Basilicata is a southern region of Italy bordering Apulia in the east, Campania in the west and Calabria in the south. It has a short coastline with the Ionian Sea in the southeast and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The total area of the region is 9,992 square kilometer with a population of around 600,000 people. Potenza is the capital of Basilicata and the two provinces dividing the region are Matera and Potenza.

Geography
Overall the region is mountainous with the southern Appenine’s highest point being Monte Pollino located at 7325 feet. Monte Vulture is an extinct volcano located in the northwest corner. Until modern times, communication was difficult due to the mountainous terrain of the region. Over the last years Basilicata has become richer significantly due to the discovery of oil.

Art
The region of Basilicata has many archaeological relics dating back to the remote times. In Venosa, ruins of the Roman Age can be found whereas in Metoponto, remains of the Greek Era can be found. The noteworthy examples of medieval art can be admired by the tourists in Cerenza and Veneza. Arab Byzantine and French architecture can be found in Melfi, Matera and Lagopesole.

Museums
The Provincial Archaeological museum in Potenza has a prehistoric collection, various Latin and Greek inscriptions and an ethnographic section. The Ridola National Museum in Matera has ceramics and Paleolithic relics dating back to the Bronze, Iron and Neolithic Ages. Noteworthy paintings of 17th and 18th century Neopolitan school are displayed in the Pinnacoteca d Erico. Melfi’s Archaeological National Museum houses protohistoric and roman relics.

Attractions
Visitors can see the typical ‘Sassi’ houses and churches built into natural caves in Matera. Many of these churches have frescoes and Byzantine decorations. Some of the noteworthy churches are S. Maria delle Vertu, S. Maria delle Valle and S. Maria de Armenis. The other 12-16th centuries remnants of frescoes can be found in S. Lucia alle Malve, S. Giovanni in Monterrone, S. Nicola dei Greci, Madonna delle Tre Porte. The seaside town of Maratea in the region of Basilicata is ideal for a holiday with unspoiled beaches, clear water and various grottoes and caves for diving. In Melfi, the Cathedral with beautiful baroque façade and the castle of 11th century can be visited. The most important attraction present in Potanza is the San Francesco church which is located off the main Piazza Pagano or the Piazza Prefettura. This church contains an elaborate tomb of 16th century and an icon of Byzantine style known as the Madonna del Terremoto.

The Sassi di Matera

The Marche is one of Italy’s 20 regions located in the country’s central area. It lies bordering San Marino and Emilia-Romagna to the north, to the west by Umbria, Tuscany in the northwest, Lazio in the south and Adriatic Sea in the east. Mostly the region’s land is hilly except the narrow coastal strips and the river valleys.

Geography
The area of Marche extends over 9,694 square kilometers between Emilia-Romagna in the north, Abrazzio and Lazio in the south, Umbria and Tuscany in the west. Most of this region is hilly or mountainous with their important features being an extensive number of hills descending to the Adriatic and the Apennine chain through the internal boundary. The region’s two third is covered by hilly areas which have various wide gullies with short rivers and alluvial plains. The mountain chains which are longitudinally oriented have deep river gorges. The region’s coastal area has a length of 173 km which is straight and flat, except for the northern hilly area and the eastern slopes.

Economy
Agricultural contribution to the region’s economy now has less importance. The main products of this region include vegetables, cereals, grapes and animal products. A large supply of fish is always available in the sea with the main centers for fishing being Fano, San Benedetto del Trento, Civitanova Marche and Ancona. Many of the workshops of small crafts scattered through the region’s rural settlements have modernized into small businesses. Various industries of the region include footwear and leather goods, textile industry in Ancona province and furniture in the area of Pasaro.

