Passion seeps into all aspects of life in Italy – you can hear it in the opera, taste it in lovingly prepared pasta and see it in action as the Italians promenade across their piazzas- talking with their hands.

In its capital, Rome and the fashion and business powerhouse of Milan, life is lived at a fast pace and often via a host of speeding Vespas. Life flows through Venice via its canals and into its grand palaces and shine from the artworks housed in the living museum that in the renaissance jewel of Florence.

Deep in the countryside, however, Italian life slows down a little – here there is time to savour a new wine and linger over lunch under vines. Theres something timeless about a Tuscan landscape of hilltop towns, stately cypress and olive groves. And a sense of history is palpable in the ruins of Pompeii and Rome’s Colosseum. On the Coastal areas – such as the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre village, washed pastel colours cling to cliffs and in the Italian Alps, elegant villas overlook tranquil lakes. No wonder Italy was home to so many inspired painters and composers.

La Dolce Vita, living the sweet life !