It's a long story! Italy as a geographical area was mentioned as far back as during the age of the highly civilised Etruscan people, as is borne out by the manuscripts kept in some museums, especially in Tuscany and Latium. These in fact were the regions where most Etruscan settlements are found, although they also populated Umbria, Campania and some zones of what is now Emilia Romagna and Lombardy.

Then came the Romans who, starting from the 3rd century BC, unified the whole peninsular under their dominion (and indeed most of Europe in general).

The word Italia appears on a coin dating back to the 1st century BC which was minted by the confederation of the Italic peoples who rose up against Rome. The coin was found in the region of Abruzzo in Corfinio, the ancient Corfinium, capital of the confederation with the name of Italica. The long Roman domination (from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD) has left an indelible mark in Italy with its roads, aqueducts, temples, monuments, towns and cities, bridges, theatres and so on - all relics and memories of a past that is remote and yet also very present, a past that can be seen in every part of the country. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy was invaded and dominated for centuries by foreign populations, especially in the south and Sicily. Thanks to the success of independent city states in the Centre and North such as Venice, Florence, Siena, Genoa, and Milan, Italy nevertheless became a flourishing and civilised country of trade and the arts. Later however, the small independent states could not hold out against the invasions of the great states of Spain and Austria. Only the small kingdom of Piedmont remained independent and after the interlude of Napoleon's occupation it became the "driving force" behind il Risorgimento, the great movement that led to the unification of Italy in 1870 under the Royal House of Savoia. After the Second World War, in 1946 a popular referendum abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Italy a Republic. The rest is the history of recent times. An on-going, fascinating story to follow always. Italy and its regions: beyond the bounds of the big cities Is Rome in Latium or Campania? Is Milan in Veneto or Lombardy? Easy to answer for Italians perhaps, but for the rest of us it may be tricky to connect Rome, Naples, Florence, Milan and Venice with their respective regions of Latium, Campania, Lombardy and Veneto. Perhaps Tuscany is the exception in this regard as it has traditionally enjoyed a special relationship with foreigners, the British Isles and North America in particular. The holiday that British Prime Minister Tony Blair took in Tuscany in the summer of '98 has further fortified this bond. So how can we start talking about the regions? To start with, they are main territorial administrative divisions of the Italian state and there are 20 of them: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Latium, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, Apulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, the Aosta Valley, and Veneto. Each has accumulated a historical, artistic and cultural heritage of extraordinary value over time that offers an attractive alternative to the great art cities. So why not come and venture into an Italy which, when stepping off the beaten track of the main tourism flows, is practically unknown. The Italy of the regions: more Italy than ever before!