People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to visit the peninsula for tourist reasons were aristocrats during the Grand Tour, beginning in the 17th century, and flourishing in the 18th and 19th centuries.[9] This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British and French, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.[9] For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture and to admire the natural beauties.[10]
Nowadays the factors of tourist interest in Italy are mainly culture, cuisine, history, fashion, architecture, art, religious sites and routes, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites and spas. Winter and summer tourism are present in many locations in the Alps and the Apennines,[11] while seaside tourism is widespread in coastal locations along the Mediterranean Sea.[12] Small, historical and artistic Italian villages are promoted through the association I Borghi più belli d'Italia (literally "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy"). Italy is among the countries most visited in the world by tourists during the Christmas holidays.[13]Rome is the 3rd most visited city in Europe and the 12th in the world, with 9.4million arrivals in 2017[14] while Milan is the 5th most visited city in Europe and the 16th in the world,[15][16] with 8.81million tourists.[17] In addition, Venice and Florence are also among the world's top 100 destinations. Italy is also the country with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world (60).[18] Out of Italy's 60 heritage sites, 54 are cultural and 6 are natural.[19]
The Roman Empire, Middle Ages, Renaissance and the following centuries of the history of Italy have left many cultural artefacts that attract tourists.[20] In general, the Italian cultural heritage is the largest in the world since it consists of 60 to 75 percent of all the artistic assets that exist on each continent,[21] with over 4,000 museums, 6,000 archaeological sites, 85,000 historic churches and 40,000 historic palaces, all subject to protection by the Italian Ministry of Culture.[22] As of 2018, the Italian places of culture (which include museums, attractions, parks, archives and libraries) amounted to 6,610. Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean Sea.[23]
In Italy, there is a broad variety of hotels, going from 1-5 stars. According to ISTAT, in 2017, there were 32,988 hotels with 1,133,452 rooms and 2,239,446 beds.[24] As for non-hotel facilities (campsites, tourist villages, accommodations for rent, agritourism, etc.), in 2017 their number was 171,915 with 2,798,352 beds.[24] The tourist flow to coastal resorts is 53 percent; the best equipped cities are Grosseto for farmhouses (217), Vieste for campsites and tourist villages (84) and Cortina d'Ampezzo mountain huts (20).[25][26]
History
Islands such as Capri became popular in the late 14th century and first decade of the 19th century.The Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the distance. Pompeii is Italy's third and the world's 48th most visited destination, with over 2.5 million tourists a year.Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy
Beginnings
People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to visit the peninsula for touristic reasons were aristocrats during the Grand Tour, beginning in the 17th century, and flourishing in the 18th and the 19th century.[9]
Rome, as the capital of the Roman Empire, attracted thousands to the city and country from all over the empire, which included a great part of Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa. Traders and merchants came to Italy from several different parts of the world. When the empire fell in 476 AD, Rome was no longer the epicentre of European politics and culture; on the other hand, it was the base of the papacy, which then governed the growing Christian religion, meaning that Rome remained one of Europe's major places of pilgrimage. Pilgrims, for centuries and still today, would come to the city, and that would have been the early equivalent of "tourism" or "religious tourism".[27] The trade empires of Venice, Pisa and Genoa meant that several traders, businessmen and merchants from all over the world would also regularly come to Italy. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, with the height of the Renaissance, several students came to Italy to study Italian architecture.[28]
Real "tourism" only affected Italy in the second half of the 17th century, with the beginning of the Grand Tour. This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.[9] For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture and to admire the natural beauties.[10] The Grand Tour was in essence triggered by the book Voyage to Italy, by Roman Catholic priest Richard Lassels, and published in 1670.[29][30] Due to the Grand Tour, tourism became even more prevalent – making Italy one of the most desired destinations for millions of people.[31] Once inside what would be modern-day Italy, these tourists would begin by visiting Turin for a short while. On the way there, Milan was also a popular stop, yet a trip to the city was not considered essential, and several passed by or simply stayed for a short period of time. If a person came via boat, then they would remain for a few days in Genoa. Yet, the main destination in Northern Italy was Venice, which was considered a vital stop,[29] as well as cities around it such as Verona, Vicenza and Padua.
As the Tour went on, Tuscan cities were also very important itinerary stops. Florence was a major attraction, and other Tuscan towns, such as Siena, Pisa, Lucca and San Gimignano, were also considered important destinations. The most prominent stop in Central Italy, however, was Rome, a major centre for the arts and culture, as well as an essential city for a Grand Tourist.[29] Later, they would go down to the Bay of Naples,[29] and after their discovery in 1710, Pompeii and Herculaneum were popular too. Sicily was considered a significant part of the trail, and several, such as Goethe, visited the island.
Mass tourism
Throughout the 17th to 18th centuries, the Grand Tour was mainly reserved for academics or the elite. Nevertheless, circa 1840,[29] rail transport was introduced and the Grand Tour started to fall slightly out of vogue; hence, the first form of mass tourism was introduced. The 1840s saw the period in which the Victorian middle classes toured the country. Several Americans were also able to visit Italy, and many more tourists came to the peninsula. Places such as Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and Sicily still remained the top attractions.
Like many other Europeans, Italians rely heavily on public transport. Italy is a relatively small country and distances are reduced.[32]
As the century progressed, fewer cultural visits were made, and there was an increase in tourists coming for Italy's nature and weather. The first seaside resorts, such as those on the Ligurian coast, around Venice, coastal Tuscany and Amalfi, became popular. This vogue of summer holidays heightened in the fin-de-siècle epoch, when numerous "Grand Hotels" were built (including places such as Sanremo, Lido di Venezia, Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi). Islands such as Capri, Ischia, Procida and Elba grew in popularity, and the Northern lakes, such as Lake Como, Maggiore and Garda were more frequently visited. Tourism to Italy remained very popular until the late-1920s and early-1930s, when, with the Great Depression and economic crisis, several could no longer afford to visit the country; the increasing political instability meant that fewer tourists came. Only old touristic groups, such as the Scorpioni, remained alive.
After a big slump in tourism beginning from approximately 1929 and lasting after World War II, Italy returned to its status as a popular resort, with the Italian economic miracle and raised living standards; films such as La Dolce Vita were successful abroad, and their depiction of the country's perceived idyllic life helped raise Italy's international profile. By this point, with higher incomes, Italians could also afford to go on holiday; coastline resorts saw a soar in visitors, especially in Romagna. Many cheap hotels and pensioni (hostels) were built in the 1960s, and with the rise of wealth, by now, even a working-class Italian family could afford a holiday somewhere along the coast. The late 1960s also brought mass popularity to mountain holidays and skiing; in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, numerous ski resorts and chalets started being built. The 1970s also brought a wave of foreign tourists to Italy in search of a sentimental trip,[33] since Mediterranean destinations saw a rise in global visitors.
