Your Guide to Italy: Italy's best, finest and most famous

What's On in Italy in May?

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See what's on in Italy in May.

And on our blog:

May is an excellent month to visit the
3 lovely islands of the Gulf of Naples

Top 5 most lovely country B&Bs in Umbria

Secret and unusual Sicily

Italian drinks

Italy insight and inside

10 most famous Italian cities

"A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see"

Samuel Johnson

YourGuideToItaly.com
your independent guide to Italy and the Italian way of life

Italian lakes

Different types of pasta

Since Antiquity, Italy has always been a center of knowlegde and culture, as attested by the many historic monuments, museums and galleries, as well as the fact that about half of the 20 world's oldest universities are Italian (Bologna, Modena, Padua, Naples, Siena, Rome, Perugia, Firenze, Pisa). Bologna is also the oldest university in the Western world.

Secret and unusual Sicily

9 Art Cities in Emilia Romagna

Each region often has its own independent language, arts and crafts and culinary specialties. Read more about the regional languages of Italy and regional arts and crafts.

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Traveling in Italy

Italian opera houses

oldest Italian universities

Umbria Water Festival

How to prepare a real Italian coffee

Italy has also produced some of the internationally most renowned names in fashion (Prada, Gucci, Versace), design and technology (Pirelli, Ferrari and Fiat, just to name a few), yet at its heart it remains highly traditional and attached to its customs and agricultural heritage. B&B in the cities of art and farm stays or Agritourism are a good way to get a glimpse of that other side of Italy.

Many of the popular Italian foods and drinks are regional specialties, which have often gained international fame.

Emblem of the Italian Republic: a white star (symbol of Italy since the Risorgimento), a wheel (symbol of labor and progress), an oak branch (strength and dignity of the Italian people) and an olive brach (pursuit of peace by the Italian Nation).

Another fascinating aspect about Italy are the many contrasts you encounter in this country. While being the cradle of modern western civilization, it is also politically one of the youngest nations in Europe, as it did not exist as a unified country until 1861. Read more about the history of Italy.

Italy was a charter member of NATO and as a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC) has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification. Italy is also part of the G8 (the Group of Eight), a forum for world's major industrialized (and most powerful) democracies.

Some also see a strong contrast in the seemingly very conformist way Italians dress and follow the diktats of fashion, as opposed to what seems a desorganized and choatic italian public life.

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Rick Steves' Italy 2011
with map
by Rick Steves
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Italy
(Eyewitness Travel Guides)
by DK Publishing
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Osterie & Locande d'Italia:
A Guide to Traditional Places to Eat and Stay in Italy

by Paola Gho (Editor)
Publisher: Slow Food
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Frommer's Italy 2011(Frommer's Complete)
by Darwin Porter (Author), Danforth Prince (Author)
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Photos of the YourGuidetoItaly.com banner (from left to right): (red deckchair) Valentina Jori, (on campus) Sean Locke, (chianti botlle) Donald Gruener, (coliseum), Roberto A Sanchez, (Fiat 500) tizianoj, (Vitruvian man) Jodie Coston. Photo of 'Rialto bridge' by S. Greg Panosian. Italy regions image by Frizio.

Living, Studying, and Working in Italy:
Everything You Need to Know to Live La Dolce Vita
by Monica Larner

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Rome

Moving to Italy

Top 5 places in Italy
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Top luxury hotel in Italy
Famous Festivals in Italy
Agritourism in Italy

Ferragosto in Italy
Christmas in Italy
Santa Lucia in Italy
How to dress when traveling in Italy
Italian etiquette

Best gourmet restaurants of Italy
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Slow italy, our new blog and slow traveler's guide to Italy, the Italian way of life and the best things Italy has to offer.

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Ferrari sports cars

Italian cheeses

Italy is divided into 20 different regions (of which 5 enjoy a special status of autonomy), each with their own history, cultural and culinary traditions. Read more about the regions of Italy.

Contrasts of Italy