Nestled between Europe's highest mountains, Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa, veined with valleys and studded with castles, Valle d'Aosta is undeniably picturesque.

Along the river Dora on the French border are most of the feudal castles for which Valle d'Aosta is famed. The Aosta Valley also shares a border with Switzerland, and the valley is the least Italian of all regions.

Its landscape and architecture are Swiss, the official language French – although Italian is more widely spoken – and in some valleys the locals, whose ancestors emigrated from Switzerland, still speak a dialect based on German. The unofficial regional language is a Franco-Provençal patois called Valdoten. 

Aosta, the regional capital, is the only town of any size and, with its attractive cobbled streets and good shopping, it makes an excellent stop on the way to mountain resorts. In the countryside, the tributary valleys are more scenic. The eastern valleys have ski resorts and narrow, winding roads.

The valleys in the west, inside Italy's largest national park, the Gran Paradiso, are the place for hiking. All of them can be busy during the summer, but development is restrained.

The  winter climate is severe compared with other places in the Western Alps, probably due to mountains blocking mild winds from the Atlantic Ocean.

Puglia, as it’s known in English, is the long strip of land in the southeast that makes up the "heel" of Italy. There's no escaping the historical influences in Puglia. Invaded, conquered and colonized by just about every major power in the region, each ruling dynasty left its mark on the landscape, architecture and cuisine. From the surviving traces of Roman agriculture and fortified medieval towns to the kasbah-like city quarters and ornate cathedrals, European history lives on in Apuglia. So does agriculture; Apulia produces one-tenth of the wine drunk in Europe and its olive oil is exemplary. They perfectly complement the super-fresh seafood and vegetables that are the staples of la tavola pugliese. Clean seas and reliable sunshine have made Puglia a popular spot for holidays, with acres of campsite-and-bungalow type tourist villages, as well as a large number of flashy four-star hotels, serving tourists mostly from Italy and Germany. The very southern tip is rocky and dry, and there's plenty of barren mountain scenery in the plateau in the center of the province. The best escape is north to the mountains, forests and beaches of the Gargano promontory – there’s some of the finest unpolluted sand and sea to be found anywhere on the Adriatic.

More than any other of the regions of the Italian South, Calabria and Basilicata represent the quintessence of the mezzogiorno. These rural regions were long mismanaged, considered good only for taxation. Respect for authority co-exists with a deep skepticism and apathy. T he Mezzogiorno, or Italia Meridionale, comprises the regions of Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Apulia and Molise, as well as Abruzzo, which is sometimes considered central Italy. Mezzogiorno, ‘midday’ in Italian, comes from meridies, Latin for 'south'. Basilicata’s most important site is Matera, famous for its city of cave houses and churches. This UNESCO World Heritage site, Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera, is the most intact example of a cave dwellers’ settlement in the Mediterranean region. First inhabited during the Palaeolithic era, excavations of later settlements indicate a number of stages of history.  In 1952, the 15,000 remaining Sassi people were evacuated. Today it is possible to stay in a cave hotel there – entirely renovated and modernized. Also in Matera is Norman Tower of San Mauro Forte, and nearby are the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Metapontum, first settled in the eighth century BC. The ancient scenery of the area has made it a perfect stand-in for ancient Jerusalem and other primitive places for filmmakers. Motion pictures filmed in Matera include Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004); Catherine Hardwicke’s The Nativity Story (2006); The Omen (2006) and many more.

A part of Italy’s Mezzogiorno, the flat coast of Calabria is lively in the summer with campsites, hotels and pizzerias to choose from. Very popular with Italian vacationers, around here the term Mezzogiorno can also refer to baking in the midday sunshine.

It’s the “toe” of Italy’s boot, kicking Sicily into the Mediterranean Sea. Calabria possesses remarkable beauty and a long history.

Sandy beaches, rocky coves, spectacular headlands are a specialty of Calabria, and the town of Praia a Mare has plenty of them – plus a unique nod to history.

In Ulysses, our hero lands on the Island of Dino, just off the coast. Another legend involves a grotto containing a widely venerated Madonna. As the story goes, the people of nearby Aieta attempted repeatedly to remove this image to their own church, but each time it disappeared and was found back here, where they were eventually forced to let it be.

More recently, however, the image disappeared for good, though a replacement was quickly and pragmatically installed. In fact, there is evidence of an early building on the site, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Grotta.

The grotto has been altered over time and has now been restored, unearthing frescoes including that of the Madonna’s face. Farther south, the town of Scalea is quite developed and the ruins of the Norman/Aragonese castle and a frescoed 11th-century Byzantine chapel, bombed by both sides during World War II, remain.

