Italy is a country in Southern Europe that is home to more artistic and culturally historical sites than anywhere else in the world. It is also famous worldwide for its cuisine, its fashion, its luxury sports cars, and also for its amazing coast, and beautiful mountains. There are also two separate mini independent states that are located within the country, Vatican City and San Marino. Neither of them are in the EU, but they are in the European Monetary Union and the Schengen Region. It is a diverse culture and with that diverse culture come variations in dialect. While most Italians speak Italian, there are some variations like Sicilian. Along with the variations, there is a sense of pride in whatever area of Italy they are from and they generally are very vocal about their pride and are willing to defend it. Be careful when saying things about the different cultures or places in Italy, you never know who you may offend.
Italy itself is a part of the EU and the Schengen Region and therefore the visa regulations are the same as in the others countries that are a part of these agreements. You are allowed to travel within the Schengen area, but remember a 90-day counter begins once you enter and is not reset by travel outside it. Once you arrive in Italy, the main ways you will probably be traveling are by train, car or boat (Venice). If you travel by train, keep in mind that depending on how much you are willing to pay, you could end up traveling in a very comfortable way. There are different train systems and companies within Italy and while all of them are reliable, some are better than others depending on whether or not you are traveling in groups or alone, or if you wish to be able to work on the train. In order to pay for these sometimes expensive trips, you will need to use the Euro, the official currency of almost every country in the EU. If you wish to travel by car, it might be best to only do so in Northern Italy where the highways and roads are more developed than in Southern Italy. Whichever part of Italy you decide to travel in, you are sure to find an amazingly unique cultural experience filled with beautiful scenery and exquisite cuisine.
