Art and Culture

Frescos and mosaics, paintings and sculpture, civil and religious architecture – Italy is the world’s greatest repository of art, an endless collection of masterpieces in city squares, churches, museums and galleries throughout the country.
Visitors can discover for themselves the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca in timeless artworks of breathtaking beauty.

The best can still be found focused around Florence, Milan, Venice, Rome and the hill-top towns of Umbria, but churches, convents, chapels and museums in tiny, remote villages will often surprise with their treasures.
Religious structures can be solitary shrines on street corners or great cathedrals, from the Renaissance perfection of Florence to the baroque opulence of Lecce.

Then, from the ancient Greek temples of Paestum, in Campania, there’s a seemingly smooth transition to the serene architectural beauty of Venice’s Rialto Bridge and Rome’s ultra-modern Auditorium.
This artistic tradition continues, carried on by the glass blowers of Murano, the ceramists of Umbria and the goldsmiths of Vicenza. The world’s greatest sculptors entrust their creations to the skilful stonemasons of Carrara, in Tuscany.