Attractions
A number of cultural sites can be found in the Marche which includes several medieval towns, museums, churches, the opera and the Leopoldi library. Some of the region’s unique sights include its national parks, Le Grotti di Frassasi, a climb on the local mountains or a walk along its beaches. A variety of sports are also offered in this region including sailing, walking, horse-riding, skiing, windsurfing, water park, golf, swimming pools, fishing, hunting, etc. Various attractions for the trekkers, walkers and the nature lovers are also available here with the national and regional parks offering various outdoor activities like trekking, paragliding, mountain biking, hunting, nature trails, etc. A number of seaside resorts are available throughout the Marche coastline. The region also has the highest number of Blue Flag beaches in the country which means the beaches meet the strict criteria of safety, environmental management, water quality, etc

Apulia is a region in Italy lying on its southeastern part, bordered in the east with Adriatic Sea, in the southeast by the Ionian Sea and in the south by Gulf of Taranto and the Straight of Otranto. The area of this region is about 19,345 square kilometer with a population of 4 million. The other Italian regions bordering Apulia are Campania in the west, Molise in the north and Basilicata in the southwest.

Geography
Mostly the region of Apulia is plain with its low coast broken in the north by the mountainous peninsula of Gargano in the north. The regions of north-central part has mountains present. Six provinces divide this region which are the provinces of Bari, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Froggia, Brindisi, Taranto and Lecce.

Economy
The chief occupation of the Italian region of Apulia is farming, but there has also been rapid expansion of industry. The farm products include grapes, olives, figs, almonds, livestock and tobacco. The products manufactured here include chemicals, petroleum, steel, iron, cement, plastics, processed food and wine. In the Gulf of Taranto and the Adriatic, fishing is also pursued. Agriculture is being increasingly replaced by mass tourism and services as the region’s main resource. Hence it is often called as ‘Florence of Italy’.

Language
Though Italian is the official national language, other historical languages are also spoken in the region. The Barese language is spoken in the zones of Faggiano and Bari. The language of Tarantino is spoken in the region’s southern part. Other dialects spoken in some of the parts of the region are Griko, Faetar and the Arbereshe.

Attractions
Various attractions present in the Apulia region include numerous cathedrals of the 10th century, an excellent archaeological museum, many deserted and highly atmospheric Roman and Greek ruins, several lively fishing villages, medieval hilltowns, some of the cleanest beaches in the Mediterranean, and one of the largest forests of Europe. The region has its own architectural subspecies called barocco lecesse which is characterized by carvings which are extremely ornate and cover the entire surface of palazzo and churches. The city of Lecce has the most of these carvings. An attraction which can be seen only in Apulia is ‘i trulli’. These are cones made of stones which are whitewashed and held together without mortar. They can be found in almost all the olive groves and wheat fields of the region. When clustered together in large number to form a town, they form a picturesque sight. This unforgettable sight can be found in Alberobello.

Calabria is a southern region of Italy located south of Naples at the bottom of Italian peninsula. In the north it is bounded by the Basilicata region, the region of Sicily in the southwest, the Ionian Sea to the east and to the west with the Tyrrhenian Sea. The area of the region is 15,080 square kilometer with a population of 2 million people. Catanzaro city is the capital of the region and Cosenza and Reggio Calabria are the two other main cities of the region.

Geography
The region of Calabria consists of a narrow peninsula which extends for 300 kilometers to the Mediterranean. It is situated between the Gulf of Tarranto and the Ionian Sea to the east and to the west with the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Strait of Messina separates Sicily from the region. The Calabria region is mainly mountainous with the three mountain regions being Pollino, Aspromonte and the Sila. Parts of the area of the Pollino Mountains are heavily wooded and the others are windswept and vast plateaus with little vegetation. La Sila consists of a vast mountainous structure of Aspromonte from the region’s southernmost tip. It consists of manmade terraces which are wide and slope down to the sea.

Religion
Most of the people of Calabria are Roman Catholic. The Albanian communities in the southern region have some Byzantine orthodox congregations. A small Italian Anusim community is present who have resumed their ancestors’ Jewish faith. Communities of Evangelists are also present on the western coast.

Attractions
The Reggio di Calabria museum has a fantastic collection of Roman sculptures and Greek artifacts. The famous exhibits of this museum consists of the Riace bronzes and the two Greek statues which have been recovered from the seabed. Tropea is the most appealing resort of the area which is a Baroque seaside town having great views. Scilla is the other interesting seaside resort of the region. Some of the interesting places in Cosenza include a Gothic cathedral, some Byzantine religious art and a castle. Catanzaro located at the middle of Italy’s narrowest point have attractions like a castle, cathedral, the archaeological park, the park of biodiversity and a promenade on the Ionian Sea. Capo Vaticano near Tropea is a wide and famous bathing place. There are several national parks present in the region which hikers and outdoor lovers will find interesting to visit. Calabria offers many pleasant overnight stops which include seaside towns between Sicily and Rome.

