If you look at Italy's geography, the vast majority of what people like to see is in central Italy, unless you are going for skiing and mountain climbing (in which case, you would want to go to the Dolomites), or unless you are going for the beach (in which case Sardegna is the place).

Most of the Northern Italian countryside is very flat and plain. Once you get north of Venice, you have the Dolomites, which are stunning, and north of Milan, you get the lakes, which are equally beautiful. Of course, Venice is just amazing, but it is the only city in the north that really speaks to me.

When you get south of Rome, you start getting into a more arid area, and you lose much of the character. I've never liked the south. However, near Naples, you have Pompeii and the Amalfi coast, which are amazing.

The western part of Central Italy is where you find what most people envision when they close their eyes and think of Italian countryside. You know, rolling hills, vineyards, sunflowers, etc. The vision you get from having just watched 'Under the Tuscan Sun' or 'The English Patient'. Most of that is found in Southern Tuscany, Umbria, and Northern Lazio. The nice thing about Soriano, is that it is right at the border between Lazio and Umbria, and is about 25 miles from the border with Tuscany, so it has this incredible location from which to explore, and Soriano itself really gives you that postcard scenery you probably think of when you close your eyes and think 'Tuscany'. But unlike Tuscany, Soriano isn't overrun with tourists.

If I were to plan a first time trip to Italy for 2 weeks, knowing what I know, I would stay the first night at the Airport Hilton in Rome and sleep. The next morning, I would rent a car and make my way down to The Amalfi Coast (2.5 hour drive) for a couple days, see Pompeii, Positano, etc. Then I would go up to Soriano (3 hour drive) and stay there for a week. From Soriano, I would do a couple day trips to Rome by driving to the Orte train station (15 minutes, and taking the train to Central Rome (36 minutes). I would take one day trip to Florence (2 hours away from Soriano), and day trips to Orvieto (30 min) and Assisi (1 hour). On the remaining days, I would explore around Soriano and its immediate area, since there is so much to see there. Upon leaving Soriano, I would probably take a train up to Venice for a couple days, and then fly back to Rome and spend a night there before leaving.

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