Things to See in Italy

Welcome to the world's greatest architectural cockup. Its creator, Bonanno Pisan, was in trouble three tiers in when the tower began to list badly to the south. Things got worse at the rate of about 1mm a year, but at least it gave Galileo a chance to throw rocks from the bell tower to test his theory of gravity. Today it's 4.1m (13.5ft) off the perpendicular.

Although its size conjures up the Empire that ruled through intimidation, brutality and down-turned thumbs, the Colosseum has been a little humbled. The Christian-eating lions have been reduced to stray kitty cats (who will eat anything regardless of religious affiliation), and weeds sprout among the 50,000 seats.

This basilica saw heavy damage and four deaths during a series of earthquakes in 1997. Years of painstaking restoration - including piecing together frescoes from crumbled bits, some not much larger than a grain of sand - will probably go on until at least 2010.

Venice's Grand Canal is the artery along which courses the city's lifeblood. To ply its length time and again, on each occasion making new discoveries, is a pleasure only the most insensitive souls could tire of.

Victim of the world's most famous volcano disaster, 2.3 million visitors annually make Pompeii's magnificent ruins seem as crowded as the ancient streets must once have been. Ever since Pliny the Younger described the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, the city has been the stuff of books, scholarly and frivolous, and a perfect subject for the big screen.

Dominating the landscape in eastern Sicily, Mt Etna (3350m/12730ft) is Europe's largest live volcano and one of the world's most active. Eruptions occur frequently, and visitors should be aware that excursions are at the mercy of volcanic activity. People are no longer allowed to climb to the craters.

Via dei Templi runs through the middle of the archaeological park, dividing it into two sections, with the most spectacular temples to the right. The Temple of Hercules is the oldest of the five temples contained within the park, all of which are atmospherically illuminated at night. There is also a museum in the complex which houses a collection of artefacts.

One of the world's most famous art images, Leonardo da Vinci's wonderful mural depicting the Last Supper decorates a wall of the Cenacolo Vinciano, the refectory adjoining Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie. Painted between 1495 and 1498, the work captures the moment when Jesus uttered the words 'One of you will betray me'. It has been extensively restored.

Art lovers visit Padua just to see the lively Giotto frescoes in this chapel. These fine examples of the master's art are on the cusp between the two-dimensional art of his contemporaries and the remarkable explosion of new creativity that was still decades away. Booking ahead is necessary, and the admission ticket is also valid for the adjacent museum.

To enter the Uffizi, which qualifies as the world's oldest gallery, is to be thrust head reeling, heart pumping and mouth watering into the core of the Italian Renaissance and the greatest concentration of Florentine and Italian art on the planet.

Ostelli per la gioventù (youth hostels) are run by the Associazione Italiana Alberghi per la Gioventù (AIG), which is affiliated to Hostelling International (HI; www.iyhf.org). A valid HI card is required in all associated youth hostels in Italy. You can get this in your home country or at the youth hostel in Rome.

The Cambridge School is a major employer of English teachers.

One of the major accommodation companies in Italy with villas in Tuscany, Umbria, the Veneto, Rome, Marche, the Amalfi Coast, Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia.

Based in Rome, COIN is the best reference point for disabled travellers. It provides information on Rome (including transport and access) and is happy to share its contacts throughout Italy. It publishes a mulitilingual guide, Roma Accessibile, which lists facilities at museums, shops and theatres. It's available by mail order and from some tourist offices.

Finds local employment for travellers.

The Associazione Italiana Assistenza Spastici operates an information service for disabled travellers called the Sportello Vacanze Disabili.

National organisations for gay men and lesbians.