The Best of Italy from the Sky

In this highly inspiring travel video, contributor Kelly Needleman flies his drone over some of the most spectacular sights in Italy.  The video includes bird's eye views of the Dolomite Mountains, Tuscany, Venice, and Cinque Terre, among other spots.  The video was a finalist for the AirVuz Drone Video of the Week Contest and also a winner of the Drone Video of the Month Contest for July, 2018.  If you are considering a trip to Italy in the future, this video may help your decision! 

Venice is one of Italy's most well recognized and treasured sights.  The magnificent Rennaissance city in the Veneto region is, unfortunately,  fighting a losing battle against tourism and water encroachment, leading some to fear that its days may be numbered.  In this video, top contributor and drone pilot Oliver Astrologo takes us on an aerial tour of this magical place, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This video is nominated in our Cities & Urban category for the 2nd annual Drone Video Awards.

Contributor Ryan Shirley experienced pure awe and wonderment when he hiked through the Dolomites in northern Italy, which form part of the Alps Mountains system.  The overwhelming power of the mountain peaks comes across in his intensely edited aerial reel that features shots from Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Seceda, Sassolungo, and Lago di Braies. This video has been nominated in our Nature & Landscape category in the 2nd Annual Drone Video Awards.

The magnificent city of Florence (Firenze) sits in the eastern part of Italy's Tuscany region, well away from the Mediterranean coastline.  By most accounts, Florence is credited as being the home of the Rennaisance which propelled the world to modernity beginning in the 13th century.  Top contributor iDrone treats us to a spectacular aerial tour of this magnificent and extremely well preserved Italian city, compliments of his drone.  

Contributor Volovisione is one of the top professional drone piloting companies in Italy.  In this masterpiece, they fly a drone over many of the most recognized sights in the country's capital city Rome.  Highlights include epic bird's eye views of the Colliseum (one of the most significant surviving structures from the Antiquity), the Vatican, and the Spanish Steps.  For anyone contemplating a visit to the Eternal City, this aerial video is an ideal the best one minute introduction. 

In this stunning drone video of the Mediterranean island Sardinia, top contributor electriclife uses his DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone to showcase the beauty of this island. The gorgeous Cugnana mountains tower over the local villages, and the marinas around San Pantaleo are full of boats that rest after a day out on the Mediterranean's clear blue waters.  Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily.

Cinque Terra is a an area consisting of five pristine villages on the northern Italian coast in the region of Liguria.  The colorful seaside villages make for what is perhaps the most iconic spot in the whole country.  Top contributor iDrone Aerial created this stunning aerial view of the area, which is characterized by the incredible visual interplay between the colors of the Adriatic Sea, the brilliant looking village rooftops, and the surrounding hills and mountains. 

Contributor Electriclife created this stunning aerial video of the Dolomite Mountains.  Situated in northeastern Italy, this range is part of the eastern Alps, which have lower altitudes than the western Alps.  While the highest peaks in the Dolomites are a modest 3-3.3k meters (just under 11k ft) they more than make up for their modest altitude by their spectacular limestone rock formations.  Most of the range has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage natural site.

Italy's Amalfi Coast, a stretch of coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea (an extension of the Mediterranean Sea) south of Naples, has some of the most spectacular scenery in the country.  As a honeymoon destination, it is hard to beat.  Which is why top contributor Hamza Mujtaba took his wife their for a surprise honeymoon.  Thankfully he also took along his DJI Mavic Pro drone, allowing him to create this epic aerial tour of this Mediterranean paradise in southern Italy.  

Langhe is a hilly area in the Piedmont region of Italy, which is situated in the province of Cuneo in Italy.  Cuneo is part of Italy's Piedmont region, which occupies the northwestern corner of the country near the border with France.  In this video, top contributor treats us to an aerial tour of three of the main villages of the area, Serralunga, D'Alba Bossolasco, and Perletto.  Prepare to be amazed by the views of the rolling hills of the Piedmont countryside. 

Lake Como is Italy's third largest but best known lake.  It is situated in the Lombardy region in the northern part of the country, near the Swiss border.  This deep, glacial lake in the foothills of the Italian Alps has been a favored getaway for wealthy travelers since Roman times.  Contributor Yoelkamara flew a DJI Mavic Pro drone over Lake Como, creating this marvelous aerial look of this stunning alpine body of water, one of the most iconic sites in Italy.

