Italy Vacation: Top 10 Italy Destinations For Your Italy Tour

Italy vacations are a very popular destination for all types of travelers, and it is no surprise given the depth of things to do on an Italy vacation.

Each region in Italy is unique, making Italy a vacation destination that may be visited over and over again while always offering unique travel experiences. And given that the Italian culture includes fresh local food each season in each region brings a new menu for Italy travelers to savor and dream about until the next Italy vacation. This opens endless opportunities for new experiences on an Italy vacation.

According to Trip Advisor, the following are the Top 9 Italy Destinations on an Italy Vacation:

1) St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
2) Duomo, Milan
3) Pantheon, Rome
4) Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence
5) Grand canal, Venice
6) Basilica of St Francis, Assisi
7) St. Mark's Square, Venice
8) Trulli, Alberobello
9) Piazza del Campo, Siena

10)?

What is your top sightseeing destination on an Italy vacation?

Italy Tours: Venice Packed for Carnival

Italy Tour to Venice for Carnival

Italy Tours from all over the world packed Venice this week for Carnival.  Italian Tourism officials report Venice hotels hung out their no vacancy signs as thousands of costumed celebrants gathered in Venice for the finale of Italy's most famous carnival celebration Tuesday night.

Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival, which attracts Italy tours from all over the world. Traditionally Venetians and Italian Tourists alike wore them between the festival of Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's Day, December 26) and the start of the carnival season and midnight of Shrove Tuesday. They have always been around Venice. As masks were also worn for the Ascension and from October 5 to Christmas, people Venetians and Italy travelers could spend a large proportion of the year in disguise

Venetian masks can be made in leather or with the original glass technique. The original masks were rather simple in design and decoration and often had a symbolic and practical function. Nowadays, most of them are made with the application of gesso and gold leaf and are all hand-painted using natural feathers and gems to decorate.

The mascherari, or mask-makers had their own statute dated 10 April 1436. They belonged to the fringe of painters and were helped in their task by sign-painters who drew faces onto plaster in a range of different shapes and paying extreme attention to detail.

Over 280,000 visitors arrived last weekend filling all available beds not only in Venice hotels but also on the Lido island facing it and the neighboring city of Mestre across the Venice Lagoon on the mainland.

"This is the highest occupancy we've ever seen in the three areas, a far cry from last year," said Vittorio Bonacini, head of the Venice Hoteliers Association.

Carnival traditionally concludes on Fat Tuesday at mid night, also known as Mardi Gras, with a procession of gondolas and other traditional boats along the Grand Canal, under the Rialto bridge to the dock at St Mark's Square, with all palaces and homes illuminated only by LED candles as thousands of balloons are released to usher in the beginning of Lent.

Because this year's Mardi Gras coincides with International Women's Day, the celebration has been dedicated to women.

Other famous Italian carnival celebrations in Italy include the one in Ivrea, near Turin, where the traditional 'battle of the oranges' left hundreds of 'victims' at the weekend, and one in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio where a traditional parade of allegorical floats takes center stage.

Italy tours to Venice, Florence and Rome are available with Italian Tourism, where you will find the best deals on Italy tours.

Italy Vacations: Arts Guide for your Italy Travel

Italian Tourism Italy vacations should include a visit to a museum oin Italy. Whether you are on a Italy cruise vacation or a Italy tour do make time to visit Italy's fabulous arts on your Italy vacation.



The following is a city-by-city guide to some of Italy's art exhibitions:



ALBA - Fondazione Ferrero: Giorgio Morandi, The Essence of Landscape; 70 works; until January 16.



BARLETTA - Palazza Marra: Giuseppe De Nittis, 43 engravings; until January 16.



FERRARA - Palazzo dei Diamanti: French 18th-century still-life master Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin; 50 loans from major international museums in first-ever Italian show; until January 13.



FLORENCE ART- Palazzo Strozzi: 'Bronzino, Painter and Poet at the Medici Court'; 90 works in world's first monographic show; to January 23.- Palazzo Pitti: Vinum Nostrum. The Art, Science and Myths of Wine in Civilisation; from prehistoric winegrowing to Dionysus cult, Etruscan, Roman use; show features oldest surviving wine container, on loan from Georgia; until April 30.- Bargello: Giovanfrancesco Rustici and Leonardo, first show examining links of 15th-century sculptor with da Vinci, Verrocchio and others; until January 10. For the best deals on Italy travel to Florence visit Italian Tourism for its Florence vacation packages.



FORLI' - Musei Civici di San Domenico: 400 ancient Egyptian artefacts gound by great Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli (1856-1928) including works from Queen Nefertari's tomb; until January 9.



