Southern Italy represents one of the finest investment opportunities in Europe. It posseses all the benefits without the inflated property prices of the more established northern Italian market. With miles of unspoilt coastline, rich in culture and steeped in history, it has long been a well kept secret by Italians and has a very strong homegrown tourist trade. The Italian government are ploughing 100 million Euros into the area to improve infastructure and to bring in more foreign investment making this already economically strong country even more attractive. With year on year capital growth predicted at 20-24% the potential of this intoxicating area is enormous.

But those who dream of owning an Italian farmhouse in Tuscany will find the prices far from romantic. In sought-after parts of the region (so-called Chiantishire, for example) and even in neighbouring Umbria, an average four-bedroom, stone farmhouse can cost about €1.2 million.

The British outpost, however, comprises a relatively small area of Italy. If you venture an hour north into Lunigiana or south into Emilia-Romagna, equivalent properties can cost up to half as much - and there is still plenty for classics scholars to sink their teeth into.

For those prepared to explore, there are many lovely, old houses within easy reach of unspoilt coast and countryside all over Italy. Hardened Tuscanophiles will take some convincing that the countryside in Basilicata, in the far south, could be mistaken for Tuscany, but the €600,000 (£475,860) price tag for a bespoke stone farmhouse, surrounded by olive groves, might get them thinking. Here are 10 of the most enticing areas.

1. Majella, Abruzzo

Getting there: Abruzzo International Airport, Pescara
La cucina: Maccheroni alla Chitarra, black truffles
I vini: Trebianno

Abruzzo has slipped through the net of most British second-home owners. "Abruzzo has everything, yet still only Italians seem to be aware of it," says Lorna Richardson of Properties Around Italy. It is fronted on one side by the Adriatic coastline, with Europe's only blue flag beaches (seven in total). Further inland are some of Italy's best-preserved medieval and Renaissance hill-towns such as Castel del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, as well as the Roccaraso ski area and national parks.

"I spent more than six years searching all over Italy to find my ideal property. I now live in Abruzzo. I rest my case," says Ms Richardson. "I can ski in winter, a 15-minute drive from my house, I can be on the beach in the summer, a 30-minute drive, and I live in the national park, with views to die for. Nowhere is like Abruzzo."

Berlusconi was eager to please during the electoral campaign and sceptics fear that he may have been too enthusiastic, estimating that if he were to act upon all his pre-election promises, he would need to find €63 billion of government cash to fund them,

It would seem that canny investors have already started to cotton on to the benefits of Italian property; earlier this year a survey carried out by A Place in the Sun Magazine ranked the country fifth in the top ten destinations for overseas buyers. The poll showed how Italy was muscling in on the traditional destinations such as Spain and France (ranked first and second respectively), moving up three positions from the previous survey.

Purchase costs in Italy used to be as high as 15-17 percent, but new rulings mean that this figure can decrease to approximately 4 - 5 percent.

Furthermore, after five years, even holiday home owners, are exempt from capital gains tax in Italy. Capital gains tax stood at 12 percent but under new rulings this has been raised to 20 percent.

This coupled with inheritance tax only on high value properties and still significantly lower than that of UK death duties, is also a big factor to mature individuals looking to invest in the country.

Sarah Ferrara, managing director of Garda Homes, said: “To gain some perspective of just how beneficial the new tax laws are, if we take the featured two bedroom apartment in Caneto, near the popular Lake Garda town of Salò, as an example, we see that under the old rules taxes on this property would have been £16,500.

“However, under the new rulings this figure drops dramatically to around just £2,250; the savings are evident for all to see.

“The new tax laws will undoubtedly bring a resurgence of buyers back to Italian shores which will further strengthen this market which has performed well over the last decade.”

Yet from Rivoli in western Piedmont to Trieste in the east, it is possible to enjoy all pleasures of the region, but without the crowded sprawl and high prices of the larger destinations.

Here, from Vercelli to Padua, are six towns in which history and contemporary life enjoy a successful and reassuringly comfortable long-term marriage. You can reach them on budget airlines to small Italian airports, such as Bergamo and Treviso, and all are within easy reach of each other by car or local trains and buses.

VERCELLI

“You are like a land no one has ever mentioned before,” the poet Cesare Pavese wrote. So discreet is this narrow labyrinthine town that, arriving from the railway station, there appear to be no hotels. Parts of the massive Cathedral of St Eusebius go back 1,500 years. It is home to the Vercelli Book, which includes one of the earliest English religious texts, the 8th-century Dream of the Rood.

