The Best of Italy

1) Enjoying Opera under the stars at a Roman Arena in Verona.

2) Eating an endless outdoor summer lunch on the lawns of an Italian country house, with family and friends. One of those lunches that runs into evening while the kids run around playing under the trees and everybody talks at once.

3) Dinner at a tiny restaurant in a marvelous hill top village followed by an after dinner passeggiata (walk) along cobble stone streets and through bustling piazzas.

4) The food markets in Italy, especially those in Turin the home of “slow food”. The market in Corso Racconigi is a favorite.

5) The Italians and their love of life.

6) The romance.

7) Pasta and especially agnolotti in a rich wild boar broth accompanied by a bottle of Barolo wine.

8) Sitting outside an old farmhouse in the Langhe wine region, with a great wine to hand, while the sun slowly slips below the horizon.

9) Seafood, white wine, pesto enjoyed on a summer afternoon in a Ligurian town like Porto Fino, Cinque Terre or any one of the less well known towns stretching all the way to France.

10) Spending the night in a castle, for romance the Pavone Castle (read article) is hard to beat.

11) The language, the most beautiful in the world, although French is a pretty close second it lacks the passion of Italian.

12) Cliched and expensive it may be but a Gondola trip in Venice Italy is so quintessentially Italian!

Click here for more of the "best of Italy" including the best five villages, top sights and the best cities.

What Makes Italy Special?

Is it a place, the food or something else, what makes Italy so wonderful for you?