The fashion-conscious will know it as the design capital of the West, the launching pad for the visionary talents of Gucci, Armani, Prada and many more. The sports-mad will know it for its football teams, AC and Internazionale, who have produced more European Champions and World Cup winners than any other city in Europe. Art […]

A busy, bustling, booming San Marco Piazza welcomes you off the boat and throws you in the deep end of this liquid land. The stunning Saint Mark’s Basilica looms across Andrea Tirali’s pavement as you stroll across the plaza, before losing yourself in the narrow, steep-sided maze of Venice’s ancient streets and bridges. Gondolas flow […]

For the sheer romance of the Renaissance, it is hard to look beyond this sumptuously stylish city; if this were a beauty pageant, meet the new Miss World. Florence’ wealth was built on the fortune and stewardship of the Medici dynasty, who commissioned the likes of Michaelangelo, Botticelli and Leonardo to sculpt a landscape of […]