Despite this, by the late 1970s and early 1980s, economic crises and political instability meant that there was a significant slump in the Italian tourist industry, as destinations in the Far East or South America rose in popularity.[34] Yet, by the late-1980s and early-1990s, tourism saw a return to popularity, with cities such as Milan becoming more popular destinations. Milan saw a rise in tourists since it was ripening its position as a worldwide fashion capital.
In particular, Venice’s overtourism problem has received widespread media coverage. The causes of overtourism in Venice are numerous but the main factors include the volume of cruise ship passengers, excessive day trip visitors – which far outnumber residents and overnight guests – and an increase in peer to peer home-sharing platforms which are squeezing local people out of the housing market.[36]
In 2023, less than 50,000 residents lived in Venice’s Centro Storico. In the 1970s it is reported the old city centre housed 175,000 residents.[37] On busy days, day trippers can number up to 85,000 per day.[38]
30% of available residential apartments are occupied by tourist rentals.[39]
Since 2021, large cruise ships have been banned from entering the historic centre after UNESCO threatened to put Venice on its endangered list as a result of damage to the lagoon.[40] In 2024, Venice authorities introduced an entry fee for day trippers on peak days between April to June to deter visitors, however in late 2024 it was reported that this was not successful in reducing numbers.[41]
Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. The country's total area is 301,230 square kilometres (116,306sqmi), of which 294,020km2 (113,522sqmi) is land and 7,210km2 (2,784sqmi) is water.[46] Including islands, Italy has a coastline of 7,900km (4,900mi) on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia and Strait of Sicily, and borders shared with France (488km (303mi)), Austria (430km (267mi)), Slovenia (232km (144mi)) and Switzerland (740km (460mi)). San Marino (39km (24mi)) and Vatican City (3.2km (2.0mi)), both enclaves, account for the remainder.[46]
The climate of Italy is influenced by the large body of water of the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds Italy on every side except the north. These seas constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity for Italy. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a particular climate called Mediterranean climate with local differences due to the geomorphology of the territory, which tends to make its mitigating effects felt, especially in high pressure conditions.
Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer. Between the north and south there can be a considerable difference in temperature, above all during the winter: on some winter days it can be −2°C (28°F) and snowing in Milan, while it is 8°C (46.4°F) in Rome and 20°C (68°F) in Palermo. Temperature differences are less extreme in the summer.
The national railway network is also extensive, especially in the north, totalizing 16,862km of which 69% are electrified and on which 4,937 locomotives and railcars circulate. It is the 12th largest in the world, and is operated by state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato, while the rail tracks and infrastructure are managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. While a number of private railroads exist and provide mostly commuter-type services, the national railway also provides sophisticated high-speed rail service that joins the major cities.
Italy is the fifth in Europe by number of passengers by air transport, with about 148 million passengers or about 10% of the European total in 2011.[51] There are approximately 130 airports in Italy, of which 99 have paved runways (including the two hubs of Leonardo Da Vinci International in Rome and Malpensa International in Milan).
In 2004 there were 43 major seaports including the Port of Genoa, the country's largest and the third busiest by cargo tonnage in the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the increasing importance of the maritime Silk Road with its connections to Asia and East Africa, the Italian ports for Central and Eastern Europe have become important in recent years. In particular, the deep water port of Trieste in the northernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea is the target of Italian, Asian and European investments.[52][53] The national inland waterway network comprises 1,477km (918mi) of navigable rivers and channels. In the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, commuter ferry boats operate on Lake Garda and Lake Como to connect towns and villages at both sides of the lakes.
The peaks of tourist flows in Italy are recorded in winter, due to the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays,[54] in spring, due to the Easter holidays,[55] and in summer, due to the favourable climate.[56]
Italy overall had 420.63 million visitor nights in 2017, of which 210.66 million were of foreign guests (50.08 per cent). With 37.04 million nights spent in hotels, hostels or clinics, the Metropolitan City of Venice has the most visitors.[63]
Italian regions by number of visitors
According to regional data, in 2018 tourism presences in Italy amounted to 436 million (216 million residents and 220 million non-residents).[64]
With 71 million nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments, Veneto has the highest number of visitors and ranks sixth in Europe.[65][66]
Below is a table with the most visited regions in Italy (data as of 2019)
Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of western civilization and a cultural superpower.[74] Divided by politics and geography for centuries until its eventual unification in 1861, Italy's culture has been shaped by a multitude of regional customs and local centres of power and patronage.[75] Italy has had a central role in Western culture for centuries and is still recognised for its cultural traditions and artists. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a number of courts competed to attract architects, artists and scholars, thus producing a legacy of monuments, paintings, music and literature. Despite the political and social isolation of these courts, Italy has made a substantial contribution to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe.[76] The country has had a broad cultural influence worldwide, also because numerous Italians emigrated to other places during the Italian diaspora.
The country boasts several world-famous cities. Rome was the ancient capital of the Roman Empire, the seat of the Pope of the Catholic Church, the capital of reunified Italy and the artistic, cultural and cinematographic centre of world relevance. Florence was the heart of the Renaissance, a period of great achievements in the arts at the end of the Middle Ages.[77] Other important cities include Turin, which used to be the capital of Italy and is now one of the world's great centres of automobile engineering. Milan is the industrial and financial capital of Italy and one of the world's fashion capitals. Venice, the former capital of a major financial and maritime power from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, with its intricate canal system attracts tourists from all over the world, especially during the Venetian Carnival and the Biennale. Naples, with the largest historic city centre in Europe and the oldest continuously active public opera house in the world (Teatro di San Carlo). Bologna is the main transport hub of the country, as well as the home of the oldest university in the world and of a worldwide famous cuisine.[78]
Italian art has influenced several major movements throughout the centuries and has produced several great artists, including painters, architects and sculptors. Italy has a vast and important historical heritage,[79] both in terms of the number of artefacts, as well as in terms of conservation, and in terms of intrinsic artistic-cultural value. For example, Italy boasts the largest number of sites indicated in the UNESCOWorld HeritageList.[80] In general, the Italian cultural heritage is the largest in the world since it consists of 60% to 75% of all the artistic assets that exist on each continent,[21] with over 4,000 museums, 6,000 archaeological sites, 85,000 historic churches and 40,000 historic palaces, all subject to protection by the Italian Ministry of Culture.[22]
In 2013, the value of the artistic and cultural heritage alone was estimated at 5.4% of Italian GDP, approximately €75.5 billion, capable of employing approximately 1.4 million workers.[81] According to the Eurostat report of 2019, Italian tourism is first in Europe in terms of the number of jobs generated (4.2 million) and third for the average visitor expenditure and the share of revenues of the national sector compared to the European total (€48 billion, 12% of the total).[82][83]
Beaches and cliffs are dotted with various accommodation facilities, such as bathing establishments, hotels and restaurants, resorts, agritourism, night and day gathering centres, parks, piers and marinas, as well as numerous historic and artistic centres, which combine an interest in the bathing activities to those for leisure, nature and art.