Vercelli is where England's “first tourist”, Thomas Coryat, discovered the “fork” in 1608. It is also the rice-growing capital of Europe, and the many local risotto dishes are unique to the region. Try panissa: risotto with Saluggia beans, sausage (such as the salam d'la duja) and red wine.

At eight in the evening in Piazza Cavour, the central square, there is not an empty seat in any of the three cafés, despite the rain. I am the only foreigner. “So sleepy,” says my waiter, catching the eye of a local beauty. “We are a town of 40,000, nothing happens here. Now in Turin ...”

Stay in Hotel Matteotti (00 39 0161 211187, www.hotelmatteotti.it, B&B doubles about £63) on the outskirts of town. For delicious snacks, stop in at the Sassone bakery on Galileo Ferraris, which is full of exotic breads such as fogliette and diplomatici.

CREMONA

The centre of Cremona is defined by three large squares surrounding the massive cathedral and the highest bell tower in Europe. Cremona has a musical rhythm: a four-movement day. Mornings are about shopping, a blur of colours and mercantile sounds. Afternoons can be very hot: siesta stillness hits town.

Each square has its own vibe: the cathedral square, Piazza del Comune, is older, quieter, content to watch the light play tricks on the duomo's façade. Expensive ice-cream rules. The Piazza della Pace is very young; in the Piazza Stradivari dinner is part of the process. This is the

to-be-looked-at square: the women appear to have walked out of the Bertolucci movies of the 1970s; men want to be hot footballer Paolo Maldini. A retro-is-chic feel is everywhere.

Stay near the cathedral to savour piazza life throughout the day. Albergo Duomo on Via Gonfalonieri (00 39 03 72 35 242, B&B doubles about £56) has decent rooms, a good chef and talkative diners.

Drink in pretty much any of the central bars, though the gelateria Portici del Comune opposite the cathedral, is expensive and features few Italians; if you want to be right at the centre it's better to sit on the steps of the duomo itself and eat ice-cream bought at Pierrot on Largo Boccaccino.

LODI

Just a few hundred metres from Lodi's dark Romanesque cathedral is an octagonal church, the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary Crowned. It is covered, almost wallpapered, in frescoes and paintings, some by Il Bergognone. Built on the grounds of a medieval brothel as a kind of almshouse, the church is a magnificent jewel of space: a place for silent contemplation or listening to rousing music.

Locals often told me this is a ghostly and conservative farming town. But there is a marvellous rhythm, and a sense of quiet contentment. Festivals are flecked through the year, costume dramas all of them. And hidden in Lodi's nooks and crannies are fantastic cheese shops, fashionable bars, and gentle hints of history - such as the Battle of Lodi, won by the young Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte.

Stay at the Hotel Europa (00 39 0371 35215, www.hoteleuropa-lodi.it, B&B doubles about £74). For more luxury, try the Hotel Una, near the motorway (00 39 0371 410461, www.unahotels.it, B&B doubles about £57). Eat anywhere in the Piazza della Vittoria; there are five options. I liked the Nationale best, though the Duomo feels most local.

MANTUA

The Gonzaga family ruled here during the Renaissance, but the revenues from their territories never kept up with their lavish lifestyle.Take the “secret” Gonzaga route from the palazzo back past the city walls and on to Mantua's grand central squares and palace, and stop at Andrea Mantegna's home, built with “classical” precision. Now the house is a modern art gallery, with fantastic computer-based installations about Mantengna's life: new media and classical architecture in perfect harmony.

Avoid the Piazza Sordello for food or drinks, and stick to the Piazza delle Erbe. I also enjoyed the quiet of the Ristorante Tiratappi in the small Piazza Leon Battista Alberti, and the bustle of the jazzy Delle Erbe restaurant. Tortelli di zucca (pumpkin and almond pasta) is a must here. The Hotel Rechigi (00 39 0376 320 781, www.rechigi.com, B&B doubles from about £148) on Via Pietro Fortunato Calvi is comfortably central.

PADUA

In term time students dominate the Piazza della Erbe, the focal centre of the city. In the Palazzo della Ragione, morning is a riot of peaches and barter, haggles and oranges. Above the vaulted market, the first-floor room of the palazzo is like a three-dimensional map. Four walls covered in frescoes tell the story of time, with enough visual storytelling to keep J.K.Rowling in plots for decades.

