Half of World Heritage Sites Are in Italy

If you want something special in your life, if you are allowed to travel just once, do not hesitate to visit Italy, the world's most fascinating country!

You will find that it's a nation full of unique arts, historic sites, and numerous treasures. You will taste the divine flavors, including wine.

Italy is also blessed with its natural beauty.

Historic cities such as Florence and Venice, names which later became synonymous with architectural excellence, Rome, Sicily of opulent sunshine, and the northernmost reaches of the Alpine provinces all add up to its natural splendor.

Traveling in Italy is certain to provide a lot of entertainment and pleasure, which you will remember for all your life.

Any trip to Italy will be too short. Korean tourists are increasingly discovering Italy as a center of beauty and nature: in 2007 Korean visits to Italy increased by 31.3 percent. But why is Italy so beloved?

Art and History

There are so many artistic treasures of such quality, that to describe Italy as an open-air art gallery in its own right is hardly an exaggeration.

No other country in the world can boast the same treasures of culture and art as Italy.

Indeed, half of all World Heritage Sites (world's historic and artistic assets) as assigned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are within its boundaries.

Found almost everywhere and referring to every historical era, they are preserved and protected in hundreds of archaeological sites and over 3,000 museums scattered throughout the country.

Tourists, visitors and academics alike may admire and study these remnants ― large and small ― of centuries gone by.

Theaters and other buildings dating back to Greek and Roman times, whole cities, roads and districts once buried, have today been returned to light by patient and skillful excavations.

In Italy, an exceptionally rich store of history waits to remind us all of Europe's past.

The imposing and often elegantly embellished Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals ― built after the 11th century ― are found mainly in the center and north.

The ancient religious architecture in the southern regions amounts instead to an enthralling crucible of Byzantine, Muslim and Norman elements.

In all the regions, cities and towns, you will find relics ― from buildings to the personal affects ― of a deeply rooted artistic tradition that is spread throughout Italy.

Renaissance art was a great cultural movement which began in Italy in the 15th century and which profoundly influenced the history of culture and European civilization as a whole.

The Renaissance culture placed man and the secular world again at the center of the universe, after the marginal position man was afforded with respect to the gods during the difficult centuries of the medieval period.

All artists, sculptors, painters or architects of the Renaissance period have become known as the world's greatest exponents of artistic genius.

Their works are the source of a constant attraction for tourists and scholars alike, who are curious to unveil the secrets of that art which, even if produced today, would result as an expression of the breathtaking creativity.

For the arts and architecture, the Renaissance is synonymous with masterpieces, inventive genius and creativity.

The Renaissance had not only great artists, but also philosophers, scientists, scholars, poets and musicians.

They were all great men who, with their modern vision of the world and society that was shared and supported by a rich and enterprising bourgeoisie, succeeded in radically changing forever the way of thinking, living and creating.

The great Renaissance season left its magnificent marks everywhere in Italy, not only in the great cities like Florence, Rome, Venice, Milan and Naples, but also in many other regions in Italy.

Through paintings, statues, churches, buildings, palaces and fountains represent a sparkling series of signs through which the visitor can ideally reconstruct a civilization that did truly change the world.

Besides art and history, Italy also boasts many attractions, including luminous cities that reflect their beauty at every turn, poetic landscapes, wonderful beaches, heavenly islands like Capri, Ponza, Procida, and Tremiti, dream mountains and glittering lakes throughout the country.

For example, in Tuscany, a land of sensations and a perfect muse for tourists, everything just comes naturally.

You will get the feeling of life and peace, feel the movement of history, the joy of people, and the sounds of nature.

The amount of Italian territory under state protection is 10 percent.

Environmental protection laws have allowed many nature parks and reserves to be open to the public, solely for developing nature in all of its forms.

In the Italian parks and nature reserves, therefore, not only are animals untouchable but also plants, minerals, water and even the air.

Italy has 23 national parks, 89 regional parks, 270 regional reserves, 142 state reserves, 47 marsh reserves and seven marine reserves.

They are all waiting for you to go there, visit them and enjoy their beauties.

Finally, there are thousands of ways to use your free time: practicing sports at every season, cultivating hobbies, relaxing in a beautiful thermal bath, developing your culture, going to a concert, a play, a traditional festival, or watching a sports event.

Or, you can simply sit in a bar and enjoy a cappuccino or a glass of good wine, or wander around the beautiful towns ― large and small ― admiring and visiting their churches, palaces, monuments, castles, archaeological sites, museums, galleries, squares and streets.

In Italy, there is no problem: just being there is already the best way to spend your free time.

Let's take the example of thermal baths and spas. Italian spas can boast outstanding climatic conditions and are located in areas of great natural beauty.

These characteristics have a positive influence on our body's balance and contribute to general physical and mental well-being.

Therefore, it is obvious that Italy's richness in thermal and mineral waters, combined with the mildness of the climate and the beauty of the scenery, have made it a favorite venue for ``health care tourism."

Since the last century, hotels with extensive facilities have sprung up around spas, which have established international reputations.

Abano, Salsomaggiore, Chianciano, Montecatini, Fiuggi and Ischia are just a few of the names among the many which are known throughout the world and which attract millions of visitors every year.

And if you do not forget to throw a little coin in the ``Trevi Fountain" in Rome, you are granted that you will have another trip to Italy!