Trafalgar Tours with Italy

Italy, in south-central Europe, borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia  to the north.  The independent states of Vatican City and San Marino lie entirely within the boundaries of Italy. Rome, the capital city, was teh center of Western Civilization for centuries. Excavations in Italy show a Neanderthal presence back to the Paleolithic period 200,000 years ago. It has seen Greeks, Romans, and Germanic tribes influence its civilization. World War II had a profound effect on Italy. The Apennine Mountains together with the Alps form the northern boundary and the backbone of Italy. Mont Blance, the highest peak; Po, the longest river; Garda, Maggiore, Como, Trasimeno, and Bolsena Rivers are all there. Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius volcanoes are in Italy. Major metropolitian cities are: L'Aquila, Bani, Potenza, Catanzaro, Naples, Bologna, Trieste, Rome, Genoa, Milan, and Turin. Several of the finest works in Western architecture, the Colosseum, the Milan Cathedral, Florence cathedral, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and buildings in Venice are all attractions in Italy. It was home to notable artists: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Bernini, Titian and Raphael. Composers, Scarlatti, Corelli, Vivaldi, Paganini, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, as well as modern Berio and Nono were significant in Italy's music. Notable scientific minds included: Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Enric Fermi, Alessandro Volta, Marcello Malpighi, Lazzaro Spallanzani, Camillo Golgi, and Guglielmo Marconi. Italy is a must for a Brendan tour.