The cheap central modernism of Albergo Verdi on Via Dondo dall' Orologio (00 39 049 8364163, www.albergoverdipadova.it, B&B doubles from about £74) makes for an ideal budget starting point. I drank Campari spritz at both the main bars of Piazza dei Signori, and if the locals seem slightly chilly here, then move on anywhere in the Piazza delle Erbe.

SAN PELLEGRINO

A brief bus journey from Bergamo's railway station takes you to my favourite of all these small towns - because its pleasures are so unexpected. San Pellegrino, as the name might suggest, is a bubbly place. Hemmed in by mountains - take a day trip up to the San Marco pass and its bikers' lodge - San Pellegrino makes a sparkling debut after the smaller towns of the Brembana valley.

San Pellegrino has long been known for its spa water, but only in the late 19th and early 20th centuries did it become an upmarket destination. So, while there are no Renaissance masterpieces, or Venetian tropes, it feels easier to imagine its past than those of some of the more famous Italian towns. This is the place to write that Great European Novel.

The Centrale (00 39 0345 21008, www.albergo-centrale.it, B&B doubles about £47) is in the middle of San Pellegrino's high street with great views of the derelict Grand Hotel and the mountains beyond. The town is small enough to try out all the cafés and bars. Caffetteria degli Artisti, on the corner of Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII and Via Mazzoni, offers cha-cha-cha classes, afternoons and evenings. Until San Pellegrino Terme's spa hotel opens again (scheduled for next year), the best way to exercise is to walk

Tradition also triumphs in Veronese kitchens, where earthy specialities such as horse-meat stew are savoured with robust Veneto wines such as Valpolicella and Bardolino. But the city has a present tense, too. Contemporary bars, name-in-lights designer stores and modernist Michelin-starred eateries lend it the air of a mini-Milan.

If you’re following in the footsteps of Shakespeare’s star-cross’d lovers, the city will satisfy even the most incurable romantic – yet its roots lie in hard-headed classical reason.

Die-straight Roman streets, two amphitheatres and the Archaeological Museum make it a must for history buffs, too. Whether you’re mad for love or longing for logic, you’re guaranteed to fall head over heels for Verona.

Quick facts

£1.30 BUYS: A glass of Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (below), a tongue-tingling spumante.
£8 BUYS: A three-day Verona Card, which gives you access to museums and churches, plus free bus travel.
EAT UP: Long ago, local babies were weaned on peara (purée of bread, pepper and marrowbone). It still gets served for Sunday lunch with boiled meat.
GORE BLIMEY: Bloodthirsty feuds à la Romeo and Juliet were the stuff of life – and death – in Renaissance Verona. One family boiled up the liver of their enemy’s son and served him for dinner. GNOCCO ROCKS: Europe’s oldest carnival celebrates Verona’s love affair with the potato dumpling every February. On Gnocco Friday, the Gnocco King parades around on a donkey, brandishing a huge bit of pasta on a fork.

AGE OF ROMANCE

- Once the Roman forum, Piazza delle Erbe has witnessed centuries of history. Today, Balkan accordionists squeeze out Cole Porter classics for cafe crowds, under the gaze of palaces adorned with statues, frescoes and crenellations. Just around the corner in Piazza dei Signori, you’ll find a statue of Dante: it pays homage to the high priest of Italian romance, who found refuge in Verona during the 14th century, after his Florentine patrons condemned him to exile.

- Top stop for Veronese Valentines is Casa di Giulietta (23 Via Capello; 00 39 045 803 4303; £3). The honey-stoned 13th-century house once belonged to the Cappello family, and the similarity of their name to Capulet inspired Antonio Avena, director of Verona’s museums in the 1930s, to declare it Juliet’s house. It’s said that if you rub the breasts of the bronze Juliet statue in the courtyard you’ll be lucky in love. We say: pass on the grope, but do take a peek inside the house, which is daubed with frescoes narrating Shakespeare’s tragic tale. Also take a look up at the famous balcony: very pretty but very fake (it was added in the 1930s), and improbably high. (No wonder it all ended in tears – Juliet probably couldn’t hear a single word Romeo was saying.)

- Also from Avena’s 1066-and-all-that school of history, yet enjoying a certain allure among tourists, is Tomba di Giulietta (35 Via del Pontiere; 00 39 045 800 0361; £2). Housed in the echoing, empty crypt of the San Francesco al Corso convent, Juliet’s solitary, roughly hewn tomb of rose-pink stone is scrawled with graffiti by lovelorn Italian adolescents. (Did Jackie love Marco for always? You can only hope.) Be warned, however: a visit to these serene, pine-scented cloisters might tempt you, heaven forbid, to give up on passion altogether, and get thee to a monastery

Gear up for a romantic evening with a sunset stroll along Via Sottoriva. Once the artisans’ quarter, the butter-coloured arcades still shelter quaint watering holes – at Osteria Sottoriva (Where to Eat), for example, cashmere-clad crowds clutter up the cobbles with their mopeds, the Valpolicella tastes like velvet, and the meatballs deserve a medal.

CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVES

- The sense of space is overwhelming when you perch on the time-worn tiers of the Roman Arena (Piazza Bra; 00 39 045 800 3204; £3). The sinister black tunnels that burrow beneath the auditorium once spat out lions, tigers and gladiators. Today, Aida and Carmen come to an equally sticky end during the summer opera festival (June 20 to August 31; for concert tickets, call 00 39 045 800 5151 or visit www.arena.it). Still, the stage sets are sumptuous and the solitary quartet of arches (all that remains of the outer wall) peering over the auditorium reminds you that the place was even bigger in ancient times.

- Built in the year AD1, the ancient Roman road Corso Porta Bórsari is framed by Renaissance and medieval palaces garnished with Roman funerary inscriptions and carvings. These days, designer showrooms, such as Dolce & Gabbana, have colonised the ground floors; but don’t miss the Gorgon’s head carved on the corner of Via Valerio Catullo.

Experience a Shakespearean soliloquy under the stars at the Roman Theatre (2 Via Rigaste Redentore; 00 39 045 800 0360; £2). The summer performance festival runs between June and September – for tickets, call 00 39 045 807 7500 or visit www.veroneseestateteatrale.it. Aside from the actors strutting their stuff, there’s real drama in the spellbinding river and rooftop views beyond the stage. And perched above the theatre’s crescent of stone terraces, the Archaeological Museum (details as for theatre) delivers a fascinating glimpse into classical culture. Hunt down the mosaic that depicts a gladiatorial scrap in exquisite bloodthirsty detail.

- Presiding in striped splendour over a little piazza just outside the centre, the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore (2 Piazza San Zeno; 00 39 045 592813; £1.70) is a showstopper. Don’t miss the Biblical scenes cast with breathtaking precision on the bronze door panels. Then pay homage to the magnificent triptych by 15th-century Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna above the altar. In marked contrast to the rosy complexions found in similar paintings in Venice, the icy cheeks of Mantegna’s Madonna and Child testify to the influence of cold-blooded German artists on Verona’s painters.

WHERE TO STAY

NO EXPENSE SPARED

Gabbia D’Oro, 4A Corso Porta Bórsari (00 39 045 800 3060, www.hotelgabbiadoro.it). On central Corso Porta Bórsari, this 18th-century palace has been perked up with pet parrots and orange trees. Bower-like beds are draped with lace curtains; oak furniture, opulent textiles, period ceramics and silverware create a to-the-manor-born charm. Doubles from £230, B&B.

Villa del Quar, 12 Via Quar (00 39 045 680 0681, www.hotelvilladelquar.it). Opera singers loll by the clover-shaped pool at this in-the-know hideaway. Surrounded by acres of vineyards, a 10-minute taxi ride from Verona, the 16th-century manor is decked out with silk-upholstered furniture and antique rugs. Most rooms gaze onto rolling vineyards. Doubles from £185, B&B.

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

Hotel Giulietta e Romeo, 3 Vicolo Tre Marchetti (00 39 045 800 3554, www.giuliettaeromeo.com). Pastel-painted walls, pale floral sofas and swagged curtains give rooms in this romantic, Arena-handy retreat a welcome lustre. WiFi access and flat-screen TVs keep you in the modern world. Lovers should book rooms 101 or 103, with their Juliet-style balconies. Doubles from £100, B&B.

 There has been an initial surge of interest in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe but this tends to lead to speculation buying and with it comes inherent risks. Interestingly, figures show that the market has now turned on its head and reverted back to investors looking for established countries such as Italy where there is a track record of capital growth and rental returns. Italy has fine wines, superb cuisine and an excellent infrastructure plus a great many Italians speak some English. All of which makes owning a home in Italy a far better option than taking a chance on an emerging country. Within 2/3 years of these new countries coming onto the market, buying figures show that the tide has turned and that established countries are where investors choose to put their money”.

One of the most popular areas of Italy with buyers is the Lakes. These are a popular destination both in the winter for the skiing and the summer. With an approximate rental return of 5/9% and very few void periods they make excellent investments. The other area to look at is Western Liguria where buying closer to the sea will make a better investment even if initially more expensive.

