Central Italy (Updated ed)

Discovers some of the most distinctive landscapes in Italy - volcanoes, mountains and lakes - visits numerous castles, palaces, Renaissance villas and gardens, as well as the stunning ancient Etruscan sites of Northern Lazio - reveals spectacular unspoilt Italian beaches such as the 16km of beach at Pescara, and medieval towns such as Guilianova - explores vast tracts of unspoilt wilderness in some four national parks - takes you to intriguing old towns such as Sulmona, Scanno, Pescocostanzo and Tagliacozzo, each with its own identity and cuisine 'In Italy's long and narrow peninsula, dense with cities and great monuments, autostrade and pizzerias, sultry sunglassed signorinas and Vespa-wrangling dudes, Abruzzo and Molise come as a breath of fresh air.

Sparsely populated, historically marginal to the great affairs of state, these two regions stand out for their majestic natural beauty and vast tracts of unspoiled wilderness'