Italy
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Swiss School of Management (Rome) Italy
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What would it be like to wake up in the centre of the Roman Empire,have a delicious lunch in a sumptuous 16th-century Renaissance villa, and go to bed in the capital of 21st-century designer chic? Visit Italy, taking in Rome, Florence and Milan, and the experience is yours.
But that’s not all. Italy combines art history and contemporary fashion with stunning natural landscapes: the turquoise waters of the Costa Smeralda offer one of Europe’s most beautiful stretches of sand, sea and sunshine, while the snow-covered slopes of the Dolomite mountains are a haven for winter sports enthusiasts.
Besides the renowned cities of Venice, Genoa and Naples. There are romantic Medieval hill towns, such as San Gimignano in Tuscany, and unspoilt fishing villages, like the unforgettable Positano on the Amalfi coast.
Visit vineyards and cellars to taste the very best regional wines with the Veneto, famed for the sparkling white prosecco, and Tuscany, home of the highly acclaimed robust red, Brunello di Montalcino. And to really get away from it all, take a boat to the islands of Sicily or Sardinia to experience rural hospitality in the blissful Mediterranean. Italy has so much to discover.
Rome
Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the ‘Eternal City’ of Rome (Roma) was once the administrative centre of this mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today, it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices but is superseded by Milan, in the north, for finance and business.
The legendary beginnings of Rome are related in the tale of Romulus and Remus. Princess Rhea Silvia, ravished by Mars, gave birth to the twins and abandoned them to fate. The River Tiber carried them down to the Palatine Hill, where a she-wolf mothered the babes until their discovery by the shepherd. Romulus later killed Remus, before going on to found Rome in the marshy lowlands of seven hills. The anniversary of Rome’s foundation 21 April 753BC, is now marked by a public holiday. The historians’ version is no less astonishing. It traces the rise of the city from unimportant pastoral settlement and the earliest remains date back to the ninth century BC ruled over by a string of emperors. Rome saw a second period of development during the 15th-century Renaissance, when the Papacy took permanent residence in the city. Although Rome’s power has since waned, the city remains the essence of European civilisation.
The romantic Piazza Navona with Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza di Spagna and the sweeping Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain immortalised by Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1959), all lie within walking distance of each other. Modern life continues amid this theatre of breathtaking monuments, as thousands of years of history are animated by more recent innovations, sophisticated boutiques, rowdy pizzerias and a merry-go-round of cars, and mopeds and buses.
Across the river and to the west, lies the Vatican State which is home to the Pope and spiritual centre of the Roman Catholic Church. South of the Vatican, one finds the bohemian quarter of Trastevere, packed with trattorie and small wine bars. Further south still is the Testaccio district, renowned for nightclubs and live music.
In August, it is hot and sticky and when most of the locals head for the coast. Many shops and bars close for the summer break and the streets are quite empty save for visitors. Until recently, Rome was frequently criticised for being a chaotic and poorly maintained. However, celebrations for the year 2000 prompted the completion of a massive urban renewal scheme. Tons of scaffolding were finally dismantled to reveal beautifully restored facades, cleverly revamped museums and a rationalised public transport system. Today the citizens and tourists alike continue to benefit from the improvements carried out for the Jubilee celebrations during the Jubilee, when the Eternal City celebrated the fact that the millennium was 2000 years since the birth of Christ.
