In so many other parts of the world, culture is an optional extra, something you do in your spare time. In Tuscany, it’s at the root of everything – though not in an elitist way. A Piero della Francesca fresco exudes the spirit of a region that has long spent its money on beauty and quality. But so does a bowl of ribollita soup, made with seasonal cavolo nero and served with a spiral of just-pressed olive oil. Tuscany also combines fierce pride and care for detail with unpretentious, down-to-earth manners.

The legendary Amalfi Coast has been seducing visitors since ancient times with its magnificent scenery and sophisticated yet laid-back lifestyle that was ‘discovered’ by the jet-set in the 1960s. Until the Strada Statale 163 was blasted out of the base of the Lattari mountains in 1852, there was no road linking the small communities along the coast. Maybe it is for this reason that beyond the five-star hotels and super-yachts, another much simpler, rural lifestyle still exists; up in the hills, farmers cultivate plots of steeply terraced land.

With its pretty towns and villages and endless glorious views, a visit to the costiera needs to be taken slowly, even if you want to fit in some culture, schedule visits to churches, museums and gardens around lazy lunches, dips in the shimmering sea, sunset aperitivi or simply hanging out and basking in those extraordinary vistas. Don't miss the drive from Positano to Vietri sul Mare: along its narrow, twisting length, the 'Road of a 1,000 Bends' passes some of the most dramatic and beautiful stretches of coastal scenery on the planet.

The Romans were first to see the potential of the Italian lakes as a holiday destination. They built their sumptuous villas in some of the prime positions around Como and Garda, where the southern foothills of the Alps sweep down towards the Mediterranean and the fertile plains of northern Italy, forming some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe. Modern tourism has transformed the towns, but the lakes, mountains and views are as beautiful as they were 2,000 years ago, and the villages, Baroque gardens and lakeside hotels are still wonderful places to enjoy a holiday.

There are days when visitors to this exquisite jewel box of a city outnumber locals two-to-one, and when getting from the station to St Mark's square is a battle. But despite this, Venice never loses its capacity to enchant: stepping out of the station to be greeted by a glittering canal with the dome of San Simeon Piccolo beyond remains heart-stopping, whether you're doing it for the first time or the 100th. And even at peak visitor periods, you're never more than a bridge away from quiet campi (squares), churches concealing luminous Madonnas, or handsome Gothic palazzi.

Sicily has long been a crossroads and crucible of Mediterranean culture, and the island today is a fascinating palimpsest in which Greek temples, Norman churches and Baroque palazzos emerge from the rich fabric. But it also has natural wonders aplenty, from the smoking craters of Mount Etna to the still relatively undiscovered beaches of the southern coast. With parts of the island on the same latitude as the North African coast, Sicily has a mild climate that makes it an attractive destination for much of the year. Spring and autumn are sheer delight.

Wnith Puglia's ancient sites and unfussy charms, Italy’s most secluded coast makes a rewarding alternative to the tourist-laden north. To look at its olive trees, whitewashed, hilltop towns, scorched earth and unforgiving heat, one might deem the region to be closer in look and feel to the melting pot of Greece than it is to the grandeur of Rome, although look carefully and you'll find the landscape is stamped with many footprints – Byzantine, Arab, Balkan and Romanesque included. It’s not that the Renaissance bypassed southern Italy, but it certainly left fewer calling cards.

A few years ago, Umbria was known, if at all, as Tuscany’s less alluring sister. Not any more: these days Italy’s 'green heart' is every bit as celebrated as its more famous neighbour. The reasons are simple: the region has all Tuscany’s attributes – and a few more. True, it doesn’t have the big set pieces of Florence and Siena, but it does has a coronet of far more intimate and easily visited hill-towns – Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Gubbio, Todi, Spoleto and Norcia. Each has enough to keep you busy for a day or more, and none is more than a few miles from the next.

Balmy, maritime Liguria is generally best known for the Cinque Terre, the string of five historic and colourful villages spaced along the region's spectacular cliff-edged coast. Thereare also lesser known quaint coastal towns such as Portovenere and Sestri Levante, and of course there’s Portofino, pretty as a paintbox with its tall pastel houses cradling a harbour lined with bars and restaurants, and presided over by a pine-shaded castle. It still preserves the atmosphere of the fishing village it once was.

Sardinia has some of the Mediterranean’s most seductive beaches, yet within tootling distance of some great restaurants, agreeable bars and the soothing evening ritual of the passeggiata. When you’ve had your fill of beaches, there’s plenty more to divert you: the magnificent rugged landscape of the granite interior, the fabulous seafood and, for history buffs, the strange and evocative remnants of Sardinia’s ancient nuraghic culture, not to mention a scattering of Carthaginian and Roman ruins, Pisan churches and Spanish Baroque.