Italy resembles a boot about to kick the Sicilian "football," with the island of Sardinia already in the air. One of the most densely populated countries in Europe, Italy is characterized by rugged, mountainous terrain and thousands of miles/kilometers of coastline. The Alps form a barrier to the north (blocking bad weather more successfully than they ever did invaders), and the Apennines run the length of the boot. Only in the north, in the Po River valley, is there relatively flat land. No place is very far from the sea. To the east is the Adriatic, to the southeast the Ionian and to the west the Tyrrhenian.
Some say that the people of Italy have civilized Europe twice, once in ancient times and again after the Middle Ages. Under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, Rome ruled much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for nearly a thousand years, until the Visigoths sacked Rome in AD 476 and the western empire fell. Greek ideals and Roman justice were spread throughout the Mediterranean region by the empire's legions. Today, Rome's legal, cultural and scientific legacies endure throughout the world. Places as diverse as Japan, Louisiana and Brazil are ruled by modern versions of Roman law, and the Romance languages (including French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish), as well as scientific terminology, are derived from Latin. At its height, Rome controlled lands from the Irish Sea to the Caspian Sea; Roman ruins can be found from Great Britain to Morocco, Turkey and Jordan. During the Renaissance, Italy rose to the forefront of Western civilization again, when such notable citizens as Galileo, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci made enormous contributions to science, art and architecture.
Though the Roman legal system and famous Roman roads gave Europe a vision of cultural unity, Italy itself only achieved political unity in 1870. Before then, modern-day Italy was a collection of squabbling kingdoms, duchies and city-states that were often dominated by outside forces. Although currently unified under the government in Rome, the country is still divided into 20 distinct regions, each with its own landscape, history, dialects, artistic styles, foods and architecture. For many visitors, it is Italy's diversity that lends the country its most distinctive charms.
In the past 100 years, Italy has gone from monarchy to parliamentary system to fascism to a seemingly unending series of coalition governments—an average of one a year since 1946. The political situation, however, appears to have stabilized a bit in recent years. After a half-decade under the leftist Ulivo coalition, there was a backlash to the right. In 2001, the country elected Silvio Berlusconi, the controversial media magnate and leader of the Forza Italia coalition. Until early 2005, Berlusconi looked to be the first prime minister since World War II to stay in power through his entire term. But after several crushing defeats in local and regional elections, he resigned on 20 April 2005, then formed a new coalition government.
In April 2006, center-left leader Romano Prodi, a former European Commission president, claimed victory in Italy's election but his tiny margin raised fears of political paralysis, and Berlusconi's allies refused to concede defeat.
Italy's primary attractions include culture (modern, old and ancient), fabulous regional cuisine, historic sites, varied and stunning scenery, beaches, jagged coastline, architecture, world-class skiing, opera, watersports, elegant health and beauty spas, picturesque ruins, and shopping (for high-quality clothing, shoes, ceramics and designer goods).
Those who want a diverse, fairly informal vacation, who are romantics, and who love art, history and lovely settings will enjoy Italy. The air of blithe inefficiency in some parts of the country may be disconcerting for travelers who demand the correct, crisp efficiency of northern European countries: A timetable may be treated more as a romantic ideal than as an attainable goal.
Rumor has it that the colorful uniforms of the Vatican's Swiss guard were designed by Michelangelo. But don't think the guard is just there for ceremonial purposes or to look pretty—it's a highly trained security force sworn to protect the pope.
Cigar smokers should try the curious Tuscan cigar, the Toscano vecchio. Made in Lucca of all-natural tobacco, it comes twisted together in groups of three and is sold all over Italy.
The Slow Food movement, born in Italy in 1986, protects distinctive regional foods and wine and promotes the art of savoring them. It's now an international organization that also is concerned with ecology and biodiversity issues.
