With
more than 47.7 million tourists a year (2013), Italy is the fifth highest tourist earner,
and fifth most visited country in the world, behind France (84.7 million (2013)), United States (69.8 million (2013)), Spain (60.7 million (2013)) and China (55.3 million (2013)). People mainly visit Italy for
its rich art, cuisine, history, fashion andculture, its beautiful coastline and beaches, its mountains,
and priceless ancient monuments. Italy also contains more World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world.
Tourism
is one of Italy's fastest growing and most profitable industrial sectors, with
an estimated revenue of € 136.1 billion
People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to visit the
peninsula for touristic reasons were aristocrats during the Grand Tour,
beginning in the late 17th century, and flourishing in the 18th century.
Rome, as the capital of the
powerful and influential Roman Empire, attracted thousands to the city and country from all over the empire,
which included most of the Mediterranean, Northern Africa, mainland Great
Britain (England) and the parts of the Middle East. Traders and merchants came
to Italy from several different parts of the world
Islands such as Capri became popular in the late 18th century and first
decade of the 19th century
When the empire fell in 476 AD, Rome was no longer the epicentre of
European politics and culture; on the other hand, it was the base of the papacy, which then
governed the growing Christian religion, meaning that Rome remained one of Europe's
major places of pilgrimage. Pilgrims, for centuries and still today, would come
to the city, and that would have been the early equivalent of
"tourism" or "religious tourism". The trade empires of
Venice, Pisa and Genoa meant that several traders, businessmen and merchants
from all over the world would also regularly come to Italy. In the 16th and
early 17th century, with the height of the Renaissance, several students came
to Italy to study Italian architecture, such as Inigo Jones.
Grand Tour
Real "tourism" only affected in Italy in the second half of the
17th century, with the beginning of the Grand Tour. This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were
British, visited parts of Europe; Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean places
were amongst the most popular. This was in order to study ancient architecture
and the local culture. The Grand Tour was in essence triggered by the book Voyage to Italy, by Roman Catholic priest Richard Lassels, and published in 1670. Once inside what would be modern-day Italy, these
tourists would begin by visiting Turin for a short while. On the way there,
Milan was also a popular stop, yet a trip to the city was not considered
essential, and several passed by, or simply stayed for a short period of time.
If a person came via boat, then they would remain a few days in Genoa. Yet, the
main destination in Northern Italy was Venice, which was considered a vital
stop, as well as cities around it such as Verona, Vicenza
and Padua. Tourists rarely, yet occasionally, got to Trieste.
As the Tour went on, Tuscan cities were also very important itinerary
stops. Florence was a major attraction, and other Tuscan towns, such as Siena,
Pisa, Lucca and San Gimignano, were also considered important destinations. The
most prominent stop in Central Italy, however, was Rome, a major centre for the
arts and culture, as well as an essential city for a Grand Tourist. Later, they would go down to the Bay of Naples, and after their discovery in 1756, Pompeii and Herculaneum were popular
too. Sicily was considered a significant part of the trail, and several, such
as Goethe, visited the island.