International lake tourism in Italy has been able to establish due to the sounding board created by some celebrities of the international jet set, well known by the general public.[104] The purchase of a holiday residence along Lake Como by actor George Clooney was very publicized in 2001, as well as the marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in 2006 in the Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, along Lake Bracciano.
In Italy, there is both winter and summer mountain tourism. Despite a not particularly harsh climate compared to other countries located at more northern latitudes, Italy manages to attract tourists who practice winter sports due to the presence of numerous mountain ranges (the percentage of mountainous territory is around 35%).[106]
As for mountain summer tourism, noteworthy locations includes Courmayeur, Val di Fassa, Abetone and Ceresole Reale.[108] During the summer, in the Italian mountains, there are itineraries and paths, both on foot and by bicycle, where it is possible to admire naturalistic beauties, historic and artistic centres, glaciers, lakes, as well as practice numerous sports activities such as mountaineering, paragliding, rafting and hang gliding.[109] In the Italian mountains there are a large number of agritourism locations, baite and resorts, as well as hotels and restaurants.[110]
Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site comprising "five distinct wine-growing areas with outstanding landscapes" plus the Castle of Grinzane Cavour in the region of Piedmont, Italy.[115] The site, which extends over hilly areas of Langhe and Montferrat, is one of the most important wine producing zones in Italy. Located in the centre of the Piedmont region (North-West of Italy), the site is inscribed as a "cultural landscape", since it is a result of the combined work of nature and man. The site is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List thanks to the outstanding value of its wine culture, which has shaped the landscape over the centuries.[116] These sites are the result of a coexisting process between humans and the environment. As a result of its heartfelt attitude to the environment, this wine region has preserved an incredible cultural heritage that has become a model for other wine districts throughout the world.[117]
Italian rivers and canals attract tourists, who can travel along them both in their navigable sections with houseboats and ships, and in non-navigable sections thanks to the use of canoes and kayaks.[118] Along the Italian rivers there are naturalistic beauties, villages and cities, historical monuments and pilgrimage routes.[119] Some Italian rivers such as the Ticino, the Orba, the Dora Baltea and the Elvo stream are frequented by tourists who try their hand as amateur gold prospectors, given the presence in the form of specks of this metal in the waters of these waterways.[120]
The most important Italian river that can be navigated is the Po, which with its 652km (405mi) in length is the longest river in Italy and which is navigable from Turin to the mouth.[118] Along the Po there are 12 ports, 111 berths (3 in Piedmont, 39 in Lombardy, 36 in Emilia-Romagna, 33 in Veneto) and about 20 river operators who provide boat rental services and organize excursions and river cruises.[118] Noteworthy is its delta mouth, which is one of the largest wetlands in Europe and the Mediterranean area, and which is rich in naturalistic beauties.[118] From the river Po it is possible to reach, directly or indirectly by sailing along its tributaries, the cities of Cremona, Mantua, Parma, Padua and Verona.[118]
The Brenta river is navigable from Padua to Venice, where it has its mouth.[118] Another noteworthy Italian river is the Sile, which is navigable from Treviso to the mouth, which is located near Jesolo.[118] Also important is the network of rivers and artificial canals are present between Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Venetian Lagoon, which is formed by 109km (68mi) of navigable canals.[118] Also noteworthy is the Padana waterway, which connects Mantua to the sea via the Mincio river and the Po.[118]
As far as the navigable canals are concerned, worthy of note is the touristic navigation service of the Lombard Navigli, which is an urban transport network in the Milan area integrated by some lines of boats along these canals.[121] The tourist lines connect the dock of Milan with numerous comuni that rise along the Naviglio Grande up to Abbiategrasso and Turbigo.[121] Tourist navigation is also present along the Naviglio Martesana, in the stretch from Trezzo sull'Adda to Vaprio d'Adda.[121]
The Marine Protected Areas of Italy restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, to protect natural resources or archaeological sites. There were twenty-seven such marine protected areas, and a further two "Submerged Archaeological Parks" (Italian: parchi sommersi); in 2018, two new marine protected areas were created. these areas help safeguard in total some 228,000 hectares (2,280km2) of the seas around Italy as well as some 700 kilometres (430mi) of its coastline, corresponding to 12% of the Italian coasts.[122]
Italy is among the countries most visited in the world by tourists during the Christmas holidays.[13] The attraction factors are the not too harsh climate, the cultural offer of the cities including museums, exhibitions and party initiatives, the rich gastronomy as well as the more affordable prices compared to other countries.[13] Italy is the second European country most visited by European tourists during the Christmas holidays behind Spain and ahead of Portugal, France and the United Kingdom.[13] The Italian cities most visited by international tourists during the Christmas holidays are, in order, Milan, Rome, Naples, Catania, Palermo and Cagliari.[13] Milan, in particular, is the favourite destination by European tourists for Germans, British and Portuguese tourists and the second for French, Spaniards and Dutch tourists.[13]
Italy is also a destination for shopping tourism.[135]Italian fashion has a long tradition. The shops that attract the most tourists are those of clothing, leather goods and cosmetics and perfumery, while the most visited Italian cities for this type of tourism are, in descending order of visits, Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice and Turin.[136]
In Rome the most important shopping streets are Via Condotti, Piazza di Spagna, Via del Babuino, Via Borgognona, Via Frattina, Via del Corso, Via del Campo Marzio, Via del Pellegrino, Via del Boschetto, Via Cola di Rienzo, Via del Governo Vecchio, Viale Guglielmo Marconi, Via Appia Nuova and Via Tuscolana,[139] while in Venice they are Le Mercerie, Piazza San Marco, Campo San Paolo, Burano and Murano.[140]
In Turin the most important shopping streets are Via Garibaldi, Contrada dei Guardinfanti, Galleria Subalpina, Via Roma, Piazza San Carlo a large number of visitors for, Piazza Carignano, Via Cesare Battisti, Piazza Carlo Alberto, Piazza Bodoni, Via Mazzini, Via Lagrange, Via Carlo Alberto, Piazza Carlo Felice, Via Po and Piazza Vittorio.[141]
Italy has one of the largest number of spas in the world,[143] and are appreciated internationally for the quality and effectiveness of the services and treatments offered.[144] This is also due to secondary volcanic phenomena that give rise to the emission of water, vapours and mud enriched by substances present in the Italian subsoil.[145]
Its origins are very remote, it is known that the ancient Greeks had already discovered its healing properties,[146] but the greatest admirers of antiquity were undoubtedly the ancient Romans who made it an aspect of their social life.[147]
Italy is the second-most popular destination in the world for wedding tourism after the Maldives and before Bali.[150] In 2022, 11,000 weddings were celebrated in Italy by foreign citizens who came to stay in the country to organize the wedding ceremony.[150] The length of stay of married couples and their guests to the ceremony is on average 3.3 nights.[150] In 2022, there were a total of 619,000 arrivals and over 2 million tourists connected to wedding tourism, with a turnover of around €599 million.[150] Italy hosts three of the top five European honeymoon destinations for wedding tourists: Positano, Rome and the Amalfi Coast.[150]