The citrus fruit that gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive flavor grows in Calabria – and almost nowhere else in the world. Bergamot has been in Calabria since the 15th century, and has been grown for its essence since the very beginning.

For Calabria's bergamot growers, its popularity in everything from teas and herbal remedies to cosmetics and cleaning products gives hope for a stronger economic future.

Campania is the Italy of our imaginations. Even if you have never heard of Campania, you know a few things about the place.

It’s the native home of much of what we Americans think of as “Italian food” – pizza, spaghetti, buffalo mozzarella, and as the second-most-populous region of Italy, the ancestral home to a lot of Italian Americans.

The region of Campania marks the real beginning of the Italian south, or mezzogiorno. It's the part of the south that most people see, easily accessible from Rome and home to some of the area's –indeed Italy's – most notable features: Roman sites, spectacular stretches of coast, tiny islands.

It's been highly sought after since at least the days of the Romans, who dubbed it campania felix, or "happy land," and then settled here.

Dominating the region are Naples, an utterly compelling city, and the Golfo di Napoli, as fascinating as it is beautiful.

Campania is also home to the ancient sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum – a smaller town on the coast, with a wealthier population than Pompeii; the islands, Capri, Ischia and Procida; Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.

The latter is probably Europe's most dramatic stretch of coastline, harboring some enticing and legendary beach resorts. Viva Campania!

Set between Lombardy and Tuscany, and stretching from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean, Emilia-Romagna is the heartland of northern Italy. It is really two former Papal States, joined together after Unification: Emilia to the east and the Romagna to the west.

The castles and fortresses of the families who ruled remain, preserved in towns with restored medieval centers.

The region's landscape is a varied one, and the area has grown wheat since Roman times.

Today its industry and agribusinesses are among Italy's most advanced, and Emilia-Romagna remains one of the richest regions in Italy, with some of Italy’s most successful small-scale, specialist industrial enterprises.

Bologna, the region's capital, is one of Italy's largest cities and has one of the most beautifully preserved city centers in the country with some of its finest food, and a relaxed character.

Modena and Parma are wealthy provincial towns that hold some of its finest architecture.

Ferrara is one of the most important Renaissance centers in Italy, and Ravenna preserves the finest set of Byzantine mosaics in the world in its churches and mausoleums. The north of Emilia-Romagna is ideal for birdwatchers, rich with marshland and lagoons.

The coastal south is a highly developed ribbon of settlement, although Rimini, at its southern end, provides a spark of interest, with its wild seaside strip concealing a surprisingly historic town center.

Emilia is a wealthy area whose tone is well-mannered, well-dressed and comfortable. The region excels in many ways, not least in the regional cuisine.

The geographical complexity of Friuli-Venezia Giulia – alps, limestone plateau, alluvial plain and shelving coastlands – is mirrored in its social diversity.

This area has always been a bridge between the Mediterranean world and central Europe.

It has been invaded from every direction, by Romans, Huns, Goths, Lombards, Nazis and even the Cossacks. The result is a variety of local flavors: An Alpine, mountainous north; the old peasant culture of Friuli; Venetian Udine; Adriatic Grado; Aquileia, still redolent of its Roman past; and Trieste, the regional capital, shares more with Slovenia than with Italy.

There's no doubt that the people of Friuli have their own ways, traditions, and a strong sense of identity.

The local dialect, friulano, is undergoing something of an official revival.  Many road signs are bilingual in Italian and friulano, and studies of the dialect's history and variants are published by the Society Filologica Friulana in Udine.

Tourism is growing. Trieste is convenient to the cave-riven landscape of the Carso; Udine boasts excellent art collections; Cividale del Friuli preserves an historic center and some fascinating Lombard remains.

Aquileia has some of the most important Roman and early Christian remains in Italy, and is fifteen minutes from the lagoon resort of Grado, which conceals a tiny early Christian center amid the beach hotels.

The Lazio landscape varies from the gently undulating green hills of its north to the mountains south and east of the capital. The south of Lazio is where you might want to spend some time, perhaps on your way to Naples; the monasteries at Subiaco and Montecassino are just two worthwhile stops. Much can be seen easily on day trips from the capital. For good places to swim, visit the coastal resorts of Anzio or Nettuno. The ancient sites of Ostia Antica and Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli are two of the area's most important sites, and very accessible from Rome. Farther afield in the north are the Etruscan sites of Tarquinia and Cerveteri.  Or do as the Romans do, and head out on weekends to soak up the gentle beauty of lakes Bracciano, Vico and Bolsena, and beach resorts like Terracina and Sperlonga. Ponza Island is one of the loveliest spots on the entire west coast.