MAMIANO DI TRAVERSETOLO (PARMA ARTS) - Fondazione Magnani Rocca: Renato Guttuso, Passion and Reality, 65 works until December 8. Visit WebVisionItaly Parma video and when ready for a vacation visit Italian Tourism to plan the perfect Italy vacation.



MILAN Travel - Palazzo Reale: 'Salvador Dali', The Dream Draws Near'; 50 works, until January 30.- Museo Poldi Pezzoli: Sandro Botticelli, all of his works in Lombardy museums brought together for first time; until February 28.



PADUA ART - Palazzo Zabarella: "From Canova to Modigliani, the Face of the 19th Century"; 100 portraits and sculptures; until February 27. Looking for vacation to Veneto and Venice then vist Italian Tourism Venice vacation packages or for a Italy cruise click Venice cruise.



PASSARIANO (UDINE) - Villa Manin: 'Edvard Munch and the Spirit of the North'; 122 works; until March 6.


PERUGIA - Galleria Nazionale: 'Theatre of Dreams from Chagall to Fellini', 100 works; until January 9. For more Umbria visit WebVisionItaly Umbria travel channel. Looking for a Umbra vacation check out Italian Tourism Umbria vacation packages.

RIMINI - Castel Sismondo: The Marvelous Years: Impressionism; 100 works from international museums including Monet and Pissarro, Sisley and Degas, Bazille and Renoir, Cezanne and Guillaumin, Morisot and Fantin-Latour, Gauguin and Van Gogh; until March 27.- same venue: Caravaggio's first religious painting, The Ecstasy of St Francis, back in Italy for first time in 25 years from Wadsworh Museum, Hartford, as well as several contemporaries; until March 27.



ROME ARTS - Palazzo Venezia: The Two Empires, The Eagle and the Dragon; more than 400 works on Roman (up to Trajan) and Chinese (Qin and Han) empires, spanning second century BC to fourth century AD; marks Year of Chinese Culture in Italy and is paired with other section at Roman Forum; until January 9.- Palazzo delle Esposizioni: The City of the Gods, 450 artefacts from ancient Mexican site of Teotihuacan (2nd-century BC to 5th-century AD), once the largest city in pre-Columbian Americas; until February 27.- Musei Capitolini: Michelangelo 'Two Wrestlers' loaned from Casa Buonarroti in Florence; until December 5.- Galleria Borghese: Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Other Renaissance; 45 works from major international museums; until February 13.- Chiostro del Bramante: Greats from the Veneto, 15th- 18th Century; Bellini, Lotto, Titian, Veronese, Tiepolo, Canaletto; 80 works from Accademia Carrara in Bergamo; until January 30.- Vittoriano: 'Vincent Van Gogh, Timeless Landscape, Modern City'; 110 masterpieces in first major Rome show in 22 years; until January 30.- Scuderie del Quirinale: '1861: The Painters of the Risorgimento', war scenes, Garibaldi's Red Shirts, leaders' portraits; to January 16.- Curia Iulia, Roman Forum: 'The Two Empires, The Eagle and the Dragon'; 450 works; until January 9.- Museo di Roma (Palazzo Braschi): The Risorgimento in Colour: Patriot Painters; to January 9.

SAN MARINO - Palazzo Sums: 25 Impressionist works including Monet, Cezanne and Renoir; until March 27, in tandem with Rimini show.

SAN SEVERINO MARCHE - Pinacoteca Civica, Palazzo Servanzi Confidati and Chiesa della Misericordia: 'Baroque Marvels', 90 works including Bernini, Guercino, Pomarancio, Orazio Gentileschi, Valentin de Boulogne, Baciccio: until December 12.

TURIN - Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Chiablese, Castello di Racconigi: "Vittorio Emanuele II: The Gentleman King"; new documents, pictures on life of Italy's first post-unification king; until March 13. Visit Turin with an Italian Tourism Italy vacation.

VENICE ARTS - Fondazione Cini: 'The Arts of Giambattista Piranesi - Architect, etcher, antiquarian, vedutista, designer'; 300 original prints plus 33 photos by Gabriele Basilico of Rome sites in 1960s; until November 21. Visit the arts of Venice like the Doge's Palace and the Basilica of St. Marks. Looking to visit Venice click for complete listing of cruises from Venice and click Venice vacation packages for a land-based Venice vacation by Italian Tourism discount Italy vacations.

Click WebVisionItaly.com for Italy travel video. Click Italian Tourism for Italy vacation packages and Italy cruise for cruises from Italy and cruises around Italy.