In 2022, 57% of marriages celebrated in Italy by foreign couples were connected to spouses and guests from other European countries, while the main country of origin (29.2%) of foreign couples who decided to celebrate their wedding in Italy was the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany and France.[150][151] Domestic wedding tourism is also noteworthy, given that in 2022 there were around 7,160 weddings of Italian couples celebrated in a region other than their own.[150]
There are numerous pilgrimage destinations in Italy, first of all Rome, the residence of the Pope (who is its bishop) and the seat of the Catholic Church. The city is a pilgrimage destination especially during the main events of Catholic religious life, especially during the Jubilees. Although his figure is not officially recognized by the faithful of other Christian denominations, the presence of the Pope in Rome also attracts others and is an important figure within the Christian creed.[152]
The Via Francigena is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome[157] and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land.[158] In medieval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostlesPeter and Paul. Today the Via Francigena is travelled by pilgrims, especially in the last stretch of the road, the one in Italian territory.[156] Along the Via Francigena there are numerous places of worship such as sanctuaries, convents and churches that attract pilgrims and tourists, also for their artistic and architectural beauties.[156]
The Cammino Celeste ("Celestial Way") is also very popular with pilgrims.[156] It is a network of pilgrimage routes that connects the places of worship of Aquileia in Italy, Maria Saal in Austria and Brezje in Slovenia with the Sanctuary of Monte Lussari, located in the Julian Alps in the Italian municipality of Tarvisio, made official as an international pilgrimage route in the summer of 2006.[159] Its name derives from the union of the numerous places of ancient Marian devotion it passed through.[160]
In Italy, there are several protected areas of various types: natural, mountain or marine parks, regional or local parks, and natural, wildlife or zoological reserves. In addition to this, there are numerous natural sites not necessarily protected by a park.
The parks of Italy include areas of land, sea, rivers and their banks, lakes and their environs which have environmental or naturalistic importance and are often valued for their landscape features and for representing particular local traditions. National parks of Italy cover about 5% of the country,[161] while the total area protected by national parks, regional parks of Italy and nature reserves covers about 10.5% of the Italian territory,[162] to which must be added 12% of coasts protected by Marine Protected Areas of Italy.[122]
Business tourism enlivens entrances to the country and constitutes a fundamental part of the sector. Businessmen who travel to Italy also take advantage of their stay to visit the country.[179] This type includes those who use the accommodation facilities for business trips or to participate in events related to the production or marketing of various goods developed within the most disparate economic sectors. Businessmen who travel to Italy also take advantage of their stay to visit the country.[179] By way of example, some events that attract businessmen to Italy are reported:
the Fiera Milano is a trade fair and exhibition organiser headquartered in Milan. The firm is the most important trade fair organiser in Italy and one of the largest in the world.[180]
the Milan Motorcycle Show, one of the most important exhibitions in the world dedicated to motorcycles.[181]
the Vinitaly is an international wine competition and exposition that is held annually in April in Verona. VinItaly has been called the "most important convention of domestic and international wines"[192] and the "largest wine show in the world".[193][194]
the Bologna Children's Book Fair is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world.[195] It is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna
the Genoa Science Festival is an annual science festival held in Genoa since 2003.[199] In 2006, the year in which it had 250,000 visits,[200] the Genoa Science Festival has been selected, the only Italian initiative, among the ten best events selected in 31 countries in the field of the promotion of culture scientific and technological at European level.[201]
the Pitti Immagine is a collection of fashion industry events in Italy.[202] Pitti Immagine, is one of the world's most important platforms for men's clothing and accessory collections, and for launching new projects in men's fashion. It's held twice yearly in Florence, at the Fortezza da Basso.[203] The first edition of Pitti Immagine was held in Florence in September 1972.[204]
the EuroChocolate is an annual chocolate festival that takes place in Perugia, the capital of the Umbria region in central Italy.[205] The festival has been held since 1993, and is one of the largest chocolate festivals in Europe.[206]
the Giffoni Film Festival is one of the most well-known children's film festivals in the world.[207] It takes place in a small Italian town of Giffoni Valle Piana in Campania, close to Salerno and Naples. The Giffoni Film Festival has had a great impact in the history of entertainment and culture, not only in Italy, and it has developed a high reputation internationally.[208]
Italian cuisine is one of the best known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.[211] Italian cuisine includes deeply rooted traditions common to the whole country, as well as all the regional gastronomies, different from each other, especially between the north and the south of Italy, which is in continuous exchange.[212][213][214] Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country.[215][216] Italian cuisine offers an abundance of taste, and is one of the most popular and copied around the world.[217] Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine varieties in the world.[218][219]
One of the main characteristics of Italian cuisine is its simplicity, with many dishes made up of few ingredients, and therefore Italian cooks often rely on the quality of the ingredients, rather than the complexity of preparation.[220][221] The most popular dishes and recipes, over the centuries, have often been created by ordinary people more so than by chefs, which is why many Italian recipes are suitable for home and daily cooking, respecting regional specificities, privileging only raw materials and ingredients from the region of origin of the dish and preserving its seasonality.[222][223][224]
Italian meal structure is typical of the European Mediterranean region and differs from North, Central, and Eastern European meal structure, though it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and supper (cena).[225] However, much less emphasis is placed on breakfast, and breakfast itself is often skipped or involves lighter meal portions than are seen in non-Mediterranean Western countries.[226] Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called merenda (plural merende), are also often included in this meal structure.[227]
The cuisine is therefore often a reason for tourism in the peninsula, perhaps combined with one or more reasons previously described.[237] There are countless food festivals and fairs spread throughout the area, from small agricultural centres to large metropolises.[238] The hospitality sector is slowly updating by including cultural food and wine elements in its offer to tourists, both in traditional hotels and in specially created structures such as agritourisms.[239] In 2018 the food and wine expenditure by foreign tourists amounted to 9.23 billion euros, with an average expenditure of 117 euros each.[240]
Sport in Italy has a long tradition. In several sports, both individual and team, Italy has good representation and many successes. Football is the most popular sport in Italy.[242] Italy has won four FIFA World Cups championship (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006), and is (along with Germany) currently the second most successful football team in World Cup history, after Brazil. Basketball, volleyball, and cycling are the next most popular/played sports, with Italy having a rich tradition in all three. Italy also has strong traditions in swimming, water polo, rugby union, tennis, athletics, fencing, and Formula One.