Known as the Italian Riviera, Liguria is Italy’s spectacular welcome to travelers traveling overland along the coast from France.

Mountains drop sheer to the sea, with isolated mountain villages teetering on slopes carpeted with olives and vines.

The Italian Riviera has more variety of landscape and architecture than its French counterpart, and is generally less frenetic.

Its main city is Genoa, an ancient, sprawling port, often acclaimed as the most atmospheric of all Italian cities. It has a dense, fascinating old quarter that is complemented by a vibrant social and ethnic mix as well as a newly energized dockside district.

The city stands midway between two distinct stretches of coastline.

To the west is the Riviera di Ponente, a long ribbon of hotels filled during the summer with Italian families who book a year ahead to stay in their favorite spot. 

San Remo, near the French border, is the grande-dame of Riviera resorts. Flanked by hillsides covered with greenhouses, it is a major center for flower export. Albenga and Noli are attractive medieval centers that have also retained a good deal of character; and Finale Ligure is a thoroughly pleasant Mediterranean seaside town.

To the east of Genoa is the more rugged Riviera di Levante. Umbrella pines grow horizontally on the cliff faces overlooking the water, and in the evening a glassy calm falls over the little bays and inlets.

Walks in Monte di Portofino and the famed Cinque Terre take you through scrubland and vineyards with memorable vistas over broad gulfs and jutting headlands. Nearby Santa Margherita Ligure is a little more relaxed, and Levanto is a great place for those on a budget.

Visiting out of season, of course, is the best way to enjoy the beauty without the hubbub.

Set between Lombardy and Tuscany, and stretching from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean, Emilia-Romagna is the heartland of northern Italy. It is really two former Papal States, joined together after Unification: Emilia to the east and the Romagna to the west. The castles and fortresses of the families who ruled remain, preserved in towns with restored medieval centers.

The region's landscape is a varied one, and the area has grown wheat since Roman times.

Today its industry and agribusinesses are among Italy's most advanced, and Emilia-Romagna remains one of the richest regions in Italy, with some of Italy’s most successful small-scale, specialist industrial enterprises. Bologna, the region's capital, is one of Italy's largest cities and has one of the most beautifully preserved city centers in the country with some of its finest food, and a relaxed character. Modena and Parma are wealthy provincial towns that hold some of its finest architecture.

Ferrara is one of the most important Renaissance centers in Italy, and Ravenna preserves the finest set of Byzantine mosaics in the world in its churches and mausoleums. The north of Emilia-Romagna is ideal for birdwatchers, rich with marshland and lagoons. The coastal south is a highly developed ribbon of settlement, although Rimini, at its southern end, provides a spark of interest, with its wild seaside strip concealing a surprisingly historic town center. Lombardy, Italy's richest and most developed region, often seems to have more in common with its northern European neighbors than with the rest of Italy. Given its history, this is hardly surprising: it takes its name from invading Lombards, and was ruled for almost two centuries by the French and Austrians. Lombardy has profited by being a commercial crossroads, too. Not surprising, too, is that Northern Europe takes Milan more seriously than Rome, and the region's businesses and banks wield political as well as economic power. Upper reaches of Lombardy's valleys are largely unspoiled, its towns and cities retain their medieval cores, and the lakes are surrounded by stunning scenery and lush vegetation. Milan dominates the plains of the southern part of Lombardy. The towns here – Pavia, Cremona, Mantua –flourished during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and retain their historical character today, albeit encircled by suburbs. The north of Lombardy is quite different, with the lakes, low mountains and fewer historic towns – though Bergamo and Brescia are notable exceptions. Lake Como has long been popular with tourists.Emilia is a wealthy area whose tone is well-mannered, well-dressed and comfortable. The region excels in many ways, not least in the regional cuisine.

Lying east of Umbria along the Adriatic, Marche is a varied region. Much of its coastline is studded with modern resorts with sun umbrellas filling the beaches.

Large areas of Marche are unspoiled, however, with crumbling hill villages and the stunning Monti Sibillini mountains. The area also has a fair amount of industry.

Pesaro is the largest of Marche's old-fashioned, slightly forgotten seaside resorts. Its Renaissance center is quietly hidden behind the package-tour seafront. 

Farther south, from Ancona to the Cnero Riviera, is a spectacular stretch of coast, with small beaches nestling beneath the dramatic cliffs of Monte Conero.

