only having split from the Abruzzo region to its north in 1965, its underdevelopment has preserved the inspiring mountainous landscape. Campobasso is the regional capital and a central point from which travel throughout the region is easiest. Molise Italy is a region where remains of antiquity are prevalent due to the lack of development of the mountainous countryside. Isernia, a town set amidst the ridge of a mountain, holds the Museo Nationale, which features regional archeological finds dating back to the Roman era and remains of animals such as elephant and rhinoceros species from 700,000 years ago. The town of Pietrabbondante features a massive Hellenistic theater complex 3,000 feet up in the mountains.

Piedmont - Lying at the foot of the mountains in northern Italy, Piedmont (or Piemonte to give it its Italian name) is an intriguing mixture of high finance and big business (Turin); super scenery with snow-capped mountains and great skiing; and a fascinating cultural mix, with a strong French and German influence as well as the Italian. It also arguably boasts some of the finest food and wine in Italy, although the residents of near neighbours Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna might argue with that.

Sardinia - Small enough to be classified as an island but big enough to be a universe unto itself, Sardinia lies about 120 miles west of the Italian peninsula. Its coastline is probably Europe's most spectacular. Its waters teem with fish and shellfish. Its broad valleys turn into golden oceans of wheat in summer. Its rugged mountains, pocked with caves, are home to large flocks of sheep that feed on pungent wild herbs and produce a cheese your palate will never forget.

Travel Sicily - Sicily is a mountainous arid island — an extension of the Apennine Mountains separated from the mainland by the Straits of Messina. Many powers have occupied this strategically important area: Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Phoenicians and of course the Mafia. Historical sites related to those powers are part of the island’s attraction. (A Mafia tour visits sites of various Family activities and the graves of infamous godfathers and victims.) But there are many other reasons to visit Sicily: water sports, beaches of rock and sand (including black sand), natural beauty, good food and friendly people.

Trentino Alto Adige - Although this popular travel destination has a dominant German influence, Trentino-Alto Adige offers the same warm hospitality and charm of the warmer regions of the country. Residents of Trentino, the main city in the southern part of the region, mainly speak Italian, while the natives of Adige (sometimes called South Tirol) in the north predominantly speak German. Yet as different as the two areas may be culturally, they share an impressive, beautiful landscape, with the spectacular white-rock Dolomite Mountains in the east offer terrific skiing and hiking.

Travel Tuscany - Located on the eastern shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tuscany is synonymous with amazing food, great wine and lush rolling landscapes—a combination that proves intoxicating for all who visit. Surely an extension of its environment, Tuscany gave birth to the Renaissance and many of those whose work inspired it. Florence, Pisa, Prato and Siena are among the region's largest cities, and collectively house some of its most prized art and historic relics.

Umbria - Umbria, one of the smallest regions in Italy, is entirely landlocked and often referred to as being the 'green heart of Italy'. Umbria still loudly echoes the Middle Ages, and boasts (albeit quietly) a landscape of mediaeval hilltop villages, castles and monasteries. This is a region that, despite being on the doorstep of Tuscany and en route to Rome, is largely untouched by large-scale tourism; there are many bargains to be had, and the countryside and towns will offer up many a sight to match those of neighbouring Tuscany.

Val d'Aosta - Sheltered by the towering peaks of Europe's highest peak, Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa, the reaches of the Val d'Aosta remain entirely mountainous. In the valley itself exists a unique culture, complete with battling cows, (an old Aosta tradition), Roman ruins and a hundred different castles. Glaciers, Gothic sculptures, Baroque village churches, numerous fortresses, spectacular views and glamorous ski resorts like Courmayeur also add to the mix. The food is hearty and the local inhabitants speak French, Italian and a bit of Patois, a dialect whose origins lie in Provence.

Veneto - The Veneto has an extraordinary range of scenery. In addition to its famous cities of great artistic and cultural interest (Venice, Verona, Vicenza and Padua), it has the natural beauty to be found in the Dolomites, on the shores of Lake Garda, in the landscape of the Euganei hills and in the modern seaside resorts. There are also cultural and traditional events and international level health centres.