Tourism linked to sporting events is capable of attracting fans of various disciplines who, in several cases, then decide to stay to visit the country.[243] In addition to events of a global nature, capable of attracting a large number of visitors for a longer period of time (among the major ones the 1960 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 1990 FIFA World Cup), minor events also contribute to the development of this factor of tourism, such as individual international matches of various sports (for example the home matches of Italy during the Six Nations Championship or the matches of clubs of various sports involved in continental competitions) or tournaments of more local importance.[244]
The Italian Grand Prix is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the American Grand Prize, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921. In 2013 it became the most-held Grand Prix (the 2021 edition was the 91st). It is one of the two Grands Prix (along with the British) which has run as an event of the Formula One World Championship Grands Prix every season, continuously since the championship was introduced in 1950. Every Formula One Italian Grand Prix in the World Championship era has been held at Monza except in 1980, when it was held at Imola.
The Mille Miglia was an open-road, motorsportendurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World War II, eleven from 1947).[254] From 1953 until 1957, the Mille Miglia was also a round of the World Sports Car Championship. Since 1977, the "Mille Miglia" has been reborn as a regularity race for classic and vintage cars. Participation is limited to cars, produced no later than 1957, which had attended (or were registered to) the original race. The route (Brescia–Rome round trip) is similar to that of the original race, maintaining the point of departure/arrival in Viale Venezia in Brescia.
Traditional sports also attract tourists in Italy, such as the Palio, the name given in the country to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a comune against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate some event or tradition of the Middle Ages and thus often involve horse racing, archery, jousting, crossbow shooting, and similar medieval sports.[257] The Palio di Siena is the only one that has been run without interruption since it started in the 1630s and is definitely the most famous all over the world,[258] attracting tourists from every continent.[259]
Italy is the country with the highest concentration in the world of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[263][19]As of 2021[update], Italy has a total of 58 inscribed sites, making it the country with the most World Heritage Sites just above China (56).[263][19] Out of Italy's 58 heritage sites, 53 are cultural and 5 are natural.[19] 50% of the tourists who visit the UNESCO heritage sites in Italy are foreigners, and of these, 75% are in Italy for a cultural holiday.[264]
The historical and artistic Italian villages are attracting an increasing number of tourists.[268] A non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest[269] named I Borghi più belli d'Italia (English: The most beautiful Villages of Italy) and affiliated to the international association The Most Beautiful Villages in the World, was created in 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities[270] with the aim of preserving and maintaining villages of quality heritage.[270] Founded to contribute to safeguarding, conserving and revitalizing small villages and municipalities, but sometimes even individual hamlets, which, being outside the main tourist circuits, they risk, despite their great value, being forgotten with consequent degradation, depopulation and abandonment.[271] Its motto is Il fascino dell'Italia nascosta ("The charm of hidden Italy").[272]
As of November 2023, 361 villages in Italy have been listed in "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy".[273] This association organizes initiatives within the villages, such as festivals, exhibitions, fetes, conferences and concerts that highlight the cultural, historical, gastronomic and linguistic heritage, involving residents, schools, and local artists.[274] The club promotes numerous initiatives on the international market.[275][276][277][278][279][280] In 2016, the association signed a global agreement with ENIT,[281] to promote tourism in the most beautiful villages in the world.[282] In 2017, the club signed an agreement with Costa Cruises[283] for the enhancement of some villages, which are offered to cruise passengers arriving in Italian ports aboard the operator's ships.[284]
The Bandiera arancione is a tourist-environmental quality recognition conferred by the Touring Club Italiano (TCI) to small towns in the Italian hinterland (maximum 15,000 inhabitants) which stand out for their quality hospitality.[285] The idea was born in 1998 in Sassello (in Liguria), from the need of the regional body to promote and enhance the hinterland.[286] The TCI, therefore, developed an analysis model (called territorial analysis model or MAT) to identify the first deserving localities.[287] Subsequently, the recognition was promoted on a national scale, identifying small places of excellence in each region.[287] The group, as of June 2021, includes 252 villages.[288] The project is the only Italian one included by the World Tourism Organization among the programs successfully implemented for the sustainable development of tourism worldwide.[289]
In Italy the heritage railway institute is recognized and protected by law no. 128 of 9 August 2017, which has as its objective the protection and valorisation of disused, suspended or abolished railway lines, of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, including both railway routes and stations and the related works of art and appurtenances, on which, upon proposal of the regions to which they belong, tourism-type traffic management is applied (art. 2, paragraph 1).[290] At the same time, the law identified a first list of 18 tourist railways, considered to be of particular value (art. 2, paragraph 2).[290]
The list is periodically updated by decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Culture, also taking into account the reports in the State-Regions Conference, a list which in 2022 reached 26 railway lines.[291] According to article 1, law 128/2017 has as its purpose: "the protection and valorisation of railway sections of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, which include railway routes, stations and related works of art and appurtenances, and of the historic and tourist rolling stock authorized to travel along them, as well as the regulation of the use of ferrocycles".[290]
In July 2023, Ferrovie dello Stato established a new company, the "FS Treni Turistici Italiani" (English: FS Italian Tourist Trains), with the mission "to propose an offer of railway services expressly designed and calibrated for quality, sustainable tourism and attentive to rediscovering the riches of the Italian territory. Tourism that can experience the train journey as an integral moment of the holiday, an element of quality in the overall tourist experience".[292] There are three service areas proposed: Luxury trains, Express and historic trains, and Regional trains.[292]
Nightlife tourism
Trastevere nightlife, major tourist spot in Rome at night
The nightlife in Italy is attractive to both tourists and locals. Italy is known to have some of the best nightlife in the world.[294] The best known Italian destinations for nightlife are:[294]
