Favorite Italy Moments

Absorbing the splendors of ancient Rome. Spend a full day among the magnificent ruins of the ancient city, from the heights of the Palatine to the valley of the Colosseum, and let nostalgia for the glorious and heady days of imperial Rome overcome you.

Being dazzled by the mosaics in Ravenna. The brilliance of the mosaics glittering within Ravenna's Byzantine churches and monuments is especially touching because the heavenly and earthly scenes are so painstakingly and sincerely rendered -- a last hurrah before Europe slipped into the Dark Ages.

Taking time for food and wine in Tuscany. Give the sightseeing a break and concentrate on gluttony in all its forms when visiting this most picturesque and bountiful of Italian regions. Build lazy lunches into your itinerary, stop in at every deli that looks appealing, and sample all the wines, cured meats, and cheeses you possibly can. Our favorite of many options? Montalcino.

Standing in front of your favorite painting or sculpture in any museum. Here in the world's richest repository of Western art, you can take your pick from hundreds of masterpieces. One of our favorites is Carpaccio's Story of St. Ursula, a color-saturated, action-packed medieval travelogue in Venice's Accademia.

Cruising on the Grand Canal. Even Venetians take their noses out of their newspapers for the trip along the Grand Canal, and it doesn't matter how many times we've done it, either -- we can't take our eyes off the palazzi lining the banks or keep from musing on the fact that Marco Polo, Casanova, and Byron once slipped down the storied waterway, too.

A trip on a steamer up the western shore of Lago di Garda. The boat passes villas and gardens and pulls into one pretty town after another. Medieval Limone sul Garda the shores are planted with lemon groves. Most dramatically, the Alps form a solid curtain at the northern end of the lake.

Hiking in the Cinque Terre. Sure, the Cinque Terre's paths can be packed, and American-accented English too often disturbs the getaway experience, but scene after scene of the azure sea, vineyards clinging to hillsides, and mirage-like villages hugging the rocky coast are just stunning. A big plus: You can hike until your body screams "No more!" then make the return trip by train.

The heart-stopping and jaw-dropping Amalfi Coast drive. Even the rapturous view from the sea of this spectacular coastline doesn't prepare you for the unbeatable rush of riding a bus along the death-defying curves of the Via Amalfitana. With rugged mountains on one side and sheer drop-offs to the water on the other, it's a thrill ride that goes on for 30km (18 miles).

Going back in time in Pompeii. No other archaeological site is so thoroughly transporting: Frozen in time by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, ancient Pompeii evokes an uncanny sense of familiarity in many who wander the sophisticated ruins of the buried city. It heads into 2011 in a fragile state and uncertainties about access for future visitors.