As I shared in Chapter Eight of An Italian Journey: "The photos you show from your travels around Italy may be of the gorgeous countryside, but the stories you tell will be of the beautiful, in-love-with-life people."
E.M. Forster was smitten with the Italian people as well. In his first book about Italy he wrote: "Love and understand the Italians, for the people are more marvelous than the land."
To tempt you to go to Italy to meet these marvelously warm and hospitable people here is a sampling of my favorite photos of il Bel Paese, the Beautiful Country, as Dante called Italy.