The average property sale price in Italy is around £200,000. Recent information also suggests that there is a 12% increase in buying property abroad compared to last year all of which points to a stable overseas market in 2008.

Now wait, I said. What about Fabio Capello? Not only did he take over the England football squad yesterday, he is a fine example of Italian manhood: elegant, sharply dressed, supremely confident, a born winner. He even likes modern art. “Well, quite,” said another customer.

To the outside world, and not least to Brits, Capello looks like an Italian New Man, a new breed of Italian male. He is happily married to Laura, his wife of 40 years, has no dalliances on the side – at least, not as far as British tabloids have been able to discover – likes Bach and jazz, reads philosophy, goes to Mass, spends his holidays exploring archaeological ruins in Tibet or Colombia instead of chatting up women on the beach, collects Kand-inskys and Chagalls and cultivates Rome’s modern artists. A far cry, then, from the unscrupulous Lotharios of old. But a welcome advance and a sign of the times?

It does not look quite like that to many Italian men. They have a sneaking admiration for old-style Casanovas – men such as Silvio Berlusconi, a self-made businessman with a buccaneering style that has involved him in several brushes with the law (which he usually wins), a penchant for risqué jokes and an eye for the ladies, to the chagrin of Veronica, his stunningly beautiful wife, a former actress. Or Marcello Mastroianni, the actor with matinée-idol looks who made an art of appearing debonair, louche and charming.

But Berlusconi is 71 and Mastroianni is dead, along with the dolce vita era that he embodied in Federi-co Fellini’s films. Many Italian men feel sorry for themselves in 21st-cen-tury Italy – browbeaten, overworked and underpaid. Even the famous Latin lover is exposed as a myth: one medical congress in Rome heard that six out of ten Italian women claimed to be “sexually dissatisfied” with their husbands, partners or lovers, according to a survey.

Chiara Simonelli, a sexologist at Rome University Hospital, says: “On the basis of my clinical experience, I can say that these statistics are inferior to reality.” She claims to know of many women in their thirties and forties who were opting for celibacy “in despair”.

Claudio Cricelli, the president of the conference, says that sexual frustration often leads to hypochondria, nervous problems and tension, adding that it was also probably one reason why Italy has such a low birth rate.

Another survey suggests that Italian men have even lost the art of picking up women – including foreign tourists – at beach resorts or in bars and pavement cafés. “Death of the gigolo” ran one headline.

And yet, underneath the gloom and self-pity, many Italian men still nurture an image of themselves as effortlessly superior beings who are born to run the world and to be admired for making a bella figura. And the reason is simple: their mothers tell them so.

While more Italian women are making careers and scoring belated victories for feminism, they are also — as mammas — doting on their male offspring in the way they always have. Take Capello’s widowed mother, Evelina Tortul, who told reporters when her son’s appointment as England manager was announced that she was “worried about my boy”, even though he is 61 and she is 85.

The media, she said at the modest flat in Pieris, near the Slovenian border, where she brought up her son and his sister Bianca, were “fine when you are winning, but when you lose they cut your throat. I’m his mother, so that is going to make me unhappy.” She added: “I wanted him to stay in Italy. He’s a big boy, he’s old enough to make his own decisions. But your mamma is always your mamma. Fabio was such a good boy . . . he comes here every summer and it’s always lovely to see him.”

Hardly surprising, then, that Italy’s “mamma’s boys” still think, in their heart of hearts, that they are God’s gift to women. About a third of Italian males, indeed, live at home until the age of at least 30, enjoying Mamma’s home comforts. Even when they marry, their wives know that their mothers-in-law are usually not far away and still have a powerful hold on their “big boys”.

As for feminism, every Italian newsstand is festooned with 2008 calendars depicting naked models and “showgirls”, who can also be seen on TV variety shows every night wearing not much more. No political correctness there, then.

According to Emma Bonino, the former European Commissioner and now Minister for International Trade and European Affairs, 11 per cent of Italian Members of Parliament are women, which is much the same proportion as 30 years ago.

Not only that, she says, but although it is true that more women go out to work, it is often part-time because there are few crèches for younger children and because older children have to be brought home by someone when school ends at lunchtime.

That someone, inevitably, is mamma. It is invariably the women who “make sacrifices” to ease the strains of daily life, Bonino says. So the lot of the Italian man is perhaps not so bad, after all — and the advent of the Italian New Man may still be some way off.

