Is this the best place to find gold?

Who knew that Italy is a reservoir of gold? The northern areas of the country are the perfect spot to go gold panning. So if you want a shiny vacation, you know where to go for the ultimate treasure hunt.

Bruno Martin, president of Biella Gold Diggers Association, said: "The ideal locations to find gold in Italian rivers are more than three regions in the north. Lombardia, Piemonte and Liguria."

"In the rivers we mostly find tiny specks of gold that are a few millimetres long. In order to find the nuggets we have to go underground where the gold veins are. When the rocks crumble they release the gold."

One gold digger revealed that the biggest jackpot he's ever found was a nugget that weighed more than one gram. The man now wears his glittering haul in his ear as an earring!

Bruno adds: "All the gold ever found in human history can't even fill two Olympic swimming pools."

So, if you want to strike gold, Italy is the place to be this summer!

According to Gold Fever Prospecting, the optimum place to look for gold is on the inside of river bends.

Look here and you might be in luck with a few small gold flakes in the gravel bars.

Pot holes and cracks in bed rock can also yield some sparkly finds and moss and grass roots near rivers may seem like an unlikely spot but you may be in with a chance of spotting some gold

It's also worth bearing in mind that gold is very heavy and so will sink to the lowest level possible.