Tuscany - Toscana
Tuscany is the most famous region of Italy. The region has just about everything: sea, countryside, mountains, delicious cuisine, famous wines (Brunello di Montalcino, Sassicaia, Chianti), art and culture, and very popular cities such as Florence, Lucca, Siena, Pisa and Arezzo. Not to mention unknown villages where you find less tourists. There are many natural hot springs such as Chianciano Terme, Montecatini Terme and Saturnia. Tuscany offers an extensive coastline, Versilia, Livorno, Grosseto, Monte Argentario and the beautiful Island of Elba.
Tuscany is the most famous region of Italy. The region has just about everything: sea, countryside, mountains, delicious cuisine, famous wines (Brunello di Montalcino, Sassicaia, Chianti), art and culture, and very popular cities such as Florence, Lucca, Siena, Pisa and Arezzo. Not to mention unknown villages where you find less tourists. There are many natural hot springs such as Chianciano Terme, Montecatini Terme and Saturnia. Tuscany offers an extensive coastline, Versilia, Livorno, Grosseto, Monte Argentario and the beautiful Island of Elba. |
| Tuscan landscape |
Tuscany is a vast area (22.990 m² with a population of 3,73 million. It is a region with a relatively low population density (158 inhabitants/km², just as Marche) so traffic is not really busy compared to other regions such as Lombardy, Lazio and Liguria. Florence, the regional capital, has just over 380.000 inhabitants. Tuscany is a region with no significant earthquake risk. Just in the north of Tuscany, near the border with Emilia-Romagna and the Apennines, there is a moderate risk of earthquakes.
Airports: Pisa and Florence
Umbria
Umbria is often called the green heart of Italy and is repeatedly compared to Tuscany. In Umbria there are beautiful towns such as Assisi, Perugia and Orvieto. Lake Trasimeno is the major tourist attraction, where you can practice all kinds of sports, kitesurfing, windsurfing, biking, hiking, … The Marmore waterfalls near Terni are the highest artificial waterfalls in the world.
Umbria is famous for its delicious dishes with black truffle. The town of Norcia is known for its wide variety of prepared meats, while Perugia is known for its chocolate, Baci Perugina. The most famous local wine is Rosso di Montefalco.
Umbria is the region with the lowest population density of central Italy, with just 103 inhabitants/km². Eastern Umbria is at risk of earthquakes.
Airport: Perugia
Umbria is often called the green heart of Italy and is repeatedly compared to Tuscany. In Umbria there are beautiful towns such as Assisi, Perugia and Orvieto. Lake Trasimeno is the major tourist attraction, where you can practice all kinds of sports, kitesurfing, windsurfing, biking, hiking, … The Marmore waterfalls near Terni are the highest artificial waterfalls in the world.  |
| the Marmore waterfalls |
Umbria is the region with the lowest population density of central Italy, with just 103 inhabitants/km². Eastern Umbria is at risk of earthquakes.
Airport: Perugia
Marche - Le Marche
Marche is a hilly and mountainous region in central Italy with a long coastline along the Adriatic Sea. The coast is very cosmopolitan and is flooded by tourists who spend the day enjoying the sandy beaches and the night life. Urbino and Ascoli Piceno are the most beautiful cities of Marche. The heart of the Marche is mountainous with the Sibillini Mountains. From Ancona you can take the ferry to Croatia and Greece.
The delicacies of Marche are porchetta (stuffed pork with garlic, fennel and rosemary) and stuffed olives are a specialty of Ascoli Piceno. The most famous wine of the region is Rosso Conero of Ancona.
Marche is almost entirely at risk for moderate earthquakes.
Airport: Ancona
Marche is a hilly and mountainous region in central Italy with a long coastline along the Adriatic Sea. The coast is very cosmopolitan and is flooded by tourists who spend the day enjoying the sandy beaches and the night life. Urbino and Ascoli Piceno are the most beautiful cities of Marche. The heart of the Marche is mountainous with the Sibillini Mountains. From Ancona you can take the ferry to Croatia and Greece.  |
| porchetta |
Marche is almost entirely at risk for moderate earthquakes.
Airport: Ancona
Lazio
Lazio is one of the most famous regions in Italy. Rome, the capital of Italy, is an important city for art, culture, history and religion. But Lazio is much more than just Rome. There are some beautiful lakes such as Lake Bolsena or Lake Albano and Lake Bracciano, where actor Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes, the nice hills of the Castelli Romani, the beach resorts such as Gaeta, Terracina or Ladispoli, and lovely landscapes and nature. Civitavecchia is a major port where ferries leave for Sicily and Sardinia and where large cruise ships dock.
The most famous cheese of Lazio is the Pecorino Romano DOP, a spicy cheese made from sheep milk. Romans love Abbacchio, baked lamb with garlic and fresh rosemary, and as a side dish Carciofi alla Romana, artichokes stuffed with garlic and parsley, delicious dishes which can be combined with a local wine from the Castelli Romani or Cerveteri di Viterbo.
Airports: Rome (Fiumicino and Ciampino)
Lazio is one of the most famous regions in Italy. Rome, the capital of Italy, is an important city for art, culture, history and religion. But Lazio is much more than just Rome. There are some beautiful lakes such as Lake Bolsena or Lake Albano and Lake Bracciano, where actor Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes, the nice hills of the Castelli Romani, the beach resorts such as Gaeta, Terracina or Ladispoli, and lovely landscapes and nature. Civitavecchia is a major port where ferries leave for Sicily and Sardinia and where large cruise ships dock.  |
| Carciofo alla Romana |
Airports: Rome (Fiumicino and Ciampino)
More numbers about Central Italy (provinces, population, surface and population density)
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| Central Italy (data: 01/01/2019; source: Istat) |
Read more about the other parts of Italy: Northern Italy, Southern Italy, the Islands.
