The weird statues and fantastical apparitions of Bomarzo’s Parco dei Mostri in northern Lazio are a hit with kids and adults alike. Dattilo The intense flavours of Calabria are showcased at Caterina Ceraudo’s Michelin-starred agriturismo (farm-stay). In Venice masked partygoers have a ball, while in Viareggio crowds cheer on giant papier-mâché floats. La grande bellezza (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013) A depiction of Rome as a complex, beautiful city with a morally bankrupt heart.

All around, a dozen towns hide precious city centers, stunning but austere cathedrals – Trani's cannot be missed – and castles. Then there’s the old town of Parasio, overlooking Imperia – every corner a composition of twisting alleys, cascades of greenery and the blue sea. Head to the high ground to admire Florence’s Renaissance skyline and Brunelleschi’s revolutionary red-tiled dome atop the city’s Duomo 4. Revel in the exotic drama of Palermo’s Arab-Norman architecture as showcased in the Cappella Palatina and Palazzo dei Normanni 2 .But it’s all worth it to see something clever, unexpected or beautiful in a hidden corner of Milan, from a former factory to an ancient cloister. The only Cinque Terre settlement to sport a proper stretch of beach, the westernmost village of Monterosso is the least quintessential of the quintet. Revel in the dramatic coastal scenery that unfurls around you in Sardinia’s Parco Nazionale del Golfo di Orosei e del Gennargentu 4. Italy’s mountainous terrain and four seas provide stunning year-round sport, from high-altitude skiing to hiking, biking and the full range of water sports.

Lonely Planet: The world’s leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet’s Italy is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you.If you're arriving by car or motorcycle, you'll need to pay to park in designated parking lots (€12 to €25 per day), though these are often full. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). A botanical garden and bird watching center sits on a rocky promontory up the hill from the pebbly Fossola Beach.

Cinque Terre has lighter crowds in the spring months, but some hotels can be booked solid from April to October © Atlantide Phototravel / Getty Images When's the best time to visit the Cinque Terre? To escape the worst of the summer heat and crowds, avoid August and come in spring (April to June) or in September. Osteria Francescana The Modena restaurant of superstar chef Massimo Bottura promises gourmet fireworks.On the surface, Italy looks like a movie scene coming to life, starting from its shape as a boot in the middle of the Mediterranean. Favignana is, first and foremost, their home where the day’s catch ends up in brown-paper cones of deep-fried frittura mista (mixed seafood) and wild botanicals with salty water from an artisan well end up in Isola di Favignana craft gin.

I have more than 5 Lonelyplanet Phrasebooks and it’s impressive to see how much they cover and how accurate the phrases are for each situation. Many of Italy’s royal residences have vast gardens which you can sometimes visit independently of the main buildings. A Roman favourite is the carciofo (artichoke), which stars in two city dishes: carciofo alla giudia (deep-fried) and carciofo alla romana (seasoned with mint and garlic and slowly stewed).Italy is laced with thousands of kilometres of sentieri (marked trails), providing everything from multi-day treks to gentle family-friendly rambles. If you do decide to day-trip, the big but easygoing town of La Spezia is far closer than Genoa or Pisa, with just a seven-minute "commute" to the closest Cinque Terre village, Riomaggiore, and around 15 to 25 minutes to the farthest village, Monterosso.