Roma
Rome is the capital city of Italy, as well of the "Latium" region.
Art : Latium is the cradle of Roman civilization and it is incredibly rich in outstanding relics of the different periods. The traces of the Etruscan civilization are remarkable and can be found at Veio, Vulci, Tarquinia and Cerveteri. The region has always been the center of an intensive artistic life, which, from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century, has had as cardinal point the presence of the Church (the Vatican City, seat of the papacy, is in the heart of Rome).

Museums : In Rome, the National Museum houses the most important archaeologic collections in the world, while the Capitoline Museum holds the oldest classic sculptures. In the Museum of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Greek and Roman sculptures. Etruscan vases, paleochristian sarcophagi can be admired. The Pinacoteca Capitolina houses remarkables pictorial works. In the Museum of Rome there are civic documents, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Tourists should not omit a visit to the Barracco Museum, with Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Etruscan relics arid to the National Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo. The Doria Pamphili Gallery houses a highly valuable private pictorial collection Moreover, there are: the National Gallery of Ancient Art; the Borghese Museum and Gallery; the National Museum of Villa Giulia. The imposing complex of the Vatican Museums contains numberless outstanding masterpieces

In the center of Rome, we can admire the Roman Forum, the imposing arid universally known Colosseum and the Cathedral of St. Peter. Visitors can admire the archaeologic excavations, visit the quaint quarter of Trastevere, go to Tivoli to see Villa Adriana.

Milan
Milan is the capital city of Lombardy region.
Art : Lombardy is the cradle of the Romanesque architecture and has beautiful examples in each major city. The most striking monument of the Gothic period is the Cathedral of Milan. The Renaissance period has left splendid palaces and sumptuous churches. The Lombard painting reached its greatest splendor during the fifteenth century.

Museums : Milan, in the Sforza Castle there are the Art Museums which comprise several sections for painting, sculpture and applied arts; the Brera Gallery, which houses some of the all-time masterpieces of painting; inn the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, a very rich private collection of paintings of great masters, fittings, art objects and ancient jewelry can be admired; other masterpieces of painting can be seen inn the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. The National Museum of Science and Technique is devoted to railway and air transports.

Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna region.
Art : Important Roman traces can be found in Rimini and in Ravenna, capital of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D., with its magnificent monuments of the Christian-Byzantine period (the exquisite mosaics). Examples of the Romanesque Longobard style can be found in the Cathedrals of Modena, Piacenza e Ferrara; the Baptistery of Parma offers the visitors some important sculptural works. Piacenza and Bologna have valuable examples of Gothic style, but also of the Renaissance and Baroque styles.

Museums : In Bologna: the Pinacoteca Nazionale, with three sections devoted to painting, from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century; the Museum of Industrial Art, which exhibits furniture, objects and sacred relics, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century; the Civic Archaeologic Museum, which houses very interesting prehistoric and Etruscan relics.

Florence
Florence is the capital city of Tuscany region.
Art : Tuscany is unrivaled as a cradle of all-time art. One can find examples of every age and style: from the Etruscan civilization (Fiesole, Chiusi, Volterra, Populonia) to Roman monuments and ruins; from the Romanesque architecture to the impressive Gothic cathedrals, to the exceptional artistic explosion of the Renaissance.
Museums: Florence has preserved its masterpieces and great works of architecture over the centuries. The most important collection of paintings in the world is offered by the Uffizi Gallery; visitors can enter the very interesting Designs and Print Room; the collection of self-portraits. Great paintings can be seen in the Gallery of Palazzo Pitti, with Tiziano's and Raffaello's masterpieces. Florence also has the Museum of the Costume and the Museum of the Carriages; the beautiful Italian gardens can be admired in the Giardino di Boboli. In the Museum of the Opera del Duomo the famous "Piet?" by Michelangelo can be admired. Then, there are the Museum of the Bargello, St. Mark's Museum, the Academy Gallery and the Ethnologic Museum Stibbert.

Naples
Naples is the capital city of Campania region.
Art : Campania is extraordinarily rich in remains of the classic antiquity, which can be found in Herculaneum, Pompeii, Paestum and Cuma. Amphitheaters, triumphal arches, villas, bridges and tombs of the Roman Imperial Age are numerous and remarkable. The Paleolithic art is present in Naples and Nocera, while architectural specimens of the Longobard Age can be found in Capua and Benevento. Cathedrals in the Byzantine and Arab-Norman styles are numerous and outstanding. The Royal Palace of Caserta is the most striking expression of Baroque.

Museums : In Naples: the National Museum, which houses one of the most important archaeologic collections in the world (statues by the great Greek masters Policleto, Lisippo and Prassitele); mosaics and wall paintings from Pompeii; the collection of jewels, small bronzes, household goods and utensils. In the Museum and Galleries of Capodimonte, tourists can admire all-time pictorial masterpieces by Titian, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravaggio; sculptures, tapestries and ceramics. The National Museum of San Martino has historic, artistic and monumental sections.

Venice
Venice is the capital city of Veneto region.
Art: In the region numerous and important Roman traces can be found: the best known example is the Arena of Verona. In the area around Venice, Byzantine influences are visible (St. Mark and the Cathedral of Torcello); in the hinterland, away from the sea there are many outstanding examples of Romanesque and Gothic art. The Renaissance palaces are numerous and of great value.

Museums : In Venice: the Academy Galleries house the major collections of Venetian painting from 1300 to 1700; the G. Franchetti Gallery houses important paintings, while Guggenheim collection exhibits international works of contemporary art. In the Palazzo Grassi, exhibitions of international interest are organized every year. In this beautiful city there are also: the Museum of the eighteenth century life in Venice with tapestries, attire, furniture and paintings; the National Gallery of Modern Art, the Oriental Museum and the Correr Museum, which is reserved to Renaissance masterpieces.

Genoa
Genoa is the capital city of Liguria region.
Art : Ruins of the Roman civilization can be seen in Ventimiglia and in the Lunigiana district. In the region the examples of Romanesque architecture are numerous, such as St. Paragorio in Noli. Important medieval traces, such as towers, walls and castles, dating back to the Maritime Republics, can be found in the Riviera di Ponente. A lot of fine examples of Baroque architecture can be also admired.

Museums : In Genoa the tourist should visit the Gallery of Palazzo Bianco, which houses an important collection of Ligurian painters, from 1400 to 1700; the Gallery of Palazzo Rosso, which holds a very rich collection of furniture, Ligurian ceramics and Chinese pottery; the National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola, with its important paintings; the Museum of Oriental Art has treasures collected over the centuries by the Genovese navigators. In Nervi you can visit the Naval Museum. Ventimiglia has the Archaeologic Museum with Paleolithic relics.