Luxury hotel holidays to Italian cities

Florence

Florence is one of the ‘must see’ places of all art lovers. Florence is the centre of the Renaissance movement and the Uffizi Gallery houses a phenomenal collection of painting from this era, as does the Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s statue of David. However, it is the atmosphere of the city which is overwhelmingly Renaissance as everywhere you turn there is yet another reminder of the period either artistic or architectural and this creates a superb museum like ambience to the historic centre.

Milan

Milan is Italy's second largest city, renowned for being the economic and industrial hub of the country. However, the historic centre is easily manageable either on foot or by the comprehensive metro system and the atmosphere is sophisticated and not nearly as Mediterranean as other Italian cities. Milan is renowned for its fashion and shopping is this is certainly one past time that people visit for; it is easy to spot the elegant Italian and foreign visitors with their designer shopping bags!

Naples

Naples is a gateway to the south of Italy or ‘mezzogiorno’ and offers a completely different atmosphere to even Rome, which is only a couple of hours away. The hustle and bustle of daily life is partly due to the fact that it is a major sea port and the city has therefore grown up around the trades that have made it prosper. But with the distant shadow of Mount Vesuvius about 5 miles away, always visible from the city, an element of risk or danger creeps into the psyche of the Neapolitans.

Rome

Rome as the capital city of the Roman Empire is widely regarded as the birth place of western civilisation. The city has a unique atmosphere of any in Italy, due to its huge wealth of sites to see, dating back not just from the Roman era, but from mediaeval and Renaissance periods as well and you could spend a lifetime visiting all the historical and architectural sites the city has to offer. Most visitors come to Rome to see the foundations of the Roman Empire in the form of the Colosseum, The Forum Romanum and the Circus Maximus, to name but a few. However, visitors nearly always allow time for a visit to the Vatican Museum and the Basilica of St Peter, even if they choose not to visit any other non-Roman historical sites!

Turin

Turin is renowned for an eclectic selection of things, including hard chocolate, Fiat cars, and the mysterious Turin Shroud. Popular for its proximity to the ski slopes in winter, in summer Turin is a cultural and historic hub. Its legacy as the brief capital of Italy before the country’s unification is still evident in the grandeur of its streets, which are smattered with monuments to Savoy royalty and lined with arcaded shops and cafes. The atmosphere of the city is distinctly calm, but still with a real sense of the typically Italian bustle and life.

Venice

Venice, or ‘La Serenissima’ as it has been known for centuries, is truly unique and must be visited at least once in a lifetime. It is essentially a floating museum and was the main centre of trade for the north of Italy from the 13th century right through until the 17th century. The art and architecture that can be seen throughout the city is really a tribute to centuries of patronage and wealth. The Venetian lagoon also has numerous other islands, inhabited and uninhabited which used to grow crops and produce to feed Venice itself and which also used to house some of the cities’ industries such as glass making and lace making.

Verona

Verona has had a varied and turbulent history throughout the ages from Roman times to the 20th Century, but it is now considered one of the major cities of northern Italy and a cultural centre in its own right. Verona’s main attraction has to be its Roman Amphitheatre; the Arena di Verona was completed in around 30AD and is the 3rd largest amphitheatre in Italy after the Colosseum and the Arena in Capua, south of Rome. The Verona Opera Festival is renowned all over the world and is an absolute for must for any opera aficionados holidaying in the area from June to September.