Rome

Rome is a bustling metropolis, pulsing with life. Here, tiny gelaterias and contemporary cafes vie for their place along the Rome’s fast-paced and congested roadways. Meanwhile, the city’s old guard, composed of the Colosseum and Pantheon, remain stoically at their posts as they have for nearly 2,000 years. Since the age of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, countless pilgrims have walked its narrow and winding alleyways to see for themselves some of the most iconic sites to be described in history books, and depicted in film. From the Baroque Spanish Steps and the venerated St. Peter’s Basilica, to the dozens of museums overflowing with ancient artifacts and masterpieces by Michelangelo, Rome—the “Eternal City”—is a living museum. In fact, its entire historic district was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Explore Rome with O.A.T. on:

• Italy’s Western Coast & Islands: A Voyage from Rome to Valletta
• Italian Coastal Odyssey: Hidden Italy, Sicily & Malta
• Undiscovered Adriatic: Eastern Italy, Venice, Puglia & Malta
• Tuscany & Umbria: Rustic Beauty in the Italian Heartland
• Post Trip:Rome: Ancient Sites & Hidden City Gems on Tuscany & Umbria: Rustic Beauty in the Italian Heartland

Venice

Venice is an enchanting city where an intricate web of canals replaces motorways, and entire buildings are lost within the lackadaisical incoming fog. Located roughly two and a half miles from mainland Italy, Venice is actually a cluster of 117 islands and islets joined together by more than 450 bridges. The most well-known, the Rialto, spans the city’s main waterway, the Grand Canal. This arched-stone bridge decorated with biblical images was completed in 1591. For centuries, it provided the only means of crossing the Grand Canal on foot. Instead, medieval Venetians would rely on small merchant skiffs and gondolas to go about their daily errands. Today, in the world’s only car-less pedestrian city, water buses, water taxis, and—of course—gondolas are relied upon to get around. In keeping with this 900-year-old tradition, visitors will only find Venice-born men at the helm of these long, sinewy vessels.

The bustling hub of this “Floating City” is St. Mark’s Square. Visitors come to see its namesake basilica and the Gothic-style Doge’s Palace which line this famed piazza. Not quite as popularized, by television and film, is Venice’s Jewish Ghetto. This was the first neighborhood of its kind, and has managed to remain an active community with five synagogues—no small feat in an overwhelmingly Catholic country.

Beyond the weaving labyrinth of streets, is another side of Venice, with quiet islands such as the peaceful, sparsely-populated Torcello and the colorful fishing village of Burano. In addition to incredibly fresh fish dishes like risotto de gò, the latter island is also known for lace and glassmaking.

Explore Venice with O.A.T. on:

• Italian Coastal Odyssey: Hidden Italy, Sicily & Malta
• Undiscovered Adriatic: Eastern Italy, Venice, Puglia & Malta
• New! Allure of the Adriatic: Italy, Slovenia & Croatia
• Post Trip:Classic Venice: Murano & Burano on Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites & Lombardy

Florence

Florence—in the heart of Tuscany—is quite possibly the world’s greatest repository of art. Although up for discussion, Julius Caesar is largely credited with founding this highly-influential city in 59 B.C.

Regardless of its exact origins, Florence’s creative class has been the source of innumerable paintings, sculptures, and architectural styles for more than five centuries. The Renaissance period began here in the 1300s. Prominent galleries such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace feature the paintings of master artists, and are among the more than 80 museums found within the boundaries of this forward-thinking capital. Renowned writers and poets—Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio—have all called this city home. Entirely new forms of creative expression—like opera—were born in Florence.

Over the course of the next three centuries, this new, more humanist age, lead to advancements in the fields of optics, astronomy, and anatomy, through the work of Galileo and other scientists of the era. Florentine know-how also helped pull the whole of Europe out from the Dark Ages with the development of a standard European currency, the florin. The solid-gold coin functioned similarly to today’s euro.

