Italy beyond Rome, Florence and Venice: which regions reward a visit?

If you travel for the table: Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont

Bologna, a short train ride from Florence, is for many the most pleasant surprise: red roofs, miles of porticoes you can walk even in the rain, and a market worth a morning without a plan. Around it lie Parma with its ham and Parmigiano, Modena with its balsamic vinegar, and small producers and farms where, with a guide, you can see it all being made. Emilia-Romagna isn't picturesque the way Tuscany is, but many would say it eats better than anywhere else in the country.

In the north-west, Piedmont's Langhe hills are covered in the vineyards of Barolo and Barbaresco, and in autumn, when the truffle season begins, the surrounding towns live to their own rhythm. It suits a slow trip of wineries, long lunches and nights in country guesthouses.

If mountains call: the Dolomites

The Dolomites are a different Italy: South Tyrolean valleys where German is heard more than Italian, Ladin villages, wooden huts high above the forests, and dinners where dumplings sit alongside tortellini. In summer trails cross the meadows of the Alpe di Siusi, run beneath the Seceda ridge and circle the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, and mountain huts offer not only lunch but beds for the night.

Lifts and huts generally operate from around late June to September, which is the best window for walking. It's a direction for active travellers, but not only for them: many of the finest viewpoints are reached by lift, and you choose how far to walk from there.

If you want sea and islands: Sicily and Puglia

Sicily is an island where Greeks, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards all left their mark, and you feel it everywhere, from Palermo's markets to the baroque streets of Noto and Ragusa and the stones of Ortigia, Syracuse's old town. To the north the Aeolian Islands move at a slower pace: Salina with its capers and vineyards, and Stromboli, whose volcano may only be climbed with licensed guides. In the east, Etna rises over everything, with vineyards on its slopes.

Puglia, the heel of Italy, is olive groves to the horizon, the trulli of Alberobello, white Ostuni on its hill and baroque Lecce, with nights in masserie, old fortified farms turned into guesthouses. Both regions suit couples and anyone who wants culture with the sea, but in August, when Italians themselves are on holiday, the coasts are hot and busy.

In Italy, the better question isn't what else to see, but where you'd like to eat, walk and linger.

If you want elegant slowness: the lakes

Lakes Como and Garda mean villas and gardens, ferries between Bellagio and Varenna, lemon terraces and evenings on the shore as the mountains turn pink. You don't need a car: train from Milan, boat between the towns, train again to Verona or Venice. It suits a first trip too, with Venice at the end of the route as a beautiful finale rather than the sole point.

And the ones often overlooked

• Umbria and Le Marche: hill towns much like Tuscany's, only quieter.
• Matera in Basilicata: an ancient town carved into the rock above a ravine.
• The Cilento, south of the Amalfi Coast: Campania's wilder, quieter side.

Tell us what draws you most in Italy – mountains, sea, food or small-town life – how much time you have and when you'd like to go. Tell us what excites you. We'll explore the possibilities from there.