Sicily is a large island off the southern tip of Italy, with a coastline offering fantastic beaches, dramatic inland mountain scenery including Mount Etna, many attractive towns and villages, and numerous ancient historical monuments.
It is a fascinating and popular destination, and each region has its own special characteristics.
The Abruzzo region runs along the Adriatic coast of western central Italy.
Much of the inland (western) part of the Abruzzo region is a wilderness, and includes a part of the Apennine mountains to the north, and extensive plains and forests to the south, with a scattering of attractive towns and villages. To the east of Abruzzo the area also has popular beaches and coastline on the Adriatic Sea.
Umbria is a land-locked region in the heart of central Italy, between Tuscany to the west and Le Le Marche to the east. The capital of the region, Perugia, is centrally placed in Umbria, while the ancient city of Spoleto is well located for exploring the southern part of Umbria.
Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean off the western coast of Italy (just south of Corsica, its near neighbour).
The interior of the island is often barren and mountainous and has its own particular rugged beauty. One possible starting point for an exploration of the interior of Sardinia is Nuoro, although transport is often difficult in the more remote parts of the island.
It is the coastline that attracts most visitors to Sardinia. It is often very beautiful, and ranges from sophisticated yacht resorts to unspoiled miles of quiet beaches and dramatically beautiful cliff sections. For an excess of expense and sophistication start at Costa Smerelda, to the north-east of the island.
The city of Rome really is one of the great cities of the world, and squeezed among the 2,000 years of history in the city there is always something new to discover. No guide can do justice to the spectacle of walking around the Roman Forum, standing inside the Pantheon, visiting Vatican City or simply enjoying the great squares and statues of the city.
But there is more to this region than just Rome, and if time permits it is well worth exploring outside the city walls and venturing into the Lazio countryside.
The Piedmont region is in the north-west corner of Italy, from the border with Liguria to the south and climbing up into the Alps towards the north of the region. The Valle d'Aosta region is to the north of Piedmont.
The most famous city in the region is Turin, centrally placed within Piedmont. To the south of Turin the landscape is largely flat, while to the north it is the high Alpine mountains.
The north-east of Italy - the Veneto region - contains one of the most celebrated and beautiful cities in the world - Venice. Loved by everyone who visits, despite the crowds, it really is an unmissable destination if you are visiting this part of Italy.
The Trentino-Alto Adige region is the most northerly region of Italy, and includes much of the Dolomites, and continues north into the Alps. It is largely a region known for its outdoor pursuits and winter sporting activities, and also for it's summer lake activities - part of Lake Garda (including Riva del Garda) falls in this region.
In southern Italy, the Campania region contains some of the greatest and most famous sites in the country, with the area along the coast and the nearby islands being especially renowned (and popular with visitors).
The name Campania originally meant the 'plain' (from the Latin 'campus'), that the Romans called 'Campania Felix' for its fertility - the Campania Felix is the most important italian region for the production of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, beans, apricots, cherries, figs, walnuts and hazelnuts.
The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region occupies the north-east corner of Italy, just to the east of Venice-Veneto, bordering Slovenia and Austria, and with the Adriatic Sea along the southern coast.
Historically the region has been part of Austria, then later part of Yugoslavia, being created as an autonomus Itailian region in 1963 - each of these historic powers has of course influenced the region that we see today.
The Puglia region (also known as Apulia) is the 'heel' of Italy - that is, the south-eastern part of the country, facing the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south.
The towns of Trani, Ruvo di Puglia and especially the important town of Bari are worth visiting, as is the castle inland at Castel del Monte.
The Calabria region is the long peninsula that forms the southern tip of mainland Italy (the 'toe' on a map). Sicily is just a few kilometres to the west across the Strait of Messina and the Basilicata region is to the north.
The region consistes of five separate provinces: Catanzaro (central), Cosenza (north), Crotone (east), Reggio di Calabria (south-west) and Vibo Valentia (south).
The Emilia-Romagna region runs east to west across the northern part of central Italy.
The central part of the region includes the fine cities of Parma, Modena and Bologna. Parma and Bologna are, of course, highly prized for their gastronomic achievements. See also the interesting towns of Carpi and Corregio in this part of Emilia-Romagna.
The Lombardy region of northern Italy reaches high into the mountains in its northern regions. Although best known for its impressive lake scenery, Lombardy also has a good number of fascinating historical towns and villages to explore.
Liguria runs along the the Mediterranean coast of north-west Italy, starting from the western border of Italy with France. The region stretches about 25km inland from the Mediterranean.
Tuscany is found to the north-west of central Italy and is one of the most popular, and most beautiful, parts of the country.
It contains the renaissance masterpiece city - Florence - and several other very fine cities and towns such as Lucca, Arezzo, Cortona and Siena. The famous leaning tower is of course found at Pisa, to the west of the region.
The Le Marche region is on the Adriatic coast of central-eastern Italy, backed by the Apennine mountains. Fine beaches, ancient hillside villages and beautiful scenery abound.
The region is often referred to as the Marches of Italy by English speaking nations.
The Valle d'Aosta is a small Italian region - the smallest and least populated in the country - situated to the northern edge of Piedmont and in the far north-west of Italy, with France to the west and Switzerland to the north..
The Basilicata region is situated at the south of Italy, with the Ionian Sea to the south-east and the Calabria region to the south-west. Basilcata is divided into two provinces: Potenza (west) and Matera (east).
As a result of this position in the 'instep' of Italy, Basilicata actually includes two separate areas of coastline, with the Ionian Sea to the south and also a short section of the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west.
The Molise region of Italy is situated to the south-east of the country, with the Apennine mountains to the west and the Adriatic coast to the east, and between the regions of Abruzzo (to the north) and Puglia (to the south).
Note: until 1963 Molise was actually a province of Abruzzo rather than a separate region of Italy.
A map of Italy showing the most interesting and attractive places and highlights:
