Italien

Fenomenet med italienska byar som rear ut hus för en spottstyver har pågått några år. Oftast har det handlat om orter en bra bit från huvudstaden, men nu har bergsbyn Maenza – bara sju mil söder om Rom – lagt ut sina första hus för 10 kronor. Totalt vill man sälja 100 hus!

Italiens region Emilia-Romagna har det mesta man vill få ut av ett besök i landet. God mat, vacker natur, pittoreska städer och mycket mer. Här är 5 platser du borde besöka!

Milan’s centre is conveniently compact. The splendid cathedral sits in a vast piazza that throngs with tourists, touts and the Milanese themselves. From here, choose God or Mammon, music or art, or take in all four by visiting the epic Duomo, historic shopping arcade Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, La Scala opera house and the Palazzo Reale, Novecento and Gallerie d’Italia museums.

This is an intriguing part of Tuscany, home to wild scenery and evocative reminders of Italy's Etruscan heritage. Usually referred to as the Maremma, its highlights include the intensely atmospheric Città del Tufo archaeological park, a network of Etruscan tombs and mysterious sunken roads known as vie cave in the countryside around the towns of Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano. Further north, more Etruscan heritage can be explored at the archaeological sites of Roselle and Vetulonia, and in the archaeological museum at one of Tuscany's most charming Renaissance–era hilltop towns, Massa Marittima.

Att Italien är vackert är ingen nyhet. Men de här städerna är nästan löjligt bedårande. Skrolla ner och känn hur reselusten tilltar.

Sicilianska Cammarata vill stoppa utflyttningen. Det gör man genom att skänka bort övergivna bostäder som annars skulle förvandlas till ruiner. Kravet för att få ett hus gratis är att renovera.

The Italian boot’s heel (Puglia), instep (Basilicata) and toe (Calabria) are where the 'Mezzogiorno' (southern Italy) shows all its throbbing intensity. Long stereotyped as the poorer, more passionate cousins of Italy's sophisticated northerners, these regions are finally being appreciated for their true richness. You will see washing on weather-worn balconies, scooters speeding down medieval alleys and ancient towns crumbling under Mediterranean suns. But look past the pasta-advert stereotypes and you'll find things altogether more complex and wonderful; gritty, unsentimental cities with pedigrees stretching back thousands of years; dramatically broken coastlines that have harboured fisherfolk and pirates for millennia; and above all, proud and generous people, eager to share these delights with you.

A heady mix of haunting ruins, awe-inspiring art and vibrant street life, Italy's hot-blooded capital is one of the world's most romantic and charismatic cities.

Louise flyttade från den skånska myllan till storstadslivet i Milano för en vardag kantad av italiensk livsglädje, höga smakupplevelser och jakten på sin egen sanning.

Venetian life had its origins in the northern reaches of the lagoon, and when things get too frantic in the city proper, these ancient island settlements remain the best escape. Serious shoppers head to Murano for one-of-a-kind glass art. Others prefer to head to the islands of Burano and Mazzorbo for extended seafood feasts, or to Torcello for glimpses of heaven in the golden mosaics.