Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore
Naples
Completed in 1324 on the orders of Charles I of Anjou, this was the royal church of the Angevins. Pietro Cavallini's frescoes in the Cappella Brancaccio…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Ancient Rome
Said to be the inspiration for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this triumphal arch was built by the emperor Domitian in AD 81 to celebrate his brother Titus…
Milan
Giò Ponti's spindly 1933 steel tower (built in two months flat for a Triennale exhibition) provides a fantastic 108m-high viewing platform over Parco…
Bologna
To the east of Piazza Maggiore, the grid of streets around Via Clavature (Street of Locksmiths) sits on what was once Roman Bologna. Known as the…
Southwestern Sardinia
About 2km north of Buggerru, Spiaggia di Portixeddu is one of the best beaches in the area. A gloriously unspoilt strip of sand backed by swathes of…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Torcello, the republic's original island settlement, was largely abandoned due to malaria and now counts only around 14 permanent residents. Its mosaic…
Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Centro Storico
Built on the site of three pagan temples, including one dedicated to the goddess Minerva, the Dominican Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is Rome’s…
Lake Maggiore
The chunky medieval Rocca di Angera fortress lords it over the town of Angera in no uncertain terms. From a distance, it is the first thing one sees…
Bologna
Three university museums are housed inside this 14th-century palace. At Museo di Palazzo Poggi, you can peruse terracotta uteri in the Obstetrics…
Santuario di Santa Maria della Vita
Bologna
In the heart of the Quadrilatero, this 17th-century shrine is one of Bologna's most beautiful and important, not only for its 13th-century foundation by…
Basