Visit Emilia-Romagna

Greek temples, Arab-Norman cathedrals, baroque towns and Etna — Sicily is a Mediterranean civilisation of its own

Rolling cypress hills, Renaissance cities and Sangiovese wine — Tuscany is the Italy of the imagination

Liguria’s pastel coast of fishing villages, pesto and cliff paths — including the five lands of Cinque Terre

Caribbean-clear water, Bronze Age stone towers and a fiercely independent island culture and cuisine

The 50,000-seat amphitheatre where Rome staged its bloodiest spectacles for 2,000 years

Climb 251 spiralling steps up the world's most famous architectural mistake — tilting since 1173

Walk the streets of a Roman city frozen mid-life by Vesuvius in 79 AD — ruts, frescoes, bakeries and all

Red-brick arcades, the oldest university in the world, and the richest table in Italy — la grassa, "the fat one"