How Italian is your man?

1. After lunch, does he drink

a) a cappuccino
b) a camomile tea
c) an espresso macchiato

2. When driving on the autostrada, does he

a) Bowl along in the middle, occasionally veering without warning into the overtaking lane
b) Edge tentatively into the slow lane and remain there unless absolutely necessary
c) Weave expertly through traffic, driving very close behind anyone doing less that 90mph in the fast lane and flashing his lights until they pull over

3. At what age did he leave home?

a) 18
b) 28 (but only after his mother put her foot down about the washing)
c) Hey, what’s the hurry?

4. Does he regard a scooter as

a) A bit infantile but nevertheless quite fun at weekends
b) A cheap and efficient way to avoid the London congestion charge
c) An instrument of extreme manliness, especially when revved excessively at traffic lights and with its exhaust modified so as to make an ear-splitting noise

5. How many man-bags does he own

a) One (and it’s more of a briefcase, really)
b) None. No way
c) 17 (and that’s just from his autumn/winter collection)

6. Does he wear his jumper
a) Over his shirt
b) Around his waist
c) Tied jauntily, at an angle, over his shoulders

7. How many cashmere items does he own?

a) A few, mostly presents from you
b) 325 (not counting the socks)
c) One, moth-eaten

8. What kind of pants does he wear?

a) Crumpled boxer shorts
b) Very tight, white Y-fronts, bought and lovingly ironed by his mother
c) Stylish designer ones

9. Does he wear a vest?

a) Only in the height of winter
b) All year round, including August (you can never be too careful)
c) As soon as the temperature drops below 10C

10. When skiing, does he

a) Launch himself out of helicopters, power through the powder and generally behave like a teenager on heat
b) Materialise, unsmiling in an all-in-one, at the top of the blackest mogul run he can find before descending, skis glued together, in a bum-wiggling display of prowess
c) Join the queue at the ski school and head out with a group of six-year-olds

11. On the beach, does he emerge from beneath his towel wearing

a) Sand-bleached surfer-dude shorts
b) Tight black Speedos
c) Slightly small and slightly elderly swimming trunks

12. At weekends, he helps out with the children by

a) Drafting in his mother (or, worse, his terrifying spinster sister)
b) Taking them for a pizza while you treat yourself to a nice massage
c) Remembering a very pressing business meeting that can take place only at the football stadium and is likely to last for at least four hours. Ciao . . .

Answers

Answers: 1 a:1 point, b:2, c:3; 2 a:2, b:1, c:3; 3 a:1, b:2, c:3; 4 a: 2, b:1, c:3; 5 a: 2, b:1, c:3; 6 a: 1, b:2, c:3; 7 a: 2, b:3, c:1; 8 a: 1, b:3, c:2; 9 a: 1, b:3, c:2; 10 a: 2, b:3, c:1; 11 a: 2, b:3, c:1; 12 a: 2, b:1, c:3

If you scored 15 or under

Your man is not very Italian at all, is he? Perhaps he’s Swedish? No? Oh well, never mind. He may not rake in millions from babysitting spoilt football players, but at least he knows how to change a nappy.

15-20

Your man is distinctly al dente, but in a good way. Stylish, full of life, loyal, a little bit excitable — all the best things about being Italian. Maybe a little too fond of his Mamma, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Watch out that he doesn’t start to slide, though: if he starts doing things like tucking his napkin into his shirt, put your foot down.

20-plus

You’ve got yourself a proper Mamma's boy. There’s not a lot you can do about it while the sainted parent still walks this earth, so the best thing to do is get her on side. Swap depilation tips, share recipes (remember: hers are always superior). Keep your friends close, keep your mother-in-law even closer, as the Italians say . . .

Faster trains have reduced the journey time from London to Venice or Florence to 19 hours, with time for a few drinks in Paris. Fares have fallen, too: a return sleeper to Venice can cost as little as £111 on off-peak services.

That font of all railway wisdom, Mark Smith, recommends catching the 2.04pm Eurostar from St Pancras to connect with the sleeper from Paris to Venice, arriving at 9.30am the following morning. For details, see his website, www.seat61.com.

Puccini's operas are being widely performed this year to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. The best place to see Tosca, Turandot and Madame Butterfly is at the open-air theatre in Puccini's home town, Torre del Lago, in northern Tuscany.

The season runs from July 11 to September 5; for information and tickets, see www.puccinifestival.it. La Bohème is playing in Milan at La Scala in July.

The Italians' love of music has spawned festivals throughout the country, many taking place in July and August, including opera in Verona and at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, ancient music in Urbino, jazz in Perugia and Pescara, and operetta in Trieste and Macerata.

Another big anniversary is the 500th of the birth of the father of neo-classical architecture, Andrea Palladio. There are celebratory events all over the Veneto, where he designed many villas, churches and public buildings.

Among the highlights are summer concerts in Palladian villas and, from September 20, an exhibition at the Palazzo Barbaran da Porto in Vicenza. It will display many of Palladio's original drawings as well as works by 16th-century painters and sculptors. For more information, see www.palladio500.it.

Venice's newest five-star hotel, a stone's throw from the Cipriani on Giudecca, is now fully open. The Palladio Hotel and Spa (0039 041 520 7022, www.bauervenezia.com) occupies a 16th-century convent designed by Palladio and abandoned for a century until this restoration. Non-residents can book spa treatments and use the Turkish hammam.

For archaeology enthusiasts, two stellar excavations are opening to the public. In spring, tourists will be able to visit several patrician Roman villas with fine mosaic floors beneath Palazzo Valentini, across from the Forum. The adjacent museum is using virtual-reality technology to recreate life in a rich Roman household based on the finds made here.

In Rimini, the excavated site of a doctor's surgery - dating from 150AD - opened to visitors last month. The remarkable collection of surgical instruments found is on display in the town's museum.

Interest in the far south of Italy continues to grow. Tour operators are now contracting some newly restored high-quality agritourism and hotel properties. The province of Basilicata makes its appearance in many itineraries for the first time.

Tourists are still a novelty away from the coast, so it will appeal mostly to Italophiles with a smattering of the language, but all visitors can expect a genuinely warm welcome, real home cooking and beautiful sandy beaches reminiscent of Corfu.

Elsewhere in the south, you can escape into the pine woods of the mountainous Pollino National Park, or the rock-hewn rooms of the beautifully renovated Hotel Sant'Angelo in trogloditic Matera, a World Heritage Site.

Eating well is an Italian preoccupation and it is almost impossible to eat badly in the south; much of the fresh food served is made from ingredients that are grown organically and dressed in simple sauces.

Many agritourism concerns in Puglia and Calabria with on-site restaurants run regular cookery lessons so that guests can master regional specialities. These should be mentioned in brochures, but ask specialist tour operators as lessons are quite a new development.

Many of Italy's most interesting wines don't make it to Britain: in fact, they hardly leave the area where they are grown. More small producers are now welcoming visitors into their cellars, and on the last weekend in May more than 1,000 wine estates will open their doors to the public for Cantine Aperte, a celebration of local wine and food. For a list of participants - and links to regional wine producers' websites listing cellars that can be visited at other times - see www.movimentoturismovino.it.

Any wine lover visiting Florence should drop into Volpe e l'Uva (in Piazza dei Rossi on the way to the Pitti Palace). This is both a bar and wine merchant, which has a big choice of wines from small, lesser-known vineyards - many sold by the glass - and an equally impressive selection of cheeses, smoked meats and artisan breads.

Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, is appearing in more brochures as a family destination. Its white-sand beaches are among the best in the region, and most are refreshingly free of development.

There are several luxury options for holidays with young children (children's clubs, adult spa treatments, fine dining), including the Sofitel Thalassa Timi Ama, the Meridien Chia Laguna and the long-established Forte Village. Holiday Options has flights from 10 regional British airports.

The quintessential image of rural Italy is one of gentle contoured hills and lollipop cypresses leading to a terracotta-roofed farmstead of golden stone. The photographs that inspire these images are almost certainly taken in the Val d'Orcia in southern Tuscany. Now a World Heritage Site, this rural farming valley remains refreshingly undeveloped despite its proximity to Siena, with an increasing number of renovated farmhouses available to rent, excellent walking and cycling, and rejuvenating treatments in small thermal spas. Best of all, there's no major road through the valley, making it a perfect holiday destination for those in search of total peace.

Expect to pay

Here are rough guides to prices in June.

Three-bedroom villa with pool in Tuscany: £1,250 for a week's rental only.
Two-bedroom apartment in Umbria: £450 for a week's rental only.
Four-star hotel: £140 per room a night
Expert-led cultural tour: £1,200 per person including flights
Group walking holiday: £650 per person including flights
Camping holiday for four (two weeks including ferry crossing): £800
Highlights coach tour: £700 per person, including flights
Group B car hire: £170 (no insurance excess)

Getting there

By air
There are direct flights from British airports to 29 destinations in Italy; the majority leave from London but there is also a good choice from Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow. The cheapest fares are for mid-week departures.

For longer holidays in high summer it can be cheaper to take a charter flight. The seat-broker Avro (0871 423 8550, www.avro.co.uk) offers flights to Naples, Venice and Catania from seven British airports.

Holiday Options (0844 477 0452, www.holidayoptions.co.uk) operates charters to Alghero, Olbia and Cagliari in Sardinia from 10 British airports, and to Catania in Sicily from Gatwick and Manchester.

Who flies where
All destinations listed are served by direct, non-stop flights. We list all airlines flying to Italy from Britain, but regional airports may not offer all routes.

Air One (0208 939 2434, www.flyairone.it) London City to Milan.
Alitalia (0870 544 8259, www.alitalia.co.uk) Heathrow to Milan and Rome.
Bmi (0870 6070 555, www.flybmi.com) Heathrow to Naples and Venice.
Bmibaby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com) Birmingham to Rome and, from April, to Bergamo.
British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) Heathrow or Gatwick to Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Pisa, Rome, Turin, Venice, Verona.
EasyJet (0905 821 0905, www.easyjet.com) Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, East Midlands, Bristol, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Belfast. Destinations: Venice, Milan, Rome, Olbia, Naples, Turin, Rimini, Pisa, Palermo and Cagliari.
Flybe (0871 522 6100, www.flybe.com) Birmingham and Manchester to Milan.
Flyglobespan (08712 710415, www.flyglobespan.com) Edinburgh to Rome.
Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com) Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds-Bradford, Newcastle. Destinations: Venice, Bergamo (for Milan), Pisa, Rome and Olbia in Sardinia.
Meridiana (0845 3555588, www.meridiana.it) Gatwick to Florence.
Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) Luton, Stansted, Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow. Destinations: Alghero, Ancona, Bari, Bergamo (for Milan), Brescia (for Verona), Brindisi, Forli (for Bologna), Genoa, Lamezia, Palermo, Parma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rimini, Rome, Treviso (for Venice), Trieste, Turin.
Thomsonfly (0870 1900 737, www.thomsonfly.com) offers the biggest choice of summer services from Manchester and Gatwick; a few routes also from Luton, Bournemouth, Bristol, Doncaster, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast. Destinations: Lamezia, Catania, Naples, Venice, Pisa, Alghero, Olbia.

By rail
For excellent advice and tips see The Man in Seat Sixty-One website - www.seat61.com.

Venice Simplon-Orient Express (0845 077 2222, www.orient-express.com). Two-day journey from London to Venice £1,475 full board (single-cabin supplement £320); some trains go on to Rome (four days, £1,760).

Rail Europe (0844 848 4070, www.raileurope.co.uk), International Rail (08700 841414, www.italiarail.co.uk), Railchoice (020 8659 7300, www.railchoice.com) and Ffestiniog Travel (01766 516025, www.festtravel.co.uk) sell international rail tickets, railpasses and reservations for fast internal trains.

Getting around

Car hire
Italian car-hire franchises (notably at Pisa and Venice airports) are notorious for trying to sell extra insurances at the time of pick-up.

Instead of buying excess cover for collision damage waiver from the rental agent, take out annual excess reduction cover for £49 through Insurance4carhire (020 7012 6300, www.insurance4carhire.com).

Rental agents now require two credit cards as security against luxury cars such as Mercedes and Porsche.

When comparing quotes online, check that all extras are included: airport fees, out-of-hours fees, second driver and theft cover.

Car rental companies include Avis (08445 818181, www.avis.co.uk); Budget (0870 153 9170, www.budget.co.uk); Europcar (0870 607 5000, www.europcar.co.uk); Hertz (08708 448844, www.hertz.co.uk).

Brokers include Holiday Autos (0870 400 4461, www.holidayautos.co.uk), Holiday Cars Direct (0870 112 8101, www.holidaycarsdirect.com); Suncars (0871 664 9672, www.suncars.com).

By rail
For fares, timetable information and online booking see the Italian Railways website: www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html.

By ferry
A list of inter-island ferry operators can be found on the Italian Tourist Board's useful website: www.italiantouristboard.co.uk

Overseas property investors or those seeking to move abroad will need to know how close their new homes are to communication networks. This simple requirement makes accessibility to a region one of the key features when buying property abroad. Now Italian property has improved a new high speed rail network is making this region the place to invest.