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These are the main Regions of Italy (the equivalent of Counties in the UK and States in the USA) The link below gives you information on all the regions (or you can check out the individual links below each Region
VALLE D'AOSTA The Aosta valley's Cormayeur is a place for hiking and mountain climbing in summer and skiing in the winter. Italy's oldest ski resort, it has an Alpine Museum. 90 minutes (approx) cable car ride starts at La Palud (one of the cablecar stations is in France) to the Colle del Gigante (11,000ft) LOMBARDIA Formerly the Austrian Tyrol until 1918 and mainly German speaking. A mixture of rich green alpine meadows and jagged granite peaks. This region's rice, wheat and maize are the main basis of Italy's risotto, pasta and polenta. The capitol Bolzano makes a good base for hikes. There's a cable car to the Renon plateau which has marvellous views of the Dolomites http://www.premier.net/~Italy/lombardia.htm TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE Alto Adige, bordering Austria is entirely mountainous. This area includes the Italian lake resorts including Riva at the top of Lake Garda. FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA This attractive region has many lagoons formed by rivers flowing to the sea. Farming is rich and the wines are some of the best in Italy. The port of Trieste thrived when the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Previously belonged to Austria and for a short time Yugoslavia. http://www.virtualitalia.com/travel/friuli.shtml The coffee houses serve up pastries deliciously Viennese in flavour. VENETO This region is dominated by Venice. So many quiet and beautiful corners and no cars! You need at least 3 days to explore this city properly. Take a barge trip from Venice to Padua-this takes you past some fine Palladian style villas through beautiful countryside. Verona-In the main square, the Piazza Bra is a roman arena dating back to AD100 with an arcade of 74 arches still intact. Castelvecchio fortress now houses a museum http://www.initaly.com/regions/veneto/veneto.htm EMILIA ROMAGNA These used to be two seperate regions. Rimini is the main resort on the Adriatic coast and has wide sandy beaches, lively hotels, beach clubs and lots of discos. If you want a quieter resort then try Cattolica to the south. A half hour's drive away is the smallest and oldest republic in the world, San Marino. Wonderful views of the Adriatic, Apenines and Po valley from the three peaks. http://www.adriacoast.com/web/index.jsp?lng=2 TOSCANA Snow-capped mountains, lush countryside and sandy beaches as well as the green island of Elba. On the river Arno is Florence, one of the finest cities in the world, which has churches, palaces, bridges, all of outstanding beauty. http://www.terraditoscana.com/default.aspx?loc=en MARCHE This area has wide sandy beaches, mountains and plains. Pesaro has a fine historic center and is the birthplace of Rossini. Urbino is the regions most important art center which includes the Ducal Palace. http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Marche/index.uk.html UMBRIA This area has mountains and hills and is known as the Green Heart of Italy. Assisi, the home of St.Francis has magnificent frescoes by Giotti. Perugia is a fine old Etruscan city with a famous university. http://iubilaeum-2000.net/ LAZIO Hadrian's Villa, about 20 miles from the capitol Tivoli, gives you a good idea of how a greek villa used to be. The Villa d'Este, in Tivoli, has magnificent gardens, and of course there's Italy's capitol of Rome with so many sites to see including the Vatican. http://www.italytour.com/lazio/index.htm ABRUZZI The Abruzzo plateau is the highest in the Appenines (Corno Grande-3 peaked mountain at about 9,500ft), great for hillwalks and climbing, with an abundance of wildlife including golden eagles. The park's visitor centre, at Pescasseroli, has a botanical garden and small zoo. L'Aquila, the region's capitol has a 99 spout fountain and Renaisance and Baroque buildings. http://www.virtualitalia.com/travel/abruzzo.shtml CAMPANIA Unspoilt countryside dotted with feudal castles and Romanesque churches. So many places to see-Pompeii, Naples, Vesuvius, and the Amalfi resorts of Sorrento, Ravello and Positano.The volcanic soil in this region has produced a profusion of tomatoes, olives, oranges, lemons and figs. www.virtourist.com/europe/campania PUGLIA (Apulia) Wild and unspoiled countryside with undulating stoney plateaus. The passage of Norman and German emperors account for the huge fortresses and fortress-like churches. The resorts have good beaches, first class camping and water sports facilities. Foggia is a totally modern town with good hotels and excellent restaurants. http://www.wel.it/Welcome/Puglia/index.uk.html BASILICATA Mostly mountainous with dramatic ravines and isolated communities which keep their old traditions and costumes. Matera is spectacularly situated, built round and in a vast ravine. The houses are built into the rocky cliffs inbetween which are crypt churches in the more spacious caves. (see Molise above) CALABRIA Ruggedly beautiful mountain land, only 10% is flatland, is an ideal hideaway for a quiet holiday. The modern town of Palmi is in a good spot among olive groves on Monte Saint Elia, and a drive to the summit gives wonderful views of Mt. Etna. http://portal.calabriaweb.it/Homepage.asp?lng=en SARDINIA The island's capitol, Cagliari, is a modern city with a Spanish flavour to its older part up the hill. The Costa Smerelda is one of Italy's best resort areas with beautiful beaches, grand hotels and marinas for yachts and motor launches. http://sardinia.net/ SICILIA The Mediterranean's largest island. The busy capitol of Palermo has Norman palaces and Spanish Baroque facades. At Marsala you can taste and buy the sweet golden desert wine. In Agrigento you can see the Temple of Hercules. http://www.siciliano.it/_index.htm
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