Italy
Italian
The country with more World Heritage sites than any other: three thousand years of history among Roman ruins, Renaissance art and villages hanging over the Mediterranean.
- Capital
- Rome
- Population
- 59 millones
- Currency
- EUR · Euro
- Languages
- Italian
- Plugs
- Types C, F and L · 230 V · 50 Hz
- Time zone
- Europe/Rome
Before you go
When to go
April to June and September to October. August is very hot and half the country shuts for holidays.
Mediterranean on the coast and in the south, continental across the Po valley, alpine in the Dolomites.
What it costs ●●●●○
Middling to high. A simple lunch costs 12–18 € and the north is considerably pricier than the south.
Safety ●●●●○
High. The most common problem is pickpockets in Rome, Milan and Naples.
Visa
Schengen area: 90 days visa-free for Latin Americans. From 2026 an ETIAS authorisation is filed online (≈ 7 €).
Regional dialects are still very much alive.
What you can't miss
- 01Colosseum and Roman ForumRome
The largest amphitheatre ever built, holding 50,000 spectators two thousand years ago.
- 02Vatican CityRome
The smallest country in the world: Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica.
- 03VeniceVeneto
118 islands joined by 400 bridges, without a single car. Best visited outside high season.
- 04Florence and the UffiziTuscany
The cradle of the Renaissance: Michelangelo's David and Botticelli's Birth of Venus.
- 05Amalfi CoastCampania
Positano and Amalfi clinging to the cliffs above the Tyrrhenian, with terraced lemon groves.
- 06PompeiiNaples
The city Vesuvius froze in AD 79: streets, houses and frescoes intact beneath the ash.
The culture, at the table and on the street
What to eat
- Pasta, a different shape and sauce in every region
- Neapolitan pizza, on UNESCO's intangible heritage list
- Artisan gelato
- Espresso drunk standing at the bar
- Prosciutto di Parma and PDO cheeses
- Tiramisù
Customs
- Cappuccino is a morning drink only, never after a meal
- Aperitivo runs from 6 to 8 pm and usually comes with food
- At the table people talk loudly and with their hands: that is enthusiasm, not anger
- Nobody puts cheese on fish, or pineapple on pizza
Festivals
- Venice Carnival (February)
- Palio di Siena, the medieval horse race (2 July and 16 August)
- Ferragosto (15 August)
- Holy Week in Rome
Catholic by tradition (≈ 74 %); the Vatican is a country inside Rome.
Facts for the dinner table
- It tops the world list of World Heritage sites, with 59 inscribed places.
- It contains two independent countries within its borders: the Vatican and San Marino.
- Rome has more public fountains than any other city — around two thousand, and the water is drinkable.
- The piano, the thermometer, the electric battery and the radio all came from Italian inventors.
- It is the only country in continental Europe with three active volcanoes: Etna, Vesuvius and Stromboli.
Data from Banco Mundial, GeoNames and Open-Meteo. Photo from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). The editorial content is our own.