Italy has three millennia of history, culture and cuisine, from Roman ruins, Renaissance art and tiny medieval hill towns, to the canals of Venice. Florence is one of Italy's most atmospheric and pleasant cities, retaining a strong link to the small late-medieval centre that contributed so much to the development of Europe.

Sardinia's coastline is probably Europe's most spectacular. Its waters teem with fish and shellfish, broad valleys and rugged mountains, pocked with caves. Nestled into its silent olive groves are some of the continent's oldest archeological remains. With a language incomprehensible to all other Italians and inhabitants that love to dress up in elaborate costumes at the drop of a finely-embroidered hat.