Italy has it all, from the mountains, ski resorts and the lakes in the north to the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. You can take your pick from crowded beaches and resorts to historical towns and cities. Tuscany has become so popular with the British that they now call it Chiantishire after the local wine.
There are 96 provinces making up 20 regions – Abruzzi, Basilicata (Lucania), Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Latium (Latina), Liguria, Lombardia (Lombardy), Marche, Molise, Piemonte (Piedmount), Puglia (Apulia), Sardegna (Sardinia), Sicilia (Sicily), Toscana (Tuscany), Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Val d'Aosta and Veneto.
Before even considering buying a property in Italy you must be prepared to cope with the way of life, fiery Latin temperament, lots of corruption and the fact that there are two economies – one black and one legitimate.
There are over 40,000 British people living in Italy on a permanent basis and a similar number have holiday homes.
Most foreigners pick Tuscany, Latium, Liguria, Lombardy, Campania and Sicily to buy their homes. The Adriatic coast and Sardinia also have ex-pat communities as do the major northern cities.