Italy represented one of the main homosexual male tourist destinations between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.[296] In fact, in Italy there were no anti-homosexual laws, which were widespread in the countries of Northern Europe, such as the German paragraph 175 or the sentences suffered by Oscar Wilde in the United Kingdom.[296] Places such as Capri, Taormina, Florence, Venice, Rome and Naples were the favourite places of homosexual tourism of the time.[296]
This type of tourism disappeared in Italy in the 1950s due to changed political and social conditions, which favoured other types of tourism, such as "family" tourism.[296] As a consequence, other Mediterranean cities (such as Mykonos, Ibiza and Sitges) took the place of the Italian ones for LGBT tourism.[296]
Today LGBT tourism in Italy is mainly an urban phenomenon, such as in Milan and Rome due to the high variety of discos, pubs, bars, cruising, saunas, B&B, restaurants, which meet all needs. of the nightlife.[297][298] In summer, however, the first Italian gay resort is Gallipoli which, with bars, discos, B&B and beaches, attracts people from all over Italy and abroad, taking away the primacy of Versilia.[299] The naturist beaches of Spiaggia D'Ayala, Campomarino di Maruggio, Torre Guaceto and Brindisi attract LGBT crowds from all over the world.[300]
Luxury tourism in Italy is highly developed, corresponding to €25 billion (in particular €2 billion for catering and €14 billion for visits, excursions and shopping), a figure that increases, also considering the related activities and the indirect expenses of luxury tourists, to €60 billion, which corresponds to 3% of Italy's GDP.[301]
The companies operating in the luxury tourism sector in Italy are 1% of the accommodation businesses present in the country, corresponding to approximately 3% of the nights spent in Italian accommodation facilities, but generate 25% of the total expenditure of tourists who choose Italy as their destination, and 15% of the total turnover of accommodation facilities.[301] These data can be explained by considering some characteristics of luxury tourism where these tourists who travel to Italy spend nine times more than the average, and the most expensive hotels employ twice as many employees as an average quality hotel.[301]
In particular, Costa Smeralda is the most expensive location in Europe. House prices reach up to €300,000 ($392,200) per square metre.[305][306][307] Development of the Costa Smeralda started in 1961 and was financed by a consortium of companies led by Prince Karim Aga Khan. Spiaggia del Principe, one of the beaches along the Costa Smeralda, was named after this Ishmaelite prince.[308]
Amusement and theme park tourism
The entrance to Gardaland seen from inside the amusement park
The most visited amusement park in Italy is Gardaland, with 3 million visitors per year (2019).[309] Located in Castelnuovo del Garda, is adjacent to Lake Garda. The entire complex covers an area of 445,000m2 (4,789,940sqft), while the theme park alone measures 200,000m2 (2,152,782sqft).[309] Gardaland is the eighth in Europe by the number of amusement park visitors (2019).[309] In June 2005 Gardaland ranked fifth in the Forbes ranking of the top ten best amusement parks in the world.[310]
This phenomenon has led to an important flow of tourists of Italian origin who visit the country and discover their roots.[318] The trip to Italy of these tourists is mainly about knowing the places, the language, the cuisine and the people to which their ancestors belonged.[319] In 2018, about 10 million tourists of Italian origin went to the country to rediscover their roots.[318]
A student exchange programme is a programme in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions.[320] Italy is one of the destinations of secondary school students and university students participating in exchange programmes.[321][322] Students who go to study in Italy also take advantage of their stay to visit the country.[323][324]
Italy is one of the main destinations of the Erasmus Programme, fifth in Europe after Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom respectively.[325] The Erasmus Programme is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987.[326][327]Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, is the new programme combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, which was started in January 2014.
Home of the Italian Riviera, including Portofino, Sanremo, and of Cinque Terre. There are many historic cities in this part of Italy: Turin, the manufacturing capital of Italy, Milan, the business and fashion capital of the country and the important port of Genoa are the most popular tourist destinations of the area.
This area is possibly the most visited in Italy and contains many popular attractions as well as sought-after landscapes. Rome boasts the remaining wonders of the Roman Empire and some of the world's best-known landmarks such as the Colosseum.
Florence, regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, is Tuscany's most visited city, whereas nearby cities like Siena, Pisa, Arezzo and Lucca also have rich cultural heritage. Umbria's population is small but it has many important cities such as Perugia and Assisi. For similar reasons, Lazio and Tuscany are some of Italy's most visited regions and the main targets for Ecotourism.
Other cities in Marche like Pesaro, Fabriano and Urbino have a rich cultural heritage. This area is known for its picturesque landscapes and attracts tourists from all over the world, including Italy itself. Pristine landscapes serve as one of the primary motivators for tourists to visit central Italy, although there are others, such as a rich history of art.
Southern Italy (also called Mezzogiorno) is well known for its cuisine, which offers a wide choice of food at lower prices. It is also known for the pairing of Mediterranean climate with the beautiful beaches of each region, an important element for local tourism. Naples is the most visited city in the area, and the ruins of Pompeii are the most visited sights.
Sardinia is a large island some 250 kilometres west of the Italian coastline. It includes several popular tourist attractions and has several beaches and archaeological ruins. It is also known for its beaches, which are among the most beautiful in the world, and include the famous pink beaches in the archipelago of La Maddalena. The most popular cities in Sardinia are: Cagliari, Sassari, Alghero, Olbia and Porto Cervo. Porto Cervo, located in Costa Smeralda, is a popular summer destination famous for its beaches and clubs among high-income earners.
It was the ancient Romans who invented the concept of "vacation".[337] The vacation was the prerogative of the patricians, the wealthiest social caste, who owned villas outside Rome, mainly in the Latium hinterland and on the Tyrrhenian coast.[338] The most popular place in Roman Italy to vacation was Naples, an important cultural centre and a place that attracted artists, philosophers and scholars of the time.[338]
The ancient Romans also visited Italy to learn about their origins, especially in regards to the history, ancient legends and myths related to the founding of Rome.[337] Among the most popular destinations for this type of vacation were the Circeo, where the jug was kept which, according to tradition, had been used by Odysseus during his stay with the sorceress Circe.[337] Another destination was a visit to the ship with which, according to tradition, Aeneas, a hero destined by fate to the founding of Rome, had arrived on the shores of Latium.[337]
Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the municipality of Rome. It has been a town hall since AD 1144, making it the oldest town hall in the world.
