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Italy, anytime for everyone

How Italian tour operators promoted their country in a different light. SHONALI MUTHALALY reports

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS The main facade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Armchair tourism is passé. Once upon a time, the only way you could experience new cultures was by closing your eyes and imagining yourself being serenaded on a balcony in Venice, eating a crusty croissant in Paris or setting the tribal dance floor on fire in Tarzan-country.

Today, with travel becoming cheaper and Indian travellers getting richer and adventurous enough to stray from the dal-chawal route, it's not surprising that the world is coming to India, waving exotic tourist brochures all the way.

At a recent road show at the Park Sheraton, as part of Festa Italiana, (conducted by the Indo-Italian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), a group of Italian tour operators met with Indian travel agents. The aim was to promote Italy in a different light. After all, for the well-read, blasé new Indian tourist, travel is about more than just shopping and posing besides old monuments.

Popular destination

So, the presentation concentrated more on showcasing Italy as all-year-round destination, with areas to explore, islands that are well off the Nikon-beaten path and even suggested activities for travellers, such as a pizza-making class in the grandly titled `School of Pizza'.

But of course, any introduction to Italy has to begin with Rome. Or Rome and the region of Lazio. "They have a long past and have housed many different artistic styles through the different ages — Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern Art... " says a presenter flipping through slides of the Colosseum, and adding "Rome is a living museum of 3,000 years of western art."

There's the Vatican City, with St. Peter's Basilica and Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel. "And then there are the squares, which are lively places and popular meeting spots."

At Piazza Navona, once famed for jousting, horse-racing, and water festivals (according to legend, in the stifling dog-days of August, the piazza was flooded and Rome's aristocracy had their gilded carriages pulled around the artificial lake, throwing money out on every side), there's the `fountain of the rivers,' "which also contains water from the Ganges."

But here's what you may not have known about Rome. You can get around the city by horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, boats or on a balloon. And if you're sporty, visit Rome during the Marathon of Rome, or watch the Equestrian steeple chase.

UNESCO site

The ruins of an ancient Pompeii temple.

Lazio, the region in which Rome is, is also a historical treasure and a UNESCO site because of its Italian renaissance architecture, monuments and cemeteries. And for those in pursuit of beauty, it has breathtaking volcanic lakes.

And then there's Vicenza, which is an hour from Verona. For everyone who hadn't heard about the region, the Italian tour operator helpfully added, "It's where Deepti Bhatnagar came to shoot `Home Shanti Home'. And where they shot the autumn winter catalogue for Globus." When she still didn't get a reaction, she added, "Diesel Sportwear is made there. And Sonia Maino Gandhi comes from Lusiana, Vicenza."

Besides being the birthplace of Sonia Gandhi, Vicenza, located at the foot of the Berici mountains, dates back to Roman times, and once inside the Medieval quarters of the city centre, visitors can wander through cobbled streets and soak in the flavours of the past, with frequent splurges at the high-fashion boutiques lined up on either side.

If you're tempted by the lazy life, try Ischia, an island where people take leisure seriously. Famous for its spas, the island's largest thermal park is Castiglione, outside the main town. Over here, you can soak in the 10 pools, which vary from hot to freezing cold, or just book yourself for some mud therapy. The island itself is picturesque, famous for its good food and easy life, and has a harbour scattered with yachts, framed by the sky and sea, both the most incredible shade of blue.

And if a holiday to you means more than just lounging about, try Cinque Terre, which is slowly being discovered by the global tourist. Consisting of 18 km of coastline in Northern Italy, with vineyards and terraced hills, it has five villages that are built into the rocks. A local train connects them, and this region is perfect for walks, mountain trails, snorkelling, kayaking, cycling and scuba diving.

Not surprising then that Italy has become India's third most visited destination.

"For," smiles Salvatore Ianniello, representative of ENIT (Italian Tourism Board), "you may have the world if you have Italy."

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