Hike the Cinque Terre coastal trail

A salty maritime republic of grand palaces and Europe’s biggest medieval old town — and the home of pesto

Pale limestone towers that turn rose-pink at sunset — Italy’s most spectacular mountains

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

Try true Ligurian basil pesto, pounded in a mortar, over trofie or trenette pasta

Eat dimpled, olive-oil-soaked focaccia warm from the oven — a Genoese breakfast dipped in cappuccino

A city built on water with no cars — gondolas, Byzantine mosaics, and getting happily lost in the back canals

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