Taste Barolo in the Langhe

Italy's elegant first capital — arcaded boulevards, the Egyptian Museum, and the home of vermouth and gianduja

Have shavings of the world’s most prized truffle over fresh pasta or egg, in autumn in Piedmont

Summit Gran Paradiso, 4,061 m — the only 4,000er entirely inside Italy and a classic first big peak

Ferry between baroque palace-gardens and a fishing-village island on a serene pre-Alpine lake

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

Drink the Black Rooster wine where it’s made — among vineyards and castles between Florence and Siena

Sample one of Italy’s most prestigious reds in its Tuscan hill town, aged at least five years

Sip the rich, dried-grape red of the Veneto hills north of Verona