Italien

Tumbling down to the Adriatic from a wild, karstic plateau and almost entirely surrounded by Slovenia, Trieste is physically and psychologically isolated from the rest of the Italian peninsula. As such, it preserves its own unique border-town culture and retains a fascinating air of fluidity encapsulated in the Triestini dialect, a strange melange of Italian, Austrian-German, Croatian and Greek.

Gucci har byggt om sitt museum i den italienska staden Florens. I dagarna öppnade det nya komplexet Gucci Garden upp för gäster på nytt. Här kan gäster shoppa, äta och ta del av lyxklädmärkets långa och glamourösa historia.

Införandet av den omdiskuterade turistavgiften i Venedig planerades att införas sommaren 2020 men nu skjuts den upp till 1 juli 2021.

Formed at the end of the last ice age, and a popular holiday spot since Roman times, the Italian Lakes have an enduring, beguiling beauty.

Rising out of the cobalt-blue seas off Sicily's northeastern coast, the Unesco-protected Aeolian Islands (Vulcano, Lipari, Salina, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi) are a little piece of paradise, a seven-island archipelago offering a wealth of opportunities for relaxation and outdoor fun. Stunning waters provide sport for swimmers, sailors, kayakers and divers, while trekkers can climb hissing volcanoes and gourmets can sip honey-sweet Malvasia wine.

Named after Sulci, the ancient city the Phoenicians established on the Isola di Sant’Antioco, the Sulcis area encompasses Sardinia’s southwestern corner and its two offshore islands. Attention here is largely focused on its beaches and coastal splendours but venture inland and you'll discover a mountainous interior speckled with historical interest.

Como (aka Lario) is the most ‘James Bond’ of the Italian lakes, where shiny red Ferraris weave through narrow lakeside towns and neoclassical villas take on a whole new level of opulence. Parts of the 2006 Bond movie Casino Royale were filmed here and many of the fancy lakeside hotels have a 007 price tag.

Strax norr om Sicilien gömmer sig sju vulkanöar som trots sin skönhet förblivit något av en hemlighet. Vagabonds chefredaktör gav sig ut på en öluff genom den Eoliska övärlden.

Much of Basilicata is an otherworldly landscape of mountain ranges, trackless forests and villages that seem to sprout organically from the granite. Not easily penetrated, it is strategically located, and has been dominated by the Lucanians, Greeks, Romans, Germans, Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens, Normans and others. Being the plaything of such powers has not been conducive to a quiet or happy fate.

Borromeiska öarna är tre italienska pärlor vackert belägna i Lago Maggiore. Vi tog båten dit och upptäckte botaniska trädgårdar och pittoreska fiskrestauranger.