Emilia-Romagna is a northern Italy’s administrative region which comprises of two historic regions called Emilia and Romagna. The area of the region is 20,124 square kilometers with a population of 4.3 million inhabitants. Bolagna is the capital of the region.

Geography
The Emilia-Romagna region consists of 9 provinces. Nearly 50% of the region consists of plains with 25% mountainous and 25 % hilly regions. The region’s Appenines section has areas of flisch, caves and badland erosions. More than 300 kms of mountains are present stretching from north to south-east. Padan Plain constitutes half of the region which is a very fertile alluvial plain. The region’s north has lagoons and saline areas and the rest of the area has many thermal springs. The region’s vegetations are divided into various belts consisting of the common oak belt, Adriatic oak belt and the beech belt.

Economy
The region of Emilia-Romagna is one of the richest regions of Europe and the third region of Italy in terms of per capita GDP. It has a very developed economy based on the agricultural sector. This region is also one of the leading region in farming contribution. The most important products are potatoes, tomatoes, cereals and onions alongwith grapes and fruit for wine production. The industrial part of the region is mainly located in the area of Via Emilia. Food, mechanical and automotive industry is mainly concentrated in Bologna, Modena and Parma.

Art
In Emilia-Romagna, Roman traces can be found in Ravenna and Rimini with the magnificent monuments of the Byzantine period. These Romanesque Longobard style are found in Piacenza e Ferrara and Cathedrals of Modena, some important sculptural works can be found in the Baptistry of Parma. Bologna and Piacenza have great examples of Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic styles.

Attractions
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and the Tomb of Dante are present in Ravenna. It also has the magnificent Saint Apollinare Basilica and the Mausoleum of Theodore. The charming Dozza town near Bologna showcases the region’s wines. The biannual murals festival is celebrated in this town. The Parco del Casentino is a protected reserve located in Romagna. The castle of Torrechiara which is beautifully preserved is located near Parma. The Riviera Adriatica has various beach towns which cater mainly to the young visitors. A fascinating Ceramics Museum is present in Faenza. Various beautiful hill top villages and towns can be discovered between Florence and Forli like Bagno di Romagna, Castro Caro Terme, Modigliana, Rocca di San Casciano, Tredozio and Portico di Romagna.

Veneto has a population of around 4.8 million with Venice as its capital. Once upon a time, this was a part of the Venetian Republic and then a land faced with exodus of emigration.   Today Veneto is the most industrialized and consequently one of the wealthiest areas of Italy. It also happens to be the region that is visited most and around 60 million tourists set foot on Veneto on an annual average.  Italian is the major language spoken and the inhabitants also converse in  Venetian.

Traditionally Veneto has been lacking in agriculture and is known for emigration in plenty.   From the 1970s Veneto is  witnessing some inspiring developmental works.

You need to cruise past Veneto while you head for Italy’s most favored city, Venice. While looking out of the train, the terrain at times seems unattractive.  But within you will find small cities with captivating treasures of art and inspirations for good living.  A few miles up north and observe the beginning of the famed Alps, its foothills strewn with delightful towns and lined up with scenic top-notch vineyards. Because most tourists think of looking at the city from  the water, the other parts of the region has practically no visiting tourist, but yet, they are really missing a lot.

Verona, has been home to literary figures Romeo and Juliet, and is an appealing small historic cities of Italy. Vicenza, housed the most memorable “laboratory” of probably the influential architect history knows druing those times, Andrea Palladio. Treviso is the birthplace of radicchio as also of the unparalleled pet town Italy. Soave is the castle town that has fairy-tale connotations and you would first get acquainted with it in the wine shop around the locality.  Abano, is the characteristic 19th-century town known for the thermal spa. Lake Garda, bordered by olive and also lemon plantations, and the snow-capped Alps reproduce in its shiny waters. Teensy Marostica is the place where you can witness a chess game with living human chess-men attires in Renaissance costumes. There is also the lush green valley scattered with family-owned wineries, called Valpollicella.  Padua the Erudite, provides a thrill to aficionados of Renaissance art who can gaze at Giotto’s unforgettable fresco cycle.

