Heaven on Earth

ITALY - 301,323 sq km in all - is, without a doubt, a beautiful country.
From the north in Venice to the south in Sicily - despite the obvious economic disparity - the country is rich in history and culture.
There are many gems in the country. Each city has its own attractions.
Venice, for example, is famous for its gondolas. This is attracting thousands of tourists to Venice every year. Unlike other cities in Italy, the waterways in Venice take the role of roads while the gondolas replace the motorised and non-motorised land vehicles.
The part of Venice thronged by thousands of tourists every year is on an island, which is linked to the mainland by a bridge. As the Venice-Marco Polo airport is on the mainland, many passengers take the watertaxis into the city's main area, San Marco Square.
Many who have been to London's Trafalgar Square may be able to identify with San Marco Square - pigeons totalled as many as those who thronged the square. The pigeons make the monuments and old buildings their home.
And, Milan is definitely the fashion capital of Italy, if not Europe. Tourists, especially the Japanese, line up the stores at Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga, where Italy's best of fashion houses are located. In summer where sales are held, entire stocks of Max Mara, Ferragamo and Versace are snapped up within minutes.
Ferragamo stores, for example, seemed to be the first to complete the summer sales. "We finished our sales 10 days ago, madame ... The Japanese came and bought us out," a salesman told this reporter when asked about their sales items.
Florence holds many treasures including in the Church of the Santa Croce (Church of the Holy Cross) where the tombs of about 300 of the richest and most famous Florentine families are housed.
They include the tombs of Michelangelo who died in Rome but whose body was brought back to Florence, Machiavelli, Dante, Gioachino Rossini and Galileo.
Michaelangelo's David - described as the "perfect human body" – stands majestically in the famed Galleria del Accademia (Museum of the Arts). The second pieta - Virgin Mary holding Jesus after the cruxification – he carved when he was 60 years old is also housed there.
His first pieta, the one he did when he was much younger, found its home in St Peter's at the Vatican and his sculpture of Moses at St Johns' in Rome.
The best way to travel and see Italy is definitely by road. Italy's countryside is beautiful - fields and fields of sunflowers which are planted for its oil between Florence and Rome and lemon and olive orchards from Naples to Positano.
The sight of the sea when one gets into Genoa leaves one almost breathless. Active volcanoes, Mount Vesuvius in Naples and Mount Etna in Taormina, are sights to behold.
The train ride between Naples and Syracuse in Sicily is definitely unforgettable - not because it was an ardous eight-hour journey but a scenic coastal route.
Every corner of Italy's main cities tells a story which goes centuries back.
Rome, for instance, is like an open history book. Excavation work in the middle of the city reveals the Roman capital of old.
If there are heavens on earth, places in Italy can be called just that - Lago Maggiore (between Milan and Turin), Portofino (Genoa), Positano (Naples) and Taormina (Sicily), just to name a few.
A mere mention of Sicily would make one imagine it as the home of the Italian Mafia. Cities in Sicily such as Taormina and Messina have not suffered much because of this label. In fact, these two cities are tourists' playing ground during the summer.
"Mafia?" Taormina mayor Mario Bolognari asked. "Well, we are all mafias here," he said jokingly, pointing to the some of the city's businessmen met by this reporter.
Castelmola mayor Guiseppe Biondo is full of ideas of ways to promote his small city located on a hill overlooking Taormina. "I am planning a once a year festival of Castelmola," says the 37-year old mayor.
The view of the city at night from Castelmola is simply awesome. On the way up to Castelmola, one can also stop mid-point to visit what the locals dubbed as "Madonna In the Rocks". It may sound like a cocktail of some kind but it is a quaint little church in a small cave overlooking the city.
Many do not know that the city of Taormina hosts an annual film festival. The Taormina film festival, for example, merits Italy's best in the film industry. Guests often include international actors such as Franco Nero and his wife, Vanessa Redgrave. The film festival also features international new releases such as Nottinghill which starred Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
And it would not be complete if talking about Italy, one does not mention the food and the people.
The secret to the delectable array of dishes must be the use of the olive oil, which gives the extra smooth subtleness of the pastas, fish and beef.
Each city has its own specialty, be it the pasta, main dishes or desserts. And the expresso? Just the thing to start one's morning.
The people are equally beautiful, exuding charm and warmth, going all out to make total strangers feel at home. Greeting people, even total strangers irrespective of race and colour, with "Buon Giorno" or "Buena Sera", is like a religion - an act which should be emulated the world over.
Locals say throwing a coin into the Trevi Foundation in Rome will see one making a return visit. Make sure a coin is thrown into the fountain when one visits the city. A return visit is definitely a must.