Sicily!!! Sicily is wonderful if you like nice accomodations with a rustic, peasant element to your trips.

You can fly to either Catania or Palermo. Catania is not far from the bridge connecting the peninsula with the island. Catania is not far from Mount Etna and the famous resort of Taormina.

If you are on a budget, you can fly into Catania from Rome and visit Giardinia Naxos, which is a beautiful seaside resort right next to the much more expensive mountain resort of Taormina.

Palermo is a wonderful, interesting city with Italian, Arab and other influences.

The countryside is very interesting, desolate, a bit like Southern California in climate and flora.

Food is excellent, very fresh. Prices are very reasonable.
There are tremendous architectural and archaelogical things to see and explore in Sicily and the people are extremely friendly, just as nice as can be.

Palermo is supposedly slightly more dicey but we did not have a single problem (although we were careful about what areas to walk around in at night.)

Sicily!!