Centuries ago, when travelers from the north crossed the Alps and arrived at Lake Garda, surrounded by castles, vineyards and olive and lemon groves, they saw Italy as an enchanted place. Their wonder grew as they journeyed further south, toward the città d'arte on the plain, or in the direction of incomparable Venice. They were astounded by Liguria's craggy coastline and the art of Florence, Pisa and Siena.

Immersed in thousands of years of history and set in a diverse landscape were the great ruins of ancient civilizations, the forerunners of the glory of Imperial, Renaissance and Baroque Rome. In sunny southern Italy they discovered beautiful gulfs and islands floating in a sparkling sea. Vesuvius and Naples, the cities and temples of Magna Grecia, Sicily's vibrant colors and the intriguing and mysterious beauty of Sardinia were all there to greet them.

These unending and ever-changing visions can still be seen every day by those who live in and visit Italy. Italy's unique geography, stretching as it does from the highest and most beautiful mountains in Europe to the center of the Mediterranean Sea, allows the county to offer a variety of landscapes, natural environments, history, art and monuments that know no equal.

This volume collects images of both Italy's well-known sites and its hidden secrets as it traces a path through all of Italy's regions, exploring an area that became a unified country only 150 years ago, yet has been renowned as a place of incredible beauty and pleasure for millennia.