One of my favourite places that I have ever had the luxury of travelling to was Italy. While it is a large country in comparison to the rest of the European Union, the country itself is not very populated. The overall population of Italy does not match the size of the country itself, but it was still one of the nicest countries I have had the pleasure of visiting. I will give as a somewhat sad disclaimer, that my ex-partner who I had travelled with to Italy had experienced some racial abuse at the time, and there was a definite case of uneasiness around some of the locals of the country. This had not dampened her experience however, and during and after the trip she was fine with the treatment of her by most of the people in the country itself.
One of the nicest places that I had visited in Italy was Florence, which is also the city that I first began my trip in. Florence was the first city that I wanted to visit because it was a city that I have always wanted to see, and wanted to spend the most time in. Looking back on it, Florence was by far the most beautiful city within the country itself in my opinion. The place I was staying at had a lovely small sliding door wardrobe, I felt that it had everything you could want from a city, from the beautiful greenery scattered around the city to the sculptures and decorations that were hand made. I also think that the food within the city was the best in the whole country, with the worst food coming from Rome by far.
Speaking of Rome, the most disappointing thing about the city of Rome was how touristy it had become. The whole city was clearly built around the famous landmarks of the city, and the restaurants and shops really highlighted that fact. The city feels like it had become an imitation of itself at some point. The whole city was clearly designed to take advantage of the tourist status as much as possible, and really damages the integrity of the city itself. Imagine visiting a city where 90% of the restaurants are cheap imitations of the foods created by the city and the country it is situated in, with most shops being a simple souvenir shop and offering very little substance. That is practically what Rome was like during my visit there, and it was an underwhelming visit.
I will say that the very little I saw of Pisa, it was a very pleasant city. I only visited Pisa for a day because I was travelling cross-country and it happened to be on the way to the seaside, but the city itself was lovely. The people were very friendly, the food was very good and the city itself was very beautiful. I also visited the city on what was a very good weather day, and the direct sunlight along the white buildings really brought the town to life in a way that may not be realistic throughout the rest of the year.
Overall, Italy was a beautiful country and looking back I have very little to no complaints. I have visited any countries and cities throughout my life so far, and I have to say that the country of Italy had some of the most beautiful cities and best people.