A long region on the tip of the ‘boot’ of Italy, Apulia has an amazing 800km coastline, as well as beautiful countryside and picturesque historical towns.

The slow boats that cruise on Lake Como are a good metaphor for its civilised lifestyle.

One of Italy’s smallest regions, classy Liguria with its jasmine fragrance and orange groves is known as the Italian Riviera.

The compact, grey stone city of Milan in Lombardy is Italy’s financial hub, the forward-looking, economic engine of the country.

From first century BC ruins to the Zaha Hadid-designed Maxxi Museum of Twenty-first Century Arts, Rome is one of Europe’s most cultured and fascinating cities.

Sardinia sits in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea below Corsica and 120 miles west of the Italian mainland.

This central Italian region has been carefully cherished by the authorities who have lovingly protected their illustrious landscape from the scars of overdevelopment.

East of Tuscany and two hours north of Rome, landlocked Umbria is a rural area of mountains, farmland and history-packed medieval towns.

The maze of canals, palazzi and the 409 bridges that link the 117 islands of Venice has inspired residents from Canaletto to Byron.