Did you know that Italy is the fifth most visited country in the world? I mean we’re not too surprised, after all it’s the home to some truly delicious indulgences – pizza, pasta, vino! Whilst that might be a deciding factor for you, (and absolutely no judgement if it is!) however here are five brilliant reasons to move to Italy:
1. Close to Home
We understand for some British expats, having good access to home is very important. Italy is very quick, easy and affordable to get to. Both EasyJet and RyanAir fly to 22 Italian airports regularly and between all the airlines, Italy is fairly well covered. A flight from London to Northern Italy can take as little as two hours and around three hours to get to the southern regions!
2. Incredible Food
If you are a real foodie or a budding chef, Italy couldn’t be more of suitable home for you! Each Italian region, town and family has their own special dishes which reflect the environment around them, meaning you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to trying out new recipes. When you think of Italian food, there is no doubt that pizza and pasta will come to mind first – however, Italy is actually very well known for their healthy Mediterranean diet. As a matter of fact, Southern Italy has long been celebrated for having one of the healthiest diets in the world, with a high consumption of fruits, vegetables, lean protein such as fish and legumes.
This wouldn’t be a proper Moving to Italy blog post, without acknowledging and commemorating Italy’s most amazing creations of pasta, pizza and gelato! These are some of the worlds favourite foods and realistically, could we imagine life without them? … I didn’t think so! Pasta has been eaten in Italy every since the 4th century BC and continues to be one of the most popular foods around the globe. The invention of pizza, came a little later. Pizza evolved from flat bread dishes in Naples, Italy in the 18th – early 19th century and long may it live on!
3. Mediterranean Climate
Italy is home to hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters – unfortunately, it’s not quite far enough from the UK to escape the rain! However, the climate varies considerably from the north to the south of Italy. In northern regions, you can expect extremely cold winters but very hot and humid summers. Central Italy’s climate is a lot milder, as they have a shorter winter season than that of the north – that means long balmy summers! In the southern regions, you will rarely experience a harsh winter and summer temperatures can reach 40 degrees.
4. Picturesque landscape
The landscape of Italy is extremely diverse. From the stunning mountains in the Alps, to the beautiful lakes such as Lake Garda and Lake Como – there’s defiantly something appealing for everyone. Italy is home to some beautiful landscapes that you won’t be able to find anywhere else in the world, such as Scala dei Turchi, a tiered rock formation in southern Sicily, Cinque Terre, a collection of five villages built on terraces carved directly into the rock face, Cascate delle Marmore, the world’s tallest man-made waterfall – any many, many more. Italy is also home to the most volcanoes in Europe and all three of Europe’s active volcanoes can be found here, so there is defiantly a lot to explore!
5. Culture
Italian culture is mainly shaped by the arts, family, religion and food. Family is extremely important to Italians, and traditional arts, crafts, songs and dances, as well as beloved recipes, are passed down through the generations. Italians are extremely proud of their unique culture and actively strive to keep traditions alive within the more modern generations. They have many events and festivals that take place throughout the year which have been going for centuries and no event is just put on for the tourists!