Italy Travel and Italy Tours: Rome's biggest temple reopens

Ancient Rome's most imposing shrine, the Temple of Venus and Rome, has reopened after a restoration lasting almost 30 years in welcome news for a government under pressure since last weekend's collapse of Pompeii's Gladiator School.

Facing East and West to symbolize the sweep of the empire, the temple was built in the second century AD by Hadrian on the vestibule of Nero's Golden House, shifting the Colossus of Nero close to the Flavian Amphitheatre so that it got its better-known name, the Colosseum.

"We have restored to Rome one of the most powerful symbols of the power and greatness of the Roman Empire," said restoration chief Claudia Del Monti, who has been on the job for all but three years of its 26-year duration.

"My project was aimed at reading the temple as far as possible in its entirety," she said, recalling that it had once been split in two and was used as a car park until the 1980s.

Rome's archeological superintendent, Anna Maria Moretti, said the revamped temple "affords an extraordinary view, walking up from the Colosseum".

With majestic pillars and soaring arches, the Temple of Venus Felix (Venus the Bringer of Good Fortune) and Aeterna Roma (Eternal Rome) was designed by Hadrian in 121 AD, inaugurated by him in 135, and finished by his successor Antoninus Pius in 141.

Damaged by fire in 307, it was restored with changes by Maxentius.

The temple restoration is part of the government's plans to open up more ancient sites, said Culture Undersecretary Franco Giro, deputising for Culture Minister Sandro Bondi who was fielding a fusillade of questions in parliament over Saturday's collapse of the school in Naples where gladiators trained. Giro noted that the pits under the Colosseum where gladiators prepared for mortal combat have recently been unveiled and other temples, such as that of Antoninus and Faustina, are set to be reopened within the next year.

"We are respecting the schedule we set for the Forum and we are proceeding with a restoration of an area that was in deep decay, having been abandoned by governments of all colors," Giro said.

He rejected criticism of Bondi's handling of Italy's artistic heritage which began with his allegedly supine acceptance of budget cuts that led to Italy's museums staging a mass closure Friday.

The undersecretary also defended the minister from what he described as "unfair" attacks over the situation in Pompeii, calling the center-left opposition "ill-informed".

Visit Rome travel video by WebVisionItaly.com for more about Rome.

To plan your vacation to Rome click for Rome holidays. Italian Tourism has the best pre-cruise and Italy post-cruise tours. Italian tourism also specializes in Italy cruise tours from Rome. For a Italy cruise from Rome click Rome cruise. If you'll be on a Rome cruise 2011 be sure to visit the Roman forum. Click for January Rome cruises 2011.

Italy Travel: Italy Guide to Art Exhibitions

The following is a Italy travel city-by-city guide to some of Italy's art exhibitions:

ALBA - Fondazione Ferrero: Giorgio Morandi, The Essence of Landscape; 70 works; until January 16.

FERRARA - Palazzo dei Diamanti: French 18th-century still-life master Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin; 50 loans from major international museums in first-ever Italian show; until January 13.

FLORENCE ART - Palazzo Strozzi: 'Bronzino, Painter and Poet at the Medici Court'; 90 works in world's first monographic show; to January 23.

- Palazzo Pitti: Vinum Nostrum. The Art, Science and Myths of Wine in Civilisation; from prehistoric winegrowing to Dionysus cult, Etruscan, Roman use; show features oldest surviving wine container, on loan from Georgia; until April 30.

- Accademia and Horne Museum: Virtues of Love, 40 Florentine Renaissance paintings celebrating wedded bliss, from Italian and foreign museums; until November 1.

- Bargello: Giovanfrancesco Rustici and Leonardo, first show examining links of 15th-century sculptor with da Vinci, Verrocchio and others; until January 10.

FORLI' - Musei Civici di San Domenico: 400 ancient Egyptian artefacts gound by great Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli (1856-1928) including works from Queen Nefertari's tomb; until January 9.

MAMIANO DI TRAVERSETOLO (PARMA ART) - Fondazione Magnani Rocca: Renato Guttuso, Passion and Reality, 65 works until December 8.

MILAN - Palazzo Reale: 'Salvador Dali', The Dream Draws Near'; 50 works, until January 30.

- FNAC: 12 unseen photos of Michael Jackson by French photographer Arno Bani; until 25.

PADUA ART - Palazzo Zabarella: "From Canova to Modigliani, the Face of the 19th Century"; 100 portraits and sculptures; until February 27.

PASSARIANO (UDINE) - Villa Manin: 'Edvard Munch and the Spirit of the North'; 122 works; until March 6.

