A recent survey carried out by Best Countries and Published by US News ranked the world’s countries from best to worst. Finding places like Switzerland, Canada and Germany among the highest ranking is not surprising just as, all in all, Italy’s own 15th place is not as bad as it may appear, especially considering the current economic climate and perceived political instability.

Then again, which country doesn’t face money issues or doesn’t have a wobbly government these days? No, we Italians could be ok with the 15th overall place: we still rank number one in the world when in comes to artistic and cultural importance as well as heritage, and number two for “adventure,” whatever the people of Best Countries mean by that.