San Benedetto del Tronto has several miles of beach, five thousand palm trees, and numerous discos.  Inland, the best known of Marche's sights are the small hilltop town of Urbino, with its spectacular Renaissance palace, and the fortress of San Leo, just across the border from San Marino. 

Macerata is a sleepy university town surrounded by lovely countryside and, on the regional border, Ascoli Piceno is a worthy stop-off on the way into Abruzzo.

Molise and Abruzzo were one region called Abruzzi until 1963. Both are sparsely populated, mountainous regions prone to earthquakes, and both have always been outside the mainstream of Italian affairs.

Molise is very much a part of southern Italy. Its landscape is gentler than Abruzzo, its mountains less rugged, and its people somewhat poorer. 

While many villages and towns have been modernized to withstand earthquakes, and smooth new roads wind through rolling fields of grain, much of the region still seems to be struggling out of its past.

Molise still has a close affinity for traditional festivals and rituals, and tourism is low-key. 

The tratturi –grassy paths throughout Molise historically used for grazing and the mass movement of sheep, goats and cattle from the plain to the mountains – are on the Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The tratturi are 122 yards wide and are gaining a new life as mountainbike and horseback riding trails, served by farmhouse guesthouses and stables along the way.

Molise still has a scattering of low-key Roman ruins. Saepinum is Italy's most complete example of a Roman provincial town – and well off the beaten tourist track.

The seaside town of Termoli and the hiking trails in the Matese mountains offer possibilities for outdoor activity — on a clear day, from the trail on Monte La Gallinola you can see the from the Bay of Naples to the Adriatic.

Piedmont means ‘at the foot of the mountains,’ and the name is apt: Surrounded by French and Swiss alps, over forty percent of Piedmont is mountainous.

French was spoken in Piedmont until the end of the 19th century and still influences local dialects.

Piedmont is one of Italy's wealthiest regions, known for its fine wines and food. Many of the dishes in Piedmont's swankiest restaurants derive from the tables of the Piedmontese aristocracy, in particular the Savoy dukes and kings.

Piedmont and the Savoys were at the heart of the Italian Unification movement in the 19th century.

Rome became the new capital, much to the dismay of the Piedmontese. In an effort to save the region’s influence, they began new industries including Fiat and Olivetti. Today Piedmont is second only to Lombardy in national wealth and power.

Italy's longest river, the Po, begins in Piedmont, and its vast plain stretches across northern Italy, allowing both manufacturing and rice cultivation in paddy fields.

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, about 125 miles from the Italian mainland, lies the unique island of Sardinia, or Sardegna in Italian.

The island is relatively free of large cities or heavy industry, and its beaches are some of the cleanest in Italy and mostly uncrowded, except during peak season. But Sardinia offers plenty besides sun and sea.

Although not known for its cultural riches, the island does hold some surprises, remains of the various civilizations that passed through here.

The island was ravaged by a succession of invaders over the centuries, each of them leaving some imprint behind: Roman and Carthaginian ruins, Genoan fortresses, a string of elegant Pisan churches with some impressive Gothic and Spanish Baroque architecture.

Perhaps most striking of all, however, are the remnants of Sardinia's only significant native culture. The Nuraghic civilization, named after the 7000-odd nuraghi that they left behind, was unique to Sardinia.

Their mysterious, stone-built constructions are often in isolated places, but there are a few to be seen in the museums of Càgliari and Sassari.

The capital is Càgliari. With good accommodation and restaurants, it makes a useful base for exploring the southern third of the island. The Costa Smeralda is Sardinia's best-known resort area and lives up to its reputation for opulence. 

Alghero, on the western shore, has a Spanish ambience, a legacy of long years in which the town was a Catalan colony, and a wholly different feel from the rest of the island.

Inland, Nuoro has impressive literary credentials and a good ethnographical museum. As the biggest town in Sardinia's interior, it also makes a useful base for visiting some of the more remote mountain areas, in particular the Gennargentu range, which covers the heart of the island. This is where you can find what remains of the island's traditional culture, best embodied in the numerous village festivals.

The Sicilians aren't the only people to consider themselves, and their island, a separate entity. 

As the largest island in the Mediterranean, and with a strategic location, Sicily's history is a list of foreign rulers, from the Greeks in the 8th century BC, through a dazzling array of Romans, Arabs, Normans, French and Spanish, to the Bourbons seen off by Garibaldi in 1860.

Substantial relics of these ages remain: temples, theaters and churches are scattered about the whole island. But there are other, more immediate hints of Sicily's unique past.

