100+ Inspirational Italy Captions, Quotes & Puns You’ll Want to Steal
Are you looking for a quote about Italy to use as a photo caption for your Instagram feed? Or perhaps you are simply seeking inspiration to kick-start planning your next trip to Italy.
Well, you’re in luck. Over the millennia, Italy has been a source of inspiration for poets and novelists, thinkers and travellers.
From witty puns to profound quotes, here is my hand-curated collection of Italy captions that best reflect the multi-faceted nature of this bewitching nation.
Feel free to copy your favourite Italy quote and paste it into your Twitter, Instagram or Facebook post.
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My Favourite Italy Captions
1. One doesn’t come to Italy for niceness …one comes for life. Buon giorno! Buon giorno! – A Room with a View, E.M. Forster,
2. If you deconstruct Italy, you will in the end see a grapevine, a tomato and a small boy hammering a shard of marble. ― Pietros Maneos, author
3. One of the great joys of traveling through Italy is discovering firsthand that it is, indeed, a dream destination. – Debra Levinson
4. Italy was where the soul went to find calm and love, and I wanted to hold the best of it in the palm of my hand. – Lisa Brennan-Jobs, writer
5. How beautiful is sunset when the glow Of Heaven descends upon a land like thee, Thou Paradise of exiles, Italy! – Percy Shelley
6. A man has not fully lived until he experiences that gentle balmy clime of ancient empires, the land of lemon trees and the genius of Michelangelo. – E.A. Bucchianeri, author
7. Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy. – Bertrand Russell
8. People need Italy to be reminded of how to see beauty in ruins and permanence in transience. – Unknown
9. I find that other countries have this or this, but Italy is the only one that has it all for me. The culture, the cuisine, the people, the landscape, the history. Just everything to me comes together there. – Frances Mayes, author
10. Italy will never be a normal country. Because Italy is Italy. If we were a normal country, we wouldn’t have Rome. We wouldn’t have Florence. We wouldn’t have the marvel that is Venice. – Matteo Renzi, politician
Italy Captions for Instagram
For the times when only a short Italy quote will do.
11. The creator made Italy from designs by Michelangelo. – Mark Twain
12. You may have the universe if I may have Italy. – Giuseppe Verdi
13. The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables. – Mary Shelley
14. For sure, in Italy, the sun always shines. – Aleksandar Mitrovic, footballer
15. In America, one must be something, but in Italy one can simply be. – The Italian Pleasures of Gabriele Paterkallos, Pietros Maneos
16. I gasp for air if I don’t get to breathe Italian air once a year. – Danny Meyer, restaurateur
17. We are all pilgrims who seek Italy. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
18. The most stylish country in the world is Italy. – Nick Rhodes, musician
19. Italy offers one the most priceless of all one’s possessions – one’s own soul. – Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
20. Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life. – Anna Akhmatova, journalist
21. Open my heart and you will see Graved inside of it, Italy. – Robert Browning
22. Italy is my destiny; it calls to me to return home. – Melissa Muldoon, author
23. If the landscape of human emotion were to exist in a country, it would be in Italy. – Lisa Fantino, author
Quotes About Italian People and Culture
24. And don’t, let me beg you, go with that awful tourist idea that Italy’s only a museum of antiquities and art. Love and understand the Italians, for the people are more marvellous than the land – E. M. Forster
25. In Italy, they add work and life on to food and wine. – Robin Leach, reporter
26. I find other countries have this or this, but Italy is the only one that has it all for me. The culture, the cuisine, the people, the landscape, the history. Just everything to me comes together there. – Frances Mayes, author
27. Italian style is a natural attitude. It is about a life of good taste. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Simple but with good taste. Luxury is possible to buy. Good taste is not. – Diego Della Valle, businessman
28. Italians know that what matters is style, not fashion. Italian style does not have social or age boundaries. – Stefano Gabbana
29. The Italians have their priorities right: They’re driven, they do their work, but they really enjoy the day-to-day and they don’t put off the enjoyment of the everyday for some future goal. – Frances Mayes
30. There is in the DNA of the Italians a bit of madness, which in the overwhelming majority of cases is positive. It is genius. It is talent. It’s the masterpieces of art. It’s the food, fashion, everything that makes Italy great in the world. – Matteo Renzi, politician
31. Italian culture is so deeply soaked in an appreciation of the good things in life. – Mariska Hargitay, actor
Delicious Italian Food Quotes
Extending far beyond essential nourishment, food goes straight to the heart of what it means to be Italian and has inspired authors and actors, chefs and filmmakers. Here is my pick of the best Italian food quotes.
32. In heaven, after antipasti, the first course will be pasta. – Steve Albini, musician
33. So… Italian gelato. Take the deliciousness of a regular ice-cream cone, times it by a million, then sprinkle it with crushed-up unicorn horns. – Love & Gelato, Jenna Evans Welch
34. The commonplace about Italian cooking is that it’s very simple; in practice, the simplicity needs to be learned, and the best way to learn it is to go to Italy and see it firsthand. – Bill Buford, author
35. I think people in Italy live their lives better than we do. It’s an older country, and they’ve learned to celebrate dinner and lunch, whereas we sort of eat as quickly as we can to get through it. – George Clooney
36. In Italy food is an expression of love. – Joe Bastianich, chef
37. Life is a combination of magic and pasta. – Federico Fellini, director
38. It’s in the nature of Italians to live life with a positive tone and to celebrate the invitations that come along in life. Italian food is so conducive to all of that. – Lidia Bastianich, chef
39. Life is too short, and I’m Italian. I’d much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size 0. – Sophia Bush, actor
40. Espresso is a miracle of chemistry in a cup. – Andrea Illy, businessman
41. Italian food is all about ingredients and it’s not fussy and it’s not fancy. – Wolfgang Puck, chef
READ THIS NEXT: 55 Delicious Italian Food Quotes and Sayings to Savour
Italy Quotes to Inspire You to Visit Rome
Are you thinking of visiting the Eternal City? Let this collection of captions about Rome inspire you to plan your trip.
42. From the dome of St. Peter’s one can see every notable object in Rome. He can see a panorama that is varied, extensive, beautiful to the eye, and more illustrious in history than any other in Europe. – Mark Twain
43. Oh Rome! my country! city of the soul! – Lord Byron
44. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. – St. Ambrose
45. All roads lead to Rome. – Alain de Lille, theologian
46. Only in Rome is it possible to understand Rome. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
47. You fall in love with Rome very slowly, little by little, but if it happens, it’ll be for a lifetime. – Nikolaj Gogol, novelist
48. Veni, Vidi, Vici. ― Julius Caesar
49. Rome is one enormous mausoleum. There, the past lies visibly stretched upon his bier. There is no today or tomorrow in Rome; it is perpetual yesterday. – Thomas Bailey Aldrich, writer
50. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. – Brutus from Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare,
51. Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does; when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome; when Rome falls, so will the world. – Saint Venerable Bede
From Anita Ekberg frolicking in the Trevi Fountain in La Dolce Vita to Audrey Hepburn circling the Colosseum on a Vespa in Roman Holiday, many memorable films have been set in Rome. Here are a few of my favourite quotes from the silver screen.
52. Rome is simply marvellous. A kind of jungle – humid and beautiful, loud at times, peaceful at others. It’s a place where you can hide behind the foliage. – La Dolce Vita
53. Each, in its own way, was unforgettable. It would be difficult to – Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live. – Roman Holiday
54. Marcus Aurelius: What is Rome, Maximus? Maximus: I’ve seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light. – Gladiator
READ THIS NEXT: 65+ Dreamy Rome Captions & Quotes to Capture Your Heart
Dreamy Tuscany Captions
55. I walked across Tuscany from Siena to Rome, which was a lovely way to see the landscape. It was sunny but not too hot, and we made detours to look at treasures – churches, paintings, little hill villages. The first couple of days, you feel your knees are turning to jelly. But, at the end, you feel very limber. I hope I can always do it. – Diana Quick, actress
56. Maybe money can’t buy happiness, but it can get you a nice little villa in Tuscany, and that’s close enough for me. – Lois Greiman, author
57. Travel is very subjective. What one person loves, another loathes. I would say a private paradise in the Caribbean. If you want culture and class, I would say Tuscany. If you want exotic, I would say Bangkok, Thailand. – Robin Leach, journalist
58. Fairytales are made up of Tuscany at twilight. – Anonymous
59. …The broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb
Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views
At evening from the top of Fesolé,
Or in Valarno, to descry new lands,
Rivers, or mountains, in her spotty globe.
Paradise Lost, John Milton
READ THIS NEXT: 15 Dreamy Quotes About Tuscany to Inspire You
Inspiration Quotes About Florence
As an inspirational city for millennia, there is no shortage of quotes about Florence.
60. And when I thought of Florence, it was like a miracle city embalmed and like a corolla, because it was called the city of lilies and its cathedral, St. Mary of the Flowers. – Swann’s Way, Marcel Proust
61. In Paris, you learn wit, in London you learn to crush your social rivals, and in Florence you learn poise. – Virgil Thomas
62. Florence – the city of tranquillity made manifest. – Katherine Cecil Thurston, novelist
63. Everything about Florence seems to be colored with a mild violet, like diluted wine. – Henry James
It is famous as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and spawned the likes of Brunelleschi, Donatello and Michelangelo. Here that you will find many of Michelangelo’s sculptural masterpieces, and the Uffizi Galleries are home to many of the greatest paintings in the history of Western art.
64. The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection. – Michelangelo Buonarroti
65. Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. – Michelangelo Buonarroti
66. Florence is perhaps best known for being the seat of Renaissance art, and rightly so: A greatest-hits collection of artists passed through its streets – Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, and Brunelleschi among them. – Hanya Yanagihara, novelist
The English author E.M. Forster is a rich seam of Florence quotes, many of which come from A Room With a View, his 1908 novel that was made into a successful movie. Much of A Room With a View was filmed in Florence.
67. – The Reverend Mr. Eager: Remember the facts about this church of Santa Croce; how it was built by faith in the full fervour of medievalism.
– Mr. Emerson: Built by faith indeed! That simply means the workers weren’t paid properly. – A Room with a View, E.M. Forster
68. As her time in Florence drew to a close she was only at ease amongst those to whom she felt indifferent. – A Room with a View, E.M. Forster
The final Florence quotes speak of the beauty of Ponte Vecchio, the most famous of the bridges in Florence.
69. Among the four old bridges that span the river, the Ponte Vecchio, that bridge which is covered with the shops of jewelers and goldsmiths, is a most enchanting feature in the scene. The space of one house, in the center, being left open, the view beyond, is shown as in a frame; and that precious glimpse of sky, and water, and rich buildings, shining so quietly among the huddled roofs and gables on the bridge, is exquisite. – Pictures from Italy, Charles Dickens
70. It was pleasant to wake up in Florence, to open the eyes upon a bright bare room, with a floor of red tiles which look clean though they are not; with a painted ceiling whereon pink griffins and blue amorini sport in a forest of yellow violins and bassoons. It was pleasant, too, to fling wide the windows, pinching the fingers in unfamiliar fastenings, to lean out into sunshine with beautiful hills and trees and marble churches opposite, and, close below, Arno, gurgling against the embankment of the road. – A Room with a View, E.M. Forster
READ THIS NEXT: 40+ Dreamy Florence Quotes You Will Love
Naples Captions and Proverbs
Sitting north of the Amalfi Coast in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, the UNESCO-listed Naples is one of Italy’s most compelling cities. Its crumbling and chaotic beauty has inspired writers and poets for centuries.
71. Rome is stately and impressive; Florence is all beauty and enchantment; Genoa is picturesque; Venice is a dream city; but Naples is simply — fascinating. – Lilian Whiting, journalist
72. He who doesn’t love Naples, has yet to learn how to love life. – Anonymous
73. … the city of Naples was like this: wonderful from a distance, but when seen close up, it was fragmentary, indefinable, and coarse … – The Paradise of the Devils, Franco Di Mare
74. Naples is a paradise: in it every one lives in a sort of intoxicated self-forgetfulness. It is even so with me: I scarcely know myself; I seem to myself quite an altered man. Yesterday I said to myself, “Either you have always been mad, or you are so now. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
75. Naples is the flower of paradise. The last adventure of my life. – Alexandre Dumas
Thanks to thriving music and literary culture, the Neapolitan dialect has not only survived but has blossomed. This rich dialect is filled with wisdom and life advice.
76. See Naples and then die
77. Chi va pe chisti mare, chisti pisce piglia (He who travels these seas will catch these kinds of fish).
78. A’ lietto astritto, cuccate ammiezo (In little bed, you must sleep in the middle).
READ THIS NEXT: 25+ Inspirational Naples Quotes, Proverbs & Puns You’ll Want to Steal
Milan Captions & Quotes
The next set of hand-curated Italy captions describes the elegant city of Milan.
79. Because we would not wear any clothes because it was so hot and the windows open and the swallows flying over the roofs of the houses and when it was dark afterward and you went to the window very small bats hunting over the houses and close down over the trees and we would drink capri and the door locked and it hot and only a sheet and the whole night and we would both love each other all night in the hot night in Milan. That was how it ought to be. –Ernest Hemingway
80. Milan […] is beautiful in fog, like a woman with a veil. – Ornella Vanoni, singer
81. Retire me to my Milan, where every third thought shall be my grave. – William Shakespeare
82. The fog was so dense here, that the spire of the far-famed Cathedral might as well have been at Bombay, for anything that could be seen of it at the time. But as we halted to refresh, for a few days then, and returned to Milan again next summer, I had ample opportunities of seeing the glorious structure in all its majesty and beauty. – Pictures from Italy, Charles Dickens,
83. In Italy, I am almost seen as German for my workaholism. Also I am from Milan, the city where people work the hardest. Work, work, work – I am almost German. – Silvio Berlusconi
84. My cousin Francis and I are in perfect accord – he wants Milan, and so do I. – King Charles V
85. Milan. What a beautiful place to die. – John Carradine, actor
READ THIS NEXT: 20+ Wonderful Milan Quotes & Captions to Inspire You
Dreamy Quotes About Venice
Be inspired to visit Venice with the very best quotes about La Serenissima.
86. When I seek another word for ‘music’, I never find any other word than ‘Venice’. ― Ecce Homo, Friedrich Nietzsche
87. When I went to Venice, I discovered that my dream had become-incredibly but quite simply – my address. – Marcel Proust
88. Venice is eternity itself. – Joseph Brodsky, poet and essayist.
89. I think if one lived years in Venice there would still be half of its treasures to explore. – Effie Gray
90. Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go. – Truman Capote
91. If anything can rival Venice in its beauty, it must be its reflection at sunset in the Grand Canal. – Peggy Guggenheim
92. In the winter, Venice is like an abandoned theatre. The play is finished, but the echoes remain. – Arbit Blatas, artist and sculptor
93. Venice is the most romantic place in the world but it’s even better when there is no one around. – Woody Allen
READ THIS NEXT: 70 Inspirational Venice Quotes & Captions You’ll Want to Steal
Rib-tickling Italy Captions
Finally, sometimes only a cheesy dad-joke will do. Here’s my pick of the best Italy puns.
94. Home sweet Rome.
95. Italy has Agrippa my heart
96. Just Roman around Italy
97. Italy is so Rome-antic
98. There’s no place like Rome
99. The pastabilities are endless!
100. Penne for your thoughts.
101. It’s the pesto both worlds.
102. It would take a Herculanium effort to drag me out of bed this morning.
102. I’m having a Venice time
103. St Marks the spot