Explore Florence with O.A.T. on:

• Italy’s Western Coast & Islands: A Voyage from Rome to Valletta
• Italian Coastal Odyssey: Hidden Italy, Sicily & Malta
• Tuscany & Umbria: Rustic Beauty in the Italian Heartland

Sicily

Part of the Italian Republic, and yet … not. Sicily is a semi-autonomous region with its own parliament and president. Separated from the mainland by more than just legislative boundaries, and water, Italy’s largest region is culturally different as well. For centuries, conquerors from across the Mediterranean Sea fought for sovereignty over this strategically-significant island. It wasn’t until 1861, after a series of ancient Greek and Roman wars, followed by clashes between the Byzantines and Arabs, that the often-besieged island even became part of a newly-unified Italy.

As a result of regular political upheavals, the Sicily of today is an amalgam of cultures and ethnicities. Peruse the island’s prized outdoor markets and see how this rich history has played a part in shaping Sicilian cuisine. Vendors proudly display their fresh, locally-grown produce, and just-caught white fish—a key ingredient in any traditional Trapani-style couscous. Beyond the eclectic cuisine, the influence of other cultures can be seen across this nearly ten-thousand-square mile island.

Fingerprints of Sicily’s diverse past mark more than its humming marketplaces. In Siracusa, an archaeological park is dedicated to preserving and maintaining the Roman Amphitheater and Teatro Greco. The island’s capital, Palermo, was founded in 734 B.C. and is home to a varied collection of medieval structures that combine the Norman style of large-scale and rounded archways with traditional Islamic imagery of stars, moons and complex geometric patterns.

In addition to this island’s assortment of historic gems, it is also the site of Italy’s tallest mountain south of the Alps—Mount Etna. At 10, 991 feet high, this natural wonder is the largest active volcano in Europe. One of the best ways to experience Mount Etna’s power is to watch for fiery red eruptions under the cover of night.

Explore Sicily with O.A.T. on:

• Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions
• Italian Coastal Odyssey: Hidden Italy, Sicily & Malta
• Italy’s Western Coast & Islands: A Voyage from Rome to Valletta
• Mediterranean Cultures & Islands: A Voyage from Spain to Greece
• New! Journey Through Southern Italy: Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, Calabria & Puglia
• New! Mediterranean Navigation: Malta, Sicily, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco & Coastal Spain
• Undiscovered Adriatic: Eastern Italy, Venice, Puglia & Malta

Sardinia

Off the coast of Italy, surrounded by the turquoise Mediterranean, the island of Sardinia has flourished for millennia—continuously populated from prehistoric times to today. Scores of civilizations have landed upon the island over the years, looking for safe passage, a new home, or a land to conquer. The list of these “visitors” includes the ancient Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans; medieval Vandals; the Byzantine Empire; and even the Spanish and Austrians. It was only as recently as 1946 that Sardinia was folded into the rest of the Italian Peninsula under the Unification of Italy. Even so, Sardinia has fiercely retained its own language, culture, cuisine, and traditions.

Today, Sardinia’s visitors come first and foremost for its gorgeous beaches, blanketed with sugar-soft sand in shades of glistening white, gold, and even pink. It seems difficult to think of a reason to leave Sardinia’s stunning coastline, but in fact there are many. The rugged landscape is dotted with remnants of the island’s fascinating history. Thousands of nuraghi—mysterious Bronze Age stone ruins shaped like beehives—are scattered all over Sardinia. And as you delve deeper into the island’s rustic interior, you’ll encounter communities that seem untouched by time, such as the hearty people of the Barbagia, Sardinia’s remote and rustic heartland, where these insular locals stick to old traditions that can be traced back to prehistoric times.

From its ancient beginnings to its modern-day status as a beach-lover’s playground, Sardinia continues to beckon visitors to its tantalizing shores.

Explore Sardinia with O.A.T. on:

• Mediterranean Cultures & Islands: A Voyage from Spain to Greece

Puglia

Nestled down by the heel of Italy’s boot, the sun-drenched region of Puglia offers travelers the laid-back atmosphere of a small town, while still claiming the longest coastline on the Italian Peninsula. Best known for its white-washed hill towns, centuries-old farmlands, and ruggedly beautiful shores along the Mediterranean Sea, Puglia is also rich in culture and history.

