Italian Peninsula

Italy has more history and culture packed into it than many other countries combined. The island of Malta offers ancient sites, scenic getaways and marvellous aquatic activities.

• Italy (Italian: Italia), officially the Italian Republic (Repubblica italiana), was once the core of the mighty Roman Empire, and the cradle of the Renaissance. It is also home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, including high art and monuments.  Italy is famous for its delicious cuisine, trendy fashions, luxury sports cars and motorcycles, diverse regional cultures and dialects, as well as for its various landscapes from the seas to the Alps and Apennines, which makes reason for its nickname Il Bel Paese (the Beautiful Country).
• Although small, Malta has a vast and rich history, with evidence for habitation going back to the Neolithic era (5th millennium BC). The country boasts the world's most ancient standing buildings (the Neolithic temples), and its strategic location and good harbours in the middle of the Mediterranean have attracted Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Crusaders, the French and finally the British, with the colonial period lasting until 1964.
• The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) is the world's oldest republic and Europe's third smallest state. It is the sole survivor of the patchwork of independent states that used to make up the Italian peninsula before the unification of Italy. It lies 657 m (2,156 ft) above sea level with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and Adriatic coast, only 10 km (6.2 mi) from Rimini. Legend has it that the founder of San Marino, a stonemason, arrived from the island of Rab in Dalmatia, and climbed Mount Titano to found a small community of Christians, persecuted for their faith by the Emperor Diocletian.
• The Vatican City (Italian: Città del Vaticano; Latin: Civitas Vaticana) is the world's smallest country both by area and by population, and is the center of Catholicism. As a district of Rome, it encompasses the Vatican City State (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae), as well as the surrounding Roman neighborhoods of Borgo and Prati. St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are all in Vatican City. This tiny country completely within Rome is packed with more history and artwork than most cities in the world, and indeed many countries.