A little help can get you round with the logistics of the place.  The region is well worth a visit and you will have the temptation to lingeringly put up a while at Verona even as you make a dash to La Serenissima. The thermal baths of Abano Terme are an important tourist attraction. Despite being the most famous, Abano is not the only thermal town in the area. Montegrotto Terme and Recoaro Terme are other popular resorts.

Umbria is part of central Italy and the capital is Perugia. The population counts to around 900,000.  The name of the region traces down from the Umbri tribe, the inhabitants of this area around 6th century BC.

Umbria causes us to recall the Italian term ombra, meaning shadow. This is amongst the smaller regions of Italy and is only a shadow of its eminent neighbor, Tuscany. The countless Umbrian mountains and hills throw dark and long shadows above river valleys that are already in some darkness due to the elm forest cover and abundant groves of chestnut. Umbria is landlocked region having some overpoweringly medieval disposition which beckons one to come back to the call of mysticism and regale in the mystery times set in the Dark Ages. Umbria has been basking in the shadows since long.

It could be that there is a trend for the inhabitants to impose a trait of modesty amongst themselves.  This could be the reason why this place, despite its beauty, lies in the domain of anonymity.  Umria does have a charm of its own, boasting of terrain dotted with hills and glittering castles along the way, ominous fortresses and strategically placed watchtowers.  The well-conserved hill towns give us world-famous ceramics.  Many monasteries in this quaint town have been founded by a good number of saints from the locality.  The valleys of Umria are speckled with innumerable lustrous rivers and it even shelters the largest lake in Italy. A little way up the rise leading to Monte Fumaiolo, a dribble leaks out from the earth and rambles southward, getting girth and finally evolves into the impressive River Tiber of Rome. Any travel from Florence towards Rome by road will take you alongside the Tiber and some Umbian localities including Spoleto, Assisi, and Orvieto.

The picturesque town of Umbian is towards the east of the ultra-famous Tuscany and just north of Italy’s capital while it is located towards the west of Marches.  Umbian is absolutely in the centre of the Italian peninsula.  It would be lovely to get familiar with the numerous captivating ancient towns and would be great to plan a stopover when you plan a jaunt to Florence or Rome.  This trip would definitely be worth every penny because this town would interest you immensely since it is as fascinating, if not more, as the legendary region of Tuscany but there are very sparsely populated.

Sicily has its own autonomy within the constitution of Italy.  Sicily runs over a large and is one of the largest areas around Italy and also has a sizeable population of around five million.  Sicily is also found to be the biggest island within the vast Mediterranean Sea. Also, a number of smaller islands around it are also thought to be a part of Sicily.

The island of Sicily has been thought of as a very strategically located place almost all the way through its history.  This is mainly because of its significance to trade routes along the Mediterranean.

Though not much is spoken about this place, those who visit are bound to return pleasantly surprised. This place is simply cannot be stereotyped into any category and you can see this immediately upon arrival to this scenic place.  It is definitely a friendly place with the locals going out of their way to ensure you don’t even miss an intersection while getting to your destination on the island.  If you do speak to someone along the way, you will be instantly greeted with a smile, which is both a little shy and simultaneously glittering.

Then it is time to look at the most beautiful gift of nature that Italy can offer through Sicily.  It is just about great stretches of vineyards giving a healthy competition to their more popular rivals in Piedmont or even Tuscany. This is a chance to also witness never-ending olive orchards emerging from emerald-green blankets of grass.  Then there also are the true forests of glistening citrus and other fruit trees, strong mountains, with the yawning blue sea in the background. Sicily boasts of some world-class art.  There are also traces of the Greek right to the Roman eras, as also Norman, Byzantine, Spanish, French, and Arab influences. A lot of this is set in the most astounding locales, cast off along the hillside or huddled into a desolate cove and when you get near it, you would actually be a fairy tale come true with a tour back a few centuries.

Sicily has the word ancient written all around it.  What is most likeable about Sicily is its naturalness, a factual atmosphere day after day, that enhances its historical treasures into a reality-fantasy incorporating more modern living.   If you have for some reason put off touring to Sicily on a few occasions, there should really be no reason to wait any longer.

