Art, Culture and History

Italy's Art Cities are some of the most-visited destinations in international cultural tourism. Rich in monuments, churches, castles, museums, and historic dwellings, Italy's cities of art are an ideal target for low-season tourism, fulfilling a desire to know them any time of the year. Of course, many are Italy's art cities: Turin, Milan, Venice, Bologna, Ferrara, Florence, Perugia, Rome, Naples, and Palermo, to name a few.

Almost all of them preserve an important historical, artistic, and architectonic heritage that narrates century after century. Rich in signs of the events of the men who moved about in them – Italy's art cities were often the seats of governments and principalities and the stages for the events that changed the course of history. More specifically, due to their relationship with various axes of power, these cities were made several times – i.e., as residences of princes, dukes, popes, kings, and emperors.

Italy's art cities represent vestiges that each seems to be frozen in different times – some even seem to straddle the divide between more than one historical period, perhaps not having completed the transformation initiated by one conqueror or another. Marked by great artists and patrons' initiatives, these cities are the repositories of poignant artistic expressions and real masterpieces of art.

Open-air museums that can be enjoyed and admired on foot – these cities offer modern and inspiring itineraries for discovering shops and artisan workshops, markets and fairs, festivals, and theatrical events that are an incredibly blessed union of traditions, culture, and excitement.

Italy counts 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within its borders. Italy's World Heritage Sites are well-known. The Dolomites; The City of Verona; Ferrara and the Po River Delta; the Historic Centers of San Gimignano, Florence, and Rome; Hadrian's Villa and the Villa D'Este at Tivoli; the archaeological area of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Torre Annunziata; the Sassi (rupestrian architecture and churches) of Matera; the Amalfi Coast and the Aeolian Islands are just some among many others.

All 55 sites have been, at one time or another, travel destinations for those seeking out history, art, and culture in the Bel Paese. The Institutes' Renewed efforts to preserve these sites include calling everyone to get to know them better. Here, you can begin a virtual journey into some of the most fascinating among them, those that evoke an experience rich in life, passions, and dreams.

For more information, visit www.italia.it, and  visit the Italian Pavilion at Seatrade Cruise Virtual: Expedition Cruising – click here to register today!

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