Italy

A pretty fishing village turned into a resort town, Camogli is a true gem of Ligurian coast. It is a part of Portofino Marine Protected Area. Once known as the "city of thousand white sails" for its fleet (and having 500 patented ship captains out of 12000 residents in 1880s), the town now lives mostly off tourism. Colourful buildings line a few streets over the beach and remind the times when vivid colours helped fishermen to return home. The town is also a home for a nationwide water polo team that won several Italian championships - so it's not a too big surprise that swimming pool is one of the most important recent buildings in Camogli.

With city centre at 1244 m and 3244 m high peak of Tofana di Mezzo in sight, long snowy winters with frequent lowest temperature records, Cortina d'Ampezzo has become (quite unsurprisingly) one of the most popular ski resorts in Northern Italy and the whole Alps. The Winter Olympics of 1944 should have been held there but were cancelled because of the World War II. However, in 1956 the town has finally held the event and since then never experienced downturns in visitors, even though the airport, built before the Games, was then closed. The town was already quite famous amongst Italian and British elites in the beginning of 20th century, but become especially fashionable after the Olympics. Many celebrities frequent its slopes, and many movies were shot here.

Broad streets and numerous palaces (most notably, the Estense castle) originate mostly from 14th and 15th centuries. For its beauty and cultural importance, Ferrara was inscribed into UNESCO Wold Heritage List The town is still surrounded by more than 9 kilometres (6 miles) of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Together with those of Lucca, they are the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy. Most palaces of the town also belong to this period. The historical Jewish community is still surviving in town.

The area of La Spezia has been settled since pre-historic times. However, an extraordinary development of La Spezia occured starting from the second half of the nineteenth century. Thanks for the large South-looking bay, the town became one of the main military and commercial ports of the country. La Spezia is also famous for its many museums, fine churches and art-nouveau-style villas. Lively and interesting town by its own, La Spezia is also a great starting point for exploraion of Cinque Terre villages that reside on Ligurian Coast a short drive to the West.

Lecce has so many fine Baroque buildings (churches, palaces, convent and triumphal arch) that its nickname is "Florence of the South". However, this ancient town right inside the heel of Italian boot is also unmistakably Roman - it has an amphitheatre to prove its. Romans conquered the place in 3d century BC, but city is believed to be known from times of Trojan War - in Greek sources, local people were called Cretans. So, city has cultural ties with Greek culture - and in some smaller towns nearby a distinctive Greek dialect is still spoken. Lecce Cathedral is also one of the most significant cathedrals in Italy. Town exports wines, olive oils, limestone and ceramics.

Modena is an ancient town, its origin are etruscan and first written mention about it was done in 3d century BC in connection to Punic Wars. Its university is one of the oldest in the world - it was founded in 1175 and its traditional strong faculties are economics, medicine and law. Town's cathedral ensemble is a UNESCO World Heritage site, its old town is cozy and museums are numerous. Gastronomy enthusiasts worldwide praise the locally produced balsamic vinegar. On top of all this, town is known "the capital of engines" because of factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati, who have (or had) their factories and headquarters in Modena.

This is the place which was famous for its skyline long before people learned to built skyscrapers. Unlike many other towns who lost their fortifications due to wars, urban renewal or nature catastrophies, San Gimignano managed to conserve fourteen city wall towers of different heights. This can be partly explained by the fact that the town stand on top of the hill - which makes its skyline even more dramatic. Within the walls, this small town is a fine example of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The historic centre of San Gimignano is UNESCO World Heritage site since 1990. The town is also known for the white wine made of ancient variety of vernaccia grape, quite straightforwardly named Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

First time mentioned in 241 BC by the name of Spoletum, the town was an important settlement in the times of Roman Empire. Unsurprisingly, many of ancient building that draw visitors nowadays, have a respectful age of two thousand years. There is also a majestic fortress overlooking the town from the top of the hill, several nice palaces and churches - one of which, the basilica of San Salvatore was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. Since 1958, world famous Festival dei Due Mondi takes place every June. Concept of the festival is to have the worlds of American and European culture facing each other - so, there's a twin festival occurring in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, since 1977. Spoleto is a convenient day trip from Rome.

Tarquinia is believed to be founded in 12th century BC. It was home for Tarquin kings of Rome long before the Republic was created, and thus received its name. It was a political center of Etruscan league of cities. So it goes without saying that antiquity is a major attraction of the town. Most visited site is necropolis and is painted tombs. Another highlight is the Museo Nazionale Tarquiniense that has an extensive collection of Etruscan artefacts. Tarquinia is a convenient day trip from Rome.