Best Places to Eat

¨ Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo (p702)

¨ Casa Coppelle (p655)

¨ Osteria Ballarò (p711)

¨ L’Osteria di Giovanni (p690)

¨ Osteria de’ Poeti (p682)

Best Museums & Galleries

¨ Vatican Museums (p645)

¨ Galleria degli Uffizi (p685)

¨ Museo Archeologico Nazionale (p698)

¨ Museo e Galleria Borghese (p647)

¨ Gallerie dell’Accademia (p673)

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

When to Go

Apr & May Perfect spring weather; ideal for exploring vibrant cities and bloom-ing countryside.

Jun & Jul Sum-mer means beach weather and a packed festival calendar.

Oct Enjoy mild temperatures, autumn cuisine and the vendemia (grape harvest).

ItalyWhy Go?A favourite destination since the days of the 18th-century Grand Tour, Italy may appear to hold few surprises. Its icon-ic monuments and masterpieces are known the world over, while cities such as Rome, Florence and Venice need no introduction.

Yet Italy is far more than the sum of its sights. Its fierce-ly proud regions maintain customs and culinary traditions dating back centuries, resulting in passionate festivals and delectable food at every turn. And then there are those timeless landscapes, from Tuscany’s gentle hillsides to icy Alpine peaks, vertiginous coastlines and spitting southern volcanoes.

Drama is never far away in Italy and its theatrical streets and piazzas provide endless people-watching, ideally over a leisurely lunch or cool evening drink. This is, after all, the land of dolce far niente (sweet idleness) where simply hang-ing out is a pleasure and time seems to matter just that little bit less.

Includes ¨Rome .......................... 641Cinque Terre ...............662Milan ..........................665Venice ......................... 672Bologna ......................682Florence .....................684Pisa............................. 692Naples ........................698Sicily ........................... 709

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1 See awe-inspiring art and iconic monuments in Rome.

2 Take to the water past gothic palaces, domed churches and crumbling piazzas in Venice (p672).

3 Explore the exquisite Renaissance time capsule that is Florence (p684).

�

4 Work up an appetite for the world’s best pizza in the backstreets of Naples (p698).

5 Visit regal palaces and museums in Turin (p664).

6 admire glorious gothic architecture and renaissance art in Siena (p694).

7 Bask in inspiring sea views on the Amalfi Coast (p707).

8 Enjoy an open-air opera in one of Italy’s most romantic cities, Verona (p670).

9 Feast on foodie delights and medieval architecture in hedonistic Bologna (p682).

a Revel in drama at an ancient greek theatre in Syracuse (p713).

Italy Highlights