They symbolise the romance and unique heritage of Venice, but the lagoon city's famed gondoliers are becoming known for drunken antics and could soon be forced to take drug and alcohol tests.

The Mayor of Florence has denied that the Renaissance city is a hotbed of "bunga bunga", amid a growing scandal involving prostitutes being paid for sex by council officials and local worthies.

Giovanni Palatucci has long been praised as an 'Italian Schindler', but the US Holocaust museum is now removing Giovanni Palatucci from its exhibits after research claimed he was a zealous Nazi collaborator.

Rarely are hikers rewarded so richly for their toils as on the steep slopes of Italy's Cinque Terre region, where five ancient fishing villages cling to the sheer slate cliffs below.

The palazzos were built for nobility, but it is artists, fashion designers and hoteliers that uphold their grandeur today, says Kate Simon.

Silvio Berlusconi's private disco featured not only aspiring showgirls performing striptease acts as sexy nuns and nurses, but one woman dressed up as President Barack Obama.

Increasing numbers of campsite holidaymakers fly to Italy, but taking the decision to drive across mainland Europe is worth the effort.

After being buried under ash from Mt Vesuvius almost 2000 years ago, the Roman city of Pompeii rose again, becoming one of the world's most famous historic sites.

Justine Tyerman finds Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage site on Italy’s Ligurian Coast, just as she had envisaged.

The Salvatore Ferragamo show concentrates on shapes. All in black, white and navy blue, with no prints or bold shades, the clothes have to speak for themselves. Massimiliano Giornetti, designer for the Florentine brand best known for its accessories, gives his winter styles a voice through sculpted silhouettes and carefully chosen fabrics. A few examples: a wide Alpaca jacket is worn with an A-line short skirt in pony leather; an oversized cashmere pullover is paired with a dainty slip with beaded hemline; and a classic overcoat becomes even more classy when worked in shiny silk. Even fur and leather are worked to highlight the artistry of the collection, starting with suede stitched in smocking, or beaver shorn to look like satin. The famous Ferragamo shoe next winter is a knee-high boot with pointed toe and relatively low stiletto heel, cut out at the instep and laced up the barelegged back. The latest Ferragamo bag is a shopper with metal inserts.

Fendi is to fur what Ferrari is to cars. Yet given current concerns about animal rights, the brand has moved from the lavish fur coats that were all the rage in the 1980s to a more discreet way of interpreting fur as fashion. Fendi creative director Silvia Venturini, daughter of one of the company's five founding sisters, opted for wisps of fur used as hair decorations, bracelets, or charms hanging from Fendi bags. Fur also appeared as inserts in a skirt or a dress, or sheered and fashioned into a cozy, but not showy, jacket. Long fur, usually goat, also seen on other runways during Milan's preview showings, was used to make up a skirt or a cape.

Justine Tyerman discovers Castelluccio, in Umbria, Italy.

Justine Tyerman keeps a promise made nearly three decades ago to make a pilgrimage to Rome, The Eternal City.

Here are some of the world's key doomsday destinations and other places marked by fear and fascination.

Italy's most prominent anti-Mafia campaigner has appeared in court to sue the Mobsters who ordered his death.

Julia Shallcrass explores the ancient remnants of Rome, from its dark history to the Vatican City.

Tempo and quick recycling have been identified by the All Blacks as the key methods to avoid being dragged into a dog fight against Italy.