Sardinia is known to be the second-largest among the islands in the Mediterranean. The island is bound on the north by the island of Corsica (France), Balearic Islands, Tunisia and the Italian Peninsula. Sardinia is a legal entity of Italy, with extraordinary decree of regional autonomy that is incorporated in the Italian Constitution.
It is small enough to fit into being tagged as an island, but its immensity allows it its own world around itself.  We could say it has Europe’s most amazing coastline. Its waters swarm with loads of shellfish and also fish. Its wide vales transform into yellow bushels of wheat during summer. The rocky mountains all with caves splattered around.  The area shelters flocks of sheep that live on strong wild plants and also help in the making of unforgettable cheese. Snuggling comfortably in the olive orchards are a few of the continent’s archeological remains which have traces to ancient times. The language of the people here is perplexing to other Italians even.  The local community enjoys dressing up in intricate costumes at the slightest provocation.
The heat of the summer in Sardinia can be extremely scorching. In contrast, winter winds can be the nastiest ones that blow across the Mediterranean. Restaurants and hotels are usually shockingly costly or grimly ancient. Summer time is the most difficult time to get to Sardinia since most of the modes of transport leading to there, go over packed during these times.  Sardinia can be a treat to adventure lovers; it is for those who want to push for some intriguing accomplishments as they travel.
Sardinia is replete with music.  It is home to some very old forms of ‘cantu a tenore’ or vocal polyphony.  The throaty sounds created in this art-form makes some incredible sounds that are almost like Tuvan throat singing. One more polyphonic manner of singing also found in Sardinia is the cantu a cuncordu.
One rare instrument used is the launeddas. Three reed-canes, two of them attach together using beeswax and this creates some unique harmony.  This instrument has its origins tracing back a few thousand years.  Besides this, there is also the cantu a chiterra (songs on the guitar) originated from the singing in town squares, when musicians would actually compete with one another. Sardinian’s culture is alive and thriving and the youth of the place are enthusiastically occupied in coming about with music and dance done in their own inimitable style.

Piedmont is one of Italy’s 20 provinces and has Turin as its capital. The local dialect mainly spoken is the Piedmontese dialect and Occitan is spoken also by a few people in the Occitan Valleys.  Also Franco-Provençal is another language used along the alpines in Turin. Piemonte comes from  “Ai piedi del monte” in Italian, meaning being at the mountain base.

This is supposedly a paradise for food lovers and that would mean there is always something for everyone to enjoy.  Piedmont takes up a huge portion of large area along the borders of Switzerland and France and was under the primeval power of the ill-fated Savoys, the rulers of Italy from 1870 the time of the unification to 1946 when they lost power. But Piedmont has a world of its own. The dense fogs that frequently obscured these world famous vineyards is what kept everyone away from this place initially. Incidentally, the climatic conditions have inspired the name that is given to the foremost grapes of the place called nebbiolo.

Only as late as the 1970s did Italy learn about the splendor and the gift of Piedmont. Now gourmands from every nook and corner come in here to regale in the regions gastronomic magnificence. They come by just to sip wines, bite into cheeses, relish awesome meat dishes and can’t forget paying any price to get the taste of truffles. Come autumn and every town in this area has a wild mushroom, truffle or even probably a wine fair.  This is a place where cheerful tourists consuming free samples, mixing about through the piazza along with friendly faces of the bemused locals, who feel thrilled but still can’t come to terms with the attention they receive.

Eating and drinking is not the only thing you can do at Piedmont.  There can be some romantic times upon Lake Maggiore or the little Lake Orta. You can pay a visit to to Sacro Monte, the local innovation where you can walk around through about a dozen miniature chapels in a tranquil locale. You can even tour a genuine ancient castle.  This part also has some really spectacular fortresses. And it would be worth the while to spend two days in Turin.  This dignified city of the 19th century is practically without any tourists, apart from for the enthusiasts who come in to Europe’s finest Egyptian Museum, Royal Palace of the Savoys and also maybe the Automotive Museum.. The Holy Shroud is also in Turin which is displayed from time to time.