The bright summer has long rustled with green leaves. Many Europeans are already updating their interiors with red and green Christmas accessories. And on the Russian internet, the query 'Schengen visa' is increasingly appearing alongside the query 'ski resorts'. Where should a winter tourist go? For example, to Italy – a country not lacking attention from vacationers in any season.
So, the visa to Italy is already in your pocket, you just need to pack your suitcase. What to put in it? If you are looking for where you left your favorite skis the year before last, keep in mind that the Alpine mountain resorts of northern Italy can greet you with temperatures below minus twenty degrees Celsius. And south of the 'Eternal City', Christmas 'frosts' reach +12. So, if you don't plan to fall out of a gondola in Venice in December, a light sweater or cardigan is the most you'll need.
If some road, in strict accordance with the proverb, has brought you to Rome – the city on seven hills, the Eternal City, the only city in the world that hides an entire theocratic state of the Vatican – do not rush to leave it. The Christmas fireworks and salutes account for all of the Vatican's military expenditures. If you also consider that neither the citizens of the capital, nor the city hall, nor the Italian government lag behind the Catholic center, it is easy to imagine into what bright and cheerful colors Christmas Rome is repainted. Of course, it would not be superfluous to visit the Colosseum and the Forum, to see the famous Moses by Michelangelo, and between excursions to pay tribute to Italian cuisine.
Dozens of Italian cities can boast of great history and architecture, museums and art galleries, as well as friendly, albeit sometimes a bit impulsive, local residents. For example, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is worth visiting even if your knowledge of art ends with the drawing 'How Not to Draw a Horse' by an unknown artist. In Milan, founded by the Celts, besides artifacts covered in the dust of centuries, you can look into the La Scala theater, stroll through fashionable boutiques, and try the famous panettone – the city's signature cakes.
The main attractions of Venice and Pisa are well known to everyone, and the beauty of the Locarno lake region can be left unmentioned – you will see it all yourself if you are in these fairy-tale places. But to visit the beaches of the island of Capri, so beloved by Russian writers, it is better to wait for a summer vacation.