First colonized by the ancient Mycenaean Greeks, Puglia eventually became part of the Kingdom of Naples after 1282, until the unification of Italy in the 1860s. Signs of its long history can be found throughout the region—from the ancient stone houses of worship of Sassi di Matera and the conical-roofed trulli homes of Alberobello, whose limestone architecture dates back to the mid-14th century, to the elegant Baroque-influenced architecture found in the seaside town of Lecce.

A region few American travelers have experienced before, Puglia remains an unspoiled region full of discoveries.

Explore Puglia with O.A.T. on:

• New! Journey Through Southern Italy: Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, Calabria & Puglia
• Undiscovered Adriatic: Eastern Italy, Venice, Puglia & Malta
• Italian Coastal Odyssey: Hidden Italy, Sicily & Malta
• Pre Trip:Puglia: Italy's Undiscovered Heel on Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions

Bressanone

Locked away in South Tyrol—a region characterized by picturesque villages, medieval castles, and jagged mountains— Bressanone seems in many ways like a quiet Austrian town staged amid the striking Italian Alps. Walking the medieval streets you will hear Italian, German, and Ladin—a Romance language specific to the Dolomite region—a testament to the cultural crossroads the region has been for centuries.

The highlight of the town is the Duomo Di Bressanone, also known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and San Cassiano. Constructed in the tenth century, it burned down and was later reconstructed in a quintessential Romanesque style, dressed with ornate southern European architecture and a reserved façade. Among the cathedral’s many breathtaking frescos, “Christ Welcomes May into Heaven,” is an image so detailed it leaves an indelible and enduring impression on the memory.

Explore Bressanone with O.A.T. on:

• Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites & Lombardy

Verona

A former Roman settlement, Verona is a compact Italian city not far from Milan and Venice that is noted for its elegant churches, magnificent red- and white-striped Duomo, and picturesque core of cobblestone streets lined with medieval buildings. Verona, of course, is also renowned for its association with the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Yet Shakespeare actually had two more plays set in this romantic canal-laced city nestled along the banks of the Adige River—The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

While Verona is filled with charming palaces, merchants’ houses, and bustling gathering spots such as Piazza delle Erbe, its most famous square, the primary reason that Verona has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site is for its wealth of Roman ruins—in fact, tiny Verona claims to have more Roman ruins than any Italian city other than Rome itself. Verona’s landmark architectural wonder is its vast Roman amphitheater. Constructed outside the city walls in about AD 30, the impressive structure could accommodate some 30,000 spectators. In 1913, as it celebrated the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, Verona’s Roman arena became the world’s largest open-air opera venue. Even today, a highlight of the summer opera season is witnessing a performance here, at one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters in all of Italy.

Explore Verona with O.A.T. on:

• Pre Trip:Romantic Landscapes of Verona & Lake Como on New! Allure of the Adriatic: Italy, Slovenia & Croatia

Northern Italy

Since the late 1950s, when Milan's acclaimed fashion houses like Versace and Valentino send their hand-painted leather and neoprene works of art down the runway, the world sits up and takes notice.

For those searching for more than haute couture, Northern Italy’s most heavily populated city offers a number architectural standouts as well. Milan's massive marble cathedral is highly decorated and boasts over 135 spires. Teatro alla Scala shines with red and gold ornamentation, while tucked away on the wall of a refectory, under museum lighting stands Leonardo da Vinci’s revered The Last Supper mural.

When the city’s fashion elite and busy day traders—the Italian Stock Exchange is in Milan—need to unwind they head north to the mountain-bound lakes district. Wealthy Italians, international celebrities like George Clooney, and regular people craving the serene, deep blue waters of Lake Como have been coming to the area since the Roman age. In addition to lakeside villas and lush, green landscapes, the town of Como is also known for its 4,000-year-old silk industry.

The Lakes District isn't the only part of Northern Italy with a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Ossuccio Mountain situated above Lake Como was designated in 2003). To the southwest is another historic locale recognized for its traditional wine making: the Langhe wine valley. Long-low hills, standout vintages, and white-truffle-topped pastas are staples of this sub-region of Piedmont.

Explore Northern Italy with O.A.T. on:

• Northern Italy: The Alps, Dolomites & Lombardy
• New! Alpine Europe: France, Italy's Dolomites, Switzerland & Austria