If you want to meet the Pope you should go to Lazio. Strolling through its cobble-stoned by-lanes, Rome will deliver one marvellous monument after the next. Walking is the best way to truly appreciate all it has to offer. From the Colosseum and Vatican City, to stores with little knick-knacks and the quaint surrounding towns, this region is a testament to Italy’s rich heritage clearly manifest in the ruins of Tivoli and Rome.

Marche’s diverse landscape has sandy beaches that are occasionally, pleasantly interrupted by rocky precipices. A region with a rich and varied countryside delineated by the Adriatic Sea; it makes for wonderful repose. Tuscany has over the years given birth to the Renaissance and a lot of popular romantic fiction. The works of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo are forever interred in cities like Florence. Siena, a rustic hill town is famous for its Chianti and Brunello. San Gimignano is renowned for it distinct towers and turreted houses and then there is Pisa with its world-famous Leaning Tower. Lucca, Pistoia, Arezzo, Grosseto, Livorno and Prato, all boast churches and monuments of great architectural and artistic value. Or, you could just breathe easy in the Tuscan countryside. Named after the Umbri tribe that settled here in the sixth century, Umbria is steeped in historicity. The regional capital Perugia is resplendent in the magnificence of its architectural and artistic treasures; from the Etruscan walls to the splendid Palazzo Gallenga, seat of the prestigious university for foreigners and the Piazza IV Novembre with its 13th century reliefs is dotted with architectural and visual jewels like the Fontana Maggiore (Great Fountain). The same is true for splendid Gubbio, rich with Franciscan memories and monuments from the medieval and Renaissance eras. Dressed up or dressed down this sliver of Italy is a sanctuary for culture mongers.