Unforgettable hotels and inspirational travel ideas.

Dominated by the dramatic beauty of the Dolomites, Trentino Alto Adige is Italy's northernmost region, where Italy, Austria and Switzerland meet, and a major summer-and winter-holiday destination.

The string of medieval castles along the Adige valley indicates how, for centuries, Trentino Alto Adige's region has been a much contested part of Europe. As recently as World War I, the area provided the high altitude battleground on which much Italian and Austrian blood was spilled. At the end of the fighting, the mountainous terrain around Bolzano - known both as South Tyrol and Alto Adige – was incorporated into Italy and united with the predominantly Italian speaking Trentino.

Of all the towns in the area, Trento, with its picturesque old centre and avant-garde MART gallery, best displays the region’s desire to conserve the signs of its past whilst, at the same time, promoting the latest in contemporary arts and design. Bolzano, capital of Alto Adige, makes an excellent base from where to head off in to the mountains. In the summer, the slopes of the Italian Dolomites are covered with a carpet of lush green grass and delicate alpine flowers, its lakes and parks becoming major attractions for nature lovers and walkers. In winter, the ski resorts of Merano, Madonna di Campiglio and Val Gardena are inundated with tourists and winter sports fans, all eager to experience the magical atmosphere created by abundant supplies of snow.

The cities, countryside and mountains of Veneto all share the same graceful beauty which have inspired so many of Italy’s greatest artists.

Verona, Padua, Vicenza: three cities which occupy significant chapters of the history of Italian art and architecture. Verona is the city where, in the shadow of the ancient Roman amphitheatre, Shakespeare set his tragic love story between Romeo and Juliet. Works by Titian, Giorgione, Mantegna, Tiepolo, Veneto’s master painters, adorn Padua’s churches and basilicas. Palladio was responsible for the neoclassical perfection of Vicenza’s wonderfully palatial villas.

Much of Veneto’s appeal lies in its incredibly varied landscapes: the sunny beaches of Jesolo, Caorle and the Venetian lagoon; the fertile countryside along the banks of the Po, where Veneto’s Pinot, Amarone, Valpolicella and sparkling Prosecco wines are produced; the romantic shores of Lake Garda; the jagged precipices of the Eastern Dolomites, mountains which create the dramatic backdrop to picturesque Alpine towns such as Belluno and Asiago, and the elegant ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo.