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Golf

Even in Roman times there was a variation of golf— the ‘paganica’, played with a stick and a leather ball stuffed with feathers. Today, take your pick of picturesque courses, on former hunting estates or set around monasteries, as well as purpose-built courses designed by the golfing world’s top names.

Italy’s first golf course was Rome’s very exclusive Acquasanta, built in 1903, encircled by dramatic backdrops of Roman aqueducts, less than five miles from the Colosseum. Within driving range of Venice, at the southern tip of the Lido, the Circolo Golf Venezia, Alberoni is a model of old-fashioned gentility. Set on a long thin island separating the Lagoon from the Adriatic, it also has the reputation of having the best long hole in Italy, (the 11th), with water on both sides.

Framed by the white Alpine peaks, the Lakes’ courses are as hilly or gentle as you wish, but all are surrounded by trees and full of natural beauty. And for those who enjoy the 19th hole most, the possibilities for languorous boat trips and superb wining and dining are endless. The Golf Club Varese, set above one of Lombardy’s smallest lakes is charmingly located in a former monastery.t.

But for international-style golf, two clubs near Lake Orta – Castelconturbia, designed by golf guru Trent Jones and Robert von Hagge’s Bogogno have taken the game into the top league. The Lakes also have one of the world's finest golf resorts in the luxurious Palazzo Arzaga on Lake Garda, just half an hour from Verona. It boasts not one but two of Italy’s finest courses, the Championship Resort Course designed by Jack Nicklaus II and a nine hole inland links designed by Gary Player.

Set among the Tuscan hills in the fabled land of silvery olive groves and vineyards is Ugolino, the gracious home of Italy’s oldest golf club, established in 1889. And at Montecatini, the course is spectacularly set among the hills, close to the famous spa town — perfect for indulging in a spot of R&R after a few hard rounds.

Sardinia’s glittering Costa Smeralda has one of Europe’s most beautiful and challenging courses at Pevero, sculpted out of granite and macchia (Mediterranean maquis), created by Trent Jones.In the south near Cagliari, Is molas is yet another splendid course, while on the west coast near Oristano, Is Arenas is another welcome addition to Sardinia’s burgeoning golf scene.

In Sicily, Il Picciolo gives the thrilling opportunity to play on the flanks of Mt Etna, while in June 2009 the Rocco Forte Collection’s Verdura Golf and Spa resort, an hour from Palermo, is set to open with two championship golf courses amid great fanfares.

There are golfing holidays and then there are holidays with golf. A holiday with golf is a very civilised experience and nowhere does it better than Italy — with views to sigh for and as much or as little challenge as you would want.