Planning a Trip

Italy as we know it was only united in the 1860s, and people in the north still tend to identify themselves as Milanese, Venetians, or Ligurians. Regional dialects are so diverse and strong that for a Venetian to converse with a Milanese, he has to resort to the common "textbook Italian" learned in school. For many who reside in the upper reaches of the Alps, Dolomites, and South Tirol, Italian is actually a second language after their native Germanic or Frankish dialect.