Remember
the halcyon days of your last holiday in Tuscany; enjoying a long
alfresco lunch, the exuberant flow of good wine and conversation
followed by a siesta, when the cypresses cast long shadows over the
hillside? This sense of conviviality, which is part of La Dolce Vita, is
as much of a draw and a source of inspiration as the country’s rich
cultural and artistic heritage. Moreover, here are some of the most
romantic places to stay in Europe, be it a seventeenth century villa
hotel on the shores of one of the northern lakes, the luxurious cocoon
of your quarters on the Orient-Express or the cool exoticism of a
converted monastery hotel in the country’s deep south.
Italy is the country of great diversity. With a landscape that includes
the rumbling volcano of Mount Etna in Sicily, the mist-hazed hills and
lush valleys in Tuscany, a breathtaking coast that is Amalfi and
sun-baked beaches of Sardinia. A chic culture of designer boutiques,
restaurants and cafés can easily be found in every city but it is the
islands of Capri, Sicily and Sardinia, which have the reputation as a
playground for the rich and famous thanks to their sophistication
and