Rome is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazioregion, the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, and a special comune named Comune di Roma Capitale. Rome is the country's most populated comune and the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world)[340] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city; for this reason, Rome has sometimes been described as the capital of two states.[341][342]
Milan is one of Europe's most important tourist destinations, and Italy's second; with 6.05 million international arrivals as measured in 2014, it placed itself as the 24th most visited city in the world.[351] According to a particular source, 56% of international visitors to Milan are from Europe, whilst 44% of the city's tourists are Italian, and 56% are from abroad.[360] The most important European Union markets are the United Kingdom (16%), Germany (9%) and France (6%).[360] According to the same study, most of the visitors who come from the USA to the city go on business matters, whilst Chinese and Japanese tourists mainly take up the leisure segment.[361]
The city also has numerous hotels, including the ultra-luxurious Town House Galleria, which is the world's first seven-star hotel, ranked officially by the Société Générale de Surveillance, and one of The Leading Hotels of the World.[362] The average stay for a tourist in the city is of 3.43 nights, whilst foreigners stay for longer periods of time, 77% of which stay for a 2-5 night average.[361] Of the 75% of visitors who stay in hotels, 4-star ones are the most popular (47%), whilst 5-stars, or less than 3-stars, represent 11% and 15% of the charts respectively.
Naples is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan. Founded by Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world.[365] In the ninth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope (Ancient Greek: Παρθενόπη) was established on the Island of Megaride.[366] In the 6th century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis.[367] The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and was a significant cultural centre under the Romans.[368]
The Archaeological Museum of Naples is the most important in the world regarding Roman history and also includes Egyptian and Greek finds. It is the home of the Federico II, the oldest public and secular university in the world, and of the L'Orientale, the oldest school of Sinology and Oriental Studies in Europe. Naples also boasts one of the most picturesque waterfront promenades and charming locations at Gaiola Island and Marechiaro. Close to Naples, there is a myriad of world-renowned tourist attractions such as the Amalfi Coast, Capri island, Ischia island, Procida island, the picturesque city of Sorrento, and the city of Salerno.
Florence is a city in Central-Northern Italy and the capital city of the Tuscanyregion. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,084 inhabitants in 2013, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.[373]
Florence was a centre of medievalEuropean trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era.[374] It is considered by many academics[375] to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.[376] During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond.[377] Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions.[378] From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (established in 1861). The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy[379] due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini.
The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments.[380] The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.[381] Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, Forbes has ranked it as the most beautiful city in the world.[382]
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Venetoregion. It is built on a group of 118small islands[386] that are separated by canals and linked by over 400bridges.[386][387] The islands are in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay lying between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile). In 2020, 258,685people resided in the Comune di Venezia, of whom around 55,000 live in the historical city of Venice (centro storico). Together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE), which is considered a statistical metropolitan area, with a total population of 2.6million.[388]
The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10thcenturyBC.[389][390] The city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice for over a millennium, from 697 to 1797. It was a major financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as an important centre of commerce—especially silk, grain, and spice, and of art from the 13th century to the end of the 17th. The city-state of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial centre, emerging in the 9th century and reaching its greatest prominence in the 14thcentury.[391] This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history.[392] After the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna, the Republic was annexed by the Austrian Empire, until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, following a referendum held as a result of the Third Italian War of Independence.
Venice has been known as "La Dominante", "La Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork.[386] Venice is known for several important artistic movements—especially during the Renaissance period—and has played an important role in the history of instrumental and operatic music, and is the birthplace of Baroque composers Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi.[393]
Although the city is facing some challenges (including an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by pollution, tide peaks and cruise ships sailing too close to buildings),[394][395][396] Venice remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world.[1][2] It has been described by the Times Online as one of Europe's most romantic cities[397] and by The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man".[398]
Bari—is well known as a port and university city as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. Capital of Apulia and second most important economic centre of Southern Italy after Naples. The city has a rich culture and history.
Genoa (Genova)— the Republic of Genoa was one of the most important maritime republics of the Middle Ages. Very wealthy and diverse city. Its port brings in tourism and trade, along with art and architecture. Genoa is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and the originator of jeans.
Turin (Torino)—the first capital of Italy, after being the capital of Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, which had promoted national reunification. The city has a rich culture and history. Home of the FIAT, the most important industry in Italy, Turin is a well-known industrial city, based on the aerospace industry and, of course, the automobile industry. Home of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Verona—it is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs and shows as well as the opera season in the Arena, an ancient Romanamphitheatre.
Padua (Padova)—it is picturesque, with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal piazze, and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione, which once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat.
Two factors in each of these locations are history and geography. The Roman Empire, Middle Ages, Renaissance and the following centuries of the history of Italy have left many cultural artefacts that attract tourists.[20] Winter and summer tourism are present in many locations in the Alps and the Apennines,[11] while seaside tourism is widespread in coastal locations along the Mediterranean Sea.[12]
In Italy, there is a broad variety of hotels, going from 1-5 stars. According to ISTAT, in 2017, there were 32,988 hotels with 1,133,452 rooms and 2,239,446 beds.[24] As far as extra-hotel facilities (campsites, tourist villages, accommodations for rent, agritourism, etc.) are concerned, in 2017, there are 171,915 with 2,798,352 beds.[24] The tourist flow to coastal resorts is 53 percent; the best equipped cities [399] are Grosseto for farmhouses (217), Vieste for campsites and tourist villages (84) and Cortina d'Ampezzo for mountain huts (20).[25][26]
The number of hotels, according to their rating, in 2017, went like this:[400]
7-star hotels: 2 (the Town House Galleria located in Milan and Aman Canal Grande in Venice).
5-star hotels and 4-star hotels: 6,335 with 859,621 beds.
3-star hotels: 18,116 with 1,133,452 beds.
2-star hotels and 1-star hotels: 8,537 with 246,373 beds.
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and two enclaves: Vatican City and San Marino. It is the tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering 301,340 km2 (116,350 sq mi), and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with a population of nearly 60 million. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome; other major urban areas include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice.
The economy of Italy is a highly developed social market economy. It is the third-largest national economy in the European Union, the second-largest manufacturing industry in Europe, the 8th-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, and the 11th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP. Italy is a developed country with a high nominal per capita income globally, and its advanced diversified economy ranks among the largest in the world, dominated by the tertiary service sector. It is a great power and a founding member of the European Union, the eurozone, the Schengen Area, the OECD, the G7 and the G20; it is the eighth-largest exporter in the world, with $611 billion exported in 2021. Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 59% of its total trade. Its largest trading partners, in order of market share in exports, are Germany (12.5%), France (10.3%), the United States (9%), Spain (5.2%), the United Kingdom (5.2%) and Switzerland (4.6%).
Italy has a well developed transport infrastructure. The Italian rail network is extensive, especially in the north, and it includes a high-speed rail network that joins the major cities of Italy from Naples through northern cities such as Milan and Turin. The Florence–Rome high-speed railway was the first high-speed line opened in Europe when more than half of it opened in 1977. Italy has 2,507 people and 12.46 km2 per kilometer of rail track, giving Italy the world's 13th largest rail network. The Italian rail network is operated by state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato, while the rail tracks and infrastructure are managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
Lazio or Latium is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants and a GDP of more than €212 billion per year, making it the country's second most populated region and second largest regional economy after Lombardy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also the capital and largest city of Italy, and completely encircles Vatican City.
Lombardy is an administrative region of Italy that covers 23,844 km2 (9,206 sq mi); it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is located between the Alps mountain range and tributaries of the river Po, and includes Milan, its capital, the largest metropolitan area in the country, and among the largest in the EU.
Abruzzo, historically known as Abruzzi, is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.
Public holidays in Italy are established by the Italian parliament and, with the exception of city or community patronal days, apply nationwide. These include a mix of national, religious and local observances. As for Whit Monday, there is an exception for South Tyrol. In Italy there are also State commemoration days, which are not public holidays.
Castiglione della Pescaia, regionally simply abbreviated as Castiglione, is an ancient seaside town in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, central Italy. The modern city grew around a medieval 12th century fortress and a large fishery, from which it acquired its designation. Today Castiglione is a very popular tourist destination with attractions that include beaches, natural parks, biking trails, historical Etruscan archaeological sites, a panoramic mediaeval hamlet as well as the natural reserve Diaccia Botrona, a swampy humid environment of historical relevance whose endangered wildlife comprise pink flamingoes, mallards and ducks.
The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length of 24,567 km (15,265 mi) of which active lines are 16,832 km (10,459 mi). The network has recently grown with the construction of the new high-speed rail network. Italy is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Italy is 83.
Northern Italy is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four northwestern regions of Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria and Lombardy in addition to the four northeastern regions of Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna.
Pescocostanzo is a comune and town of 1038 inhabitants in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is a tourist destination, attracting people from all over Italy due to its landscape and environment. It is part of the Maiella National Park and is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia. In winter, Pescocostanzo is a destination for skiers and snowboarders, and has its own ski resort. The towns of Roccaraso and Rivisondoli are close by.
Sport in Italy has a long tradition. In several sports, both individual and team, Italy has good representation and many successes. The most popular sport in Italy is football. Italy's national football team is one of the world's most successful teams with four FIFA World Cup victories and two UEFA Euro victories. Italian clubs have won 48 major European trophies, making Italy the second most successful country in European football. Italy's top-flight club football league is named Serie A and is followed by millions of fans around the world.
Italia turrita is the national personification or allegory of Italy, in the appearance of a young woman with her head surrounded by a mural crown completed by towers. It is often accompanied by the Stella d'Italia, from which the so-called Italia turrita e stellata, and by other additional attributes, the most common of which is the cornucopia. The allegorical representation with the towers, which draws its origins from ancient Rome, is typical of Italian civic heraldry, so much so that the mural crown is also the symbol of the cities of Italy.
The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length of 24,227 km (15,054 mi) as of 2011.
The climate of Italy is highly diverse. In most of the inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from humid subtropical to humid continental and oceanic. The climate of the Po valley geographical region is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers. The coastal areas of Liguria, Tuscany and most of the South experience a Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen climate classification.
Jesolo is a seaside resort town and comune of 26,873 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy. With around 5.5 million visitors per year, Jesolo ranks second among beach resorts in the country for number of tourists, and third in terms of nights spent there. It ranks 6th overall as a tourist destination, immediately behind the major cities of Rome, Milan, Venice and Florence. With 204,711.4 visits per thousand inhabitants, it is also one of the 50 Italian towns with the greatest tourist pressure. Its 15 kilometres of beaches and proximity to Central Europe make it a favourite destination of many German, Austrian, Dutch and French visitors.
Milan is the capital of the Lombardy region in northern Italy and is the wealthiest city in Italy. Milan and Lombardy had a GDP of €400 billion and €650 billion respectively in 2017. Milan surpassed Berlin in the size of its economy in 2014, and has since been the richest city among the Four Motors for Europe. It is a member of the Blue Banana corridor among Europe's economic leaders.
The Italian city of Milan is one of the international tourism destinations, appearing among the forty most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world. One source has 56% of international visitors to Milan are from Europe, 44% of the city's tourists are Italian, and 56% are from abroad. The most important European Union markets are the United Kingdom (16%), Germany (9%) and France (6%). Most of the visitors who come from the United States to the city go on business matters, while Chinese and Japanese tourists mainly take up the leisure segment.
Traditions of Italy are sets of traditions, beliefs, values, and customs that belongs within the culture of Italian people. These traditions have influenced life in Italy for centuries, and are still practiced in modern times. Italian traditions are directly connected to Italy's ancestors, which says even more about Italian history.
Tourism in Abruzzo has become one of the most prosperous sectors in the economy of Abruzzo, and in recent years has seen a remarkable growth attracting numerous tourists from Italy and Europe. According to statistics, in 2021 arrivals totaled 1,330,887. A total of 5,197,765 arrivals were tourists, a figure that puts the region seventeenth among the Italian regions for numbers of tourists per year. A moderate support to tourism is also given to the Abruzzo Airport with many low cost and charter flights connecting the entire region with the rest of Europe.
↑ Renato Stopani (1992). Centro Studi Romei (ed.). "La via Appia Traiana nel Medioevo"[Via Appia Traiana in the Middle Age](PDF). Vie Francigene del Sud (in Italian). p.4. Archived from the original(PDF) on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
↑ Torquati, Biancamaria (2014). "Eurochocolate: An instrument of valorization for Perugia and its territory". In Cavicchi, Alessio; Santini, Cristina (eds.). Food and Wine Events in Europe: A Stakeholder Approach. Taylor & Francis. ISBN9781317751939.
↑ Squires, Nick (23 August 2013). "Tiramisu claimed by Treviso". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
↑ Beretta, Silvio (2017). Understanding China Today: An Exploration of Politics, Economics, Society, and International Relations. Springer. p.320. ISBN9783319296258.
↑ B. Bahr, Ann Marie (2009). Christianity: Religions of the World. Infobase Publishing. p.139. ISBN9781438106397.
↑ R. D'Agostino, Peter (2005). Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism. Univ of North Carolina Press. ISBN9780807863411.
↑ Heiken, G., Funiciello, R. and De Rita, D. (2005), The Seven Hills of Rome: A Geological Tour of the Eternal City. Princeton University Press.
↑ Gert-Jan Hospers (2002). "Beyond the Blue Banana? Structural Change in Europe's Geo-Economy"(PDF). 42nd EUROPEAN CONGRESS of the Regional Science Association Young Scientist Session – Submission for EPAINOS Award 27–31 August 2002 – Dortmund, Germany. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2006.
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