PERUGIA - Galleria Nazionale: 'Theatre of Dreams from Chagall to Fellini', 100 works; until January 9.

RIMINI - Castel Sismondo: The Marvelous Years: Impressionism; 100 works from international museums including Monet and Pissarro, Sisley and Degas, Bazille and Renoir, Cezanne and Guillaumin, Morisot and Fantin-Latour, Gauguin and Van Gogh; until March 27.

- same venue: Caravaggio's first religious painting, The Ecstasy of St Francis, back in Italy for first time in 25 years from Wadsworh Museum, Hartford, as well as several contemporaries; until March 27.

ROME ART - Galleria Borghese: Luca Cranach the Elder, The Other Renaissance; 45 works from major international museums; until February 13.

- Chiostro del Bramante: Greats from the Veneto, 15th- 18th Century; Bellini, Lotto, Titian, Veronese, Tiepolo, Canaletto; 80 works from Accademia Carrara in Bergamo; until January 30.

- Vittoriano: 'Vincent Van Gogh, Timeless Landscape, Modern City'; 110 masterpieces in first major Rome show in 22 years; until January 30.

- Scuderie del Quirinale: '1861: The Painters of the Risorgimento', war scenes, Garibaldi's Red Shirts, leaders' portraits; to January 16.

- Curia Iulia, Roman Forum: 'The Two Empires, The Eagle and the Dragon'; 450 works on Roman and Chinese empires; marks Year of Chinese Culture in Italy; until January 9.

- Palazzo Barberini: permanent exhibition of ancient art back on show after long restoration; also at Galleria Corsini, Villa Farnesina Chigi and Orto Botanico.

- Museo di Roma (Palazzo Braschi): The Risorgimento in Colour: Patriot Painters; to January 9.

- Vittoriano: Fausto Coppi, Il Campionissimo'; bikes, shirts, helmets, fan letters, reports and footage of legendary cyclist on 50th anniversary of death; until October 31.

SAN MARINO - Palazzo Sums: 25 Impressionist works including Monet, Cezanne and Renoir; until March 27, in tandem with Rimini show.

SAN SEVERINO MARCHE - Pinacoteca Civica, Palazzo Servanzi Confidati and Chiesa della Misericordia: 'Baroque Marvels', 90 works including Bernini, Guercino, Pomarancio, Orazio Gentileschi, Valentin de Boulogne, Baciccio: until December 12.

SIENA - Santa Maria della Scala: Life of Michelangelo; letters, poetry, working sketches; until November 14.

TIVOLI - Villa Adriana: Show charting rise and fall of Hadrian's Villa; dozens of artefacts returned from collections around the world; until November 1.

TRENTO - Buoncastiglio Castle; The Adventure of Glass: From the Renaissance to the 20th Century between Venice and Distant Worlds; brings together over 700 masterpieces celebrating glass production on the Venetian island of Murano; until November 7.

TURIN - Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Chiablese, Castello di Racconigi: "Vittorio Emanuele II: The Gentleman King"; new documents, pictures on life of Italy's first post-unification king; until March 13.

UDINE - Castello: Giambattista Tiepolo, 20 engravings and 30 other works; until October 31.

VENICE ART - Fondazione Cini: 'The Arts of Giambattista Piranesi - Architect, etcher, antiquarian, vedutista, designer'; 300 original prints plus 33 photos by Gabriele Basilico of Rome sites in 1960s; until November 21.

$799: Amalfi Coast 6-Night Vacation w/Car & Air - Italy Travel Packages

Escape to Italy's Amalfi Coast for a vacation filled with stunning scenery, great wine and gourmet cuisine at 60% less than the price of similar packages.

Depart November-January on Wednesdays to obtain the deal. The $799 per person package includes:

1) Roundtrip airfare to Naples from New York City or Newark; Boston +$30
2) Six nights at the Hotel Gardenia in Sorrento, located along the Corsa Italia, Sorrento's main street
3) Weeklong car rental with manual transmission (automatic available)

Finish off this vacation with an upgrade on the final two nights to the four-star Villa Franca Hotel in Positano for only $99 more per person. This luxurious and sought-after hotel offers breathtaking views overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of coastline on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula between Naples and Salerno. It is renowned for its rugged terrain, scenic beauty, picturesque towns and rich history. The famed towns of Positano, Pompeii and Capri are located 8 to 17 miles from the Hotel Gardenia.

Note: A seven-night version of this Amalfi Coast vacation package including an extra night in Sorrento is also available at discounted rates.

Book by Oct. 8 to reserve your discounted Italy tour and save over $1000.