A hybrid Sicilian language is still widely spoken in the countryside; the food is noticeably different, spicier and with more emphasis on fish and vegetables; even the flora echoes is a little different, with oranges, lemons, olives and palms everywhere.

Most points of interest are on the coast. The capital Palermo is memorable, a bustling, noisy city with an unrivaled display of Norman art and architecture and Baroque churches, combined with a warren of medieval streets and markets.

From Messina, it’s an easy trip to Catania; Siracusa, once the most important city of the Greek world; or the chic resort of Taormina, from where you can visit the craters of Mount Etna.

Trentino-Alto Adige might as well be two regions, Trentino in the south and Alto Adige in the north, near the Austrian border. 

Both parts of the region enjoy semi-autonomy from central government, along with one of the highest standards of living in Italy.

Tourism, farming and wine production are the mainstays of the economy, and there are plenty of good, affordable guesthouses and agritourism places in the mountains and vineyards.

The landscape is dominated by the stark and jagged Dolomites, among the most beautiful mountains in the country.

One of the first things you'll notice about Alto Adige is its German character. It comes by it rightfully; until 1919, Alto Adige was known as the South Tyrol and was part of Austria. At the end of World War I, Austria ceded South Tyrol to the Italians, and Mussolini renamed it after the upper reaches of the Adige River, which bisects the region.

Many Tyrolleans opted for resettlement in Germany, but others stayed in the region and have maintained their language, culture and traditions. Gothic onion-domed churches dot the landscape of vineyards and forests, street signs are in German, and there's sauerkraut and strudel on the menu.

By contrast, Trentino is 98 percent Italian-speaking, and the food and architecture belong more to the Mediterranean world than to the Alps.

Tuscany is indeed the very essence of Italy, with its backdrop of medieval hilltowns, rows of slender cypress trees, vineyards and olive groves, and artfully sited villas and farmhouses.

The national language evolved from Tuscan dialect, thanks to Tuscan writers like Dante, who wrote the Divine Comedy in the vernacular of his birthplace, Florence.

Florence was the most active center of the Renaissance, which flourished, at least in part, through the patronage of the Medici dynasty. Every eminent artistic figure from Giotto onwards – Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Alberti, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo is represented in Tuscany, in an unrivaled gathering of churches, galleries, museums.

Tuscany is filled with treasures of architecture, paintings, and sculptures that are renowned worldwide.

Siena is one of the great medieval cities of Europe, almost perfectly preserved, and with superb works of art in its religious and secular buildings. Its beautiful Campo – the central, scallop-shaped market square – is the scene of Tuscany's most unmissable festival, the Palio, which sees bareback horse riders racing around the narrow cobblestone streets.

It’s the brightest display of pageantry this side of Rome.

Other major cities, Pisa and Lucca, have their splendors, too – Pisa its Leaning Tower, Lucca a string of Romanesque churches. To the west and south of Siena are dozens of small hilltowns that, for many, epitomize the region – tourism has yet to undermine their vibrant local characters.

Umbria is a beautiful region of rolling hills, woods, streams and valleys, and despite the growing number of visitors has largely retained an unspoiled air.

It is home to a number of hill towns, each crammed with artistic and architectural treasures that rival bigger cities.

Historically, Umbria is best known as the birthplace of several saints, St. Benedict and St. Francis of Assisi being the most famous.

Umbria has begun to capitalize on its charms. Foreign acquisition of rural property now rivals that of Tuscany, though outsiders have done nothing to curb the region's renewed sense of identity and youthful enthusiasm. Nor has it blunted artistic initiatives that have turned Umbria into one of the most flourishing cultural centers in Italy.

Most visitors head for the capital Perugia, Assisi – with its extraordinary frescoes by Giotto in the Basilica di San Francesco – or Orvieto, where the duomo is one of the greatest Gothic buildings in the country.

The first-time visitor to Venice arrives with a picture of what to expect – and it turns out to be quite well-founded.

The photographs you've seen of the Palazzo Ducale, the Basilica di San Marco, the palaces along the Canal Grande are simply the extraordinary truth. But Venice is not all there is to this beautiful and fascinating region. 

Padua and Verona are historical and cultural destinations with masterpieces by Giotto, Donatello and Mantegna and a profusion of great buildings from Roman times to the Renaissance.

The rich, flat land around the Po supports some of Italy's most productive farms and vineyards.

For outdoor types, the interesting terrain lies in its northern part, especially in the area above Belluno and Vittorio Veneto, where the wooded slopes of the foothills – excellent for walking – soon give way to the savage precipices of the eastern Dolomites.