Volovisione is one of the top professional drone piloting companies in Italy.  In this video, they treat us to a breathtaking aerial view of Trieste, one of the largest cities in northeastern Italy and the capital of the automous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region.  Trieste is the easternmost city in Italy, lying just a few km from Slovenia to its east and also from Croatia to its south.  Situated at the north end of the Adriatic Sea, it's also the largest port on that body of water.  

Verona is the second largest city in northeastern Italy's Veneto region, after Venice.  Like Venice, Verona is considered one of Italy's great cultural centers; among other distinctions, it was the setting of Romeo and Juliet.  Lying just to the west of Verona is Sirmione, a small town at the south end of Lake Garda, which is Italy's largest lake and the border with neighboring Lombardy.  In this video, contributor FreD does a marvelous job of filming both of these treasures with a drone.  

Less well known than Rome's Colosseum, the Capua Ampitheater in Santa Maria Capua Vetere (ancient Capua) was the second largest Roman amphitheater.  The town is situated due north of Naples, in Italy's Caserta province.  Built in the first century BC, the amphitheater was the scene of many important events in the Roman Republic and the Empire.  In this video, contributor feola.mike captures these ancient ruins brilliantly with a DJI Phantom 4 drone.   

Contributor Gianluca D'elia takes us on a breathtaking aerial tour of Basilicata, a province of southern Italy.  If the Italian peninsula is seen as a boot, then Basilicata is the "ankle" of the country.  It sits between the provinces of Campania, Apulia, and Calabria.  Basilicata is mountainous country, mostly covered with Appenine range which runs down most of the peninsula.  It is home to many beautiful villages perched upon hills, some of which also have castles.  

Turin (Torino) is one of Italy's great cities, the largest in its Piedmont region and its third largest metropolitan area overall.  Situated on the Po River, the Turin has a rich cultural history, and was the initial capital of the country when Piedmont consolidated the modern nation of Italy in the mid-19th century.  Contributor Domischlu created this amazing aerial tour of this city, which is also known as the the headquarters of Fiat Automobiles, the largest Italian auto company.

Milan is the largest city in northern Italy and the second largest overall after Rome.  Milan is the capital of Lombardy,  the region which is home to about one in six Italians and consistently has been the dynamo of the Italian economy.  While Rome is Italy's political and cultural capital, Milan is its business annd financial capital.  Electriclife treats us to this stunning aerial overview of Milano, including footage of La Scala di Milano, the Unicredit Tower, Citylife Milano, and more.

Located just off the toe of Italy, Sicily is home to Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The volcano is also the tallest mountain in Italy south of the Alps and is surrounded by the Etna National Park.  The rich volcanic soil around it makes for excellent grape growing, making it one of the islands great wine-producing regions. Facts aside, this Drone Video of the Week Nominee by OnFocus gives us a unqiue look at all the beauty the region has to offer. 

Top conrtributor Haussmannvisuals, profiled in a December, 2018 Drone Dish segment, created this stunning drone video of the island of Stromboli, just off the coast of Sicily.  One of the Aeolian Islands which sit between Sicily and the Italian mainland in the Tyrrhenian Sea, it's home to one of the country's three active volcanoes.  Said volcano is on full display here in its state of near-constant minor eruption, along with other beautiful sites like a lighthouse topped islet just offshore.     

Contributor Tobias Hagg has over 200k followers on Instagram, and it's because of videos like this two minute masterpiece from Italy.  It's shot over Tuscany, the famed region which occupies a portion of Italy's western coast on the Ligurian Sea.  Welcome to a land of rolling hills, vineyards, ancient baronial estates, and hilltop towns.  The video was shot on an ideal day for capturing the iconic Tuscan landscape: the entire scene is covered in a gentle mist.  

Nominated for Drone Video of the Week, Kellyneedleman takes us up and down the length of what he says is "a country full of love, life and art."  Italy, known for its food, wine, historic significance, fashion and architecture, is shown through both an aerial lens and fast moving ground camera work.  Strap yourself in for this epic aerial journey that will take you from the Dolomite Mountains to Florence, Venice to Rome, and Cinque Terre to Tuscany.