Map of Italy showing its regions

I'm putting out this map which shows the various regions of Italy so that you will be able to find the places I'm referring to in my blogposts. This map has the names of the regions written in Italian. For a map in English click here. There you can also click on the regions to see a detailed map for the region.

Here's a list of the various regions with its so-called "capital cities".

Sicily / Palermo. Sicily is one of five so-called autonomous regions which means that they have greater autonomy than other regions. Self-government includes legislation, administration and financial matters. Cosa Nostra is the mafia clan that operates on the island. 

Sardinia / Cagliari. Sardinia is one of the autonomous regions and is the one that has the greatest degree of autonomy. 

Calabria / Catanzaro. Best known for the mafia clan 'Ndrangheta.

Basilicata / Potenza 

Apulia / Bari. Sacra Corona Unita is the name of the mafia clan in this region.  

Campania / Naples. Well known all over the world are Pompei, Paestum, the Amalfi Coast with Positano and Sorrento, Salerno and the islands of Capri and Ischia. And of course the volcano Vesuvius. In this region you will also find the Camorra mafia clan.  

Umbria / Perugia. Umbria is the only region which is surrounded only by other Italian regions and also the only one with no coastal strip.   

Molise / Campobasso.  

Abruzzo / L'Aquila. L'Aquila is where the big earthquake took place in 2009 Marche / Ancona  

Lazio / Rome. Apart from being the region where the country's capital is situated, Lazio has some nice small towns along the coast, such as Civitavecchia, Terracina and Sperlonga. 

Tuscany / Florence. Well known places are Siena with its piazza where the Palio (horse race) is held, Florence with Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo along with Pisa with its leaning tower. However, the town of Lucca is also worth a visit.

Emilia-Romagna / Bologna. This is the region of the late opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Here you will also find the Parma ham, the balsamic vinegar and the Parmesan cheese. 

Liguria / Genova. Among other lovely cities, you will also find "Cinque Terre", 5 towns on Unesco's World Heritage List.

Piemonte / Torino. Here you can find companies like Fiat, Lancia (cars) and Ferrero (chocolate).

Valle d'Aosta / Aosta. One of the smallest regions in Italy (approx 21 km2), situated in the north of Italy, bordering France.

Lombardia / Milano. This is one of the wealthiest regions in Europe with a GDP 50 % higher than the rest of Italy.

Trentino Alto-Adige / Trento. One of the autonomous regions.

Veneto / Venezia. This region became part of Italy only in 1867, 6 years after the unification of the country.

Friuli Venezia Giulia / Trieste. One of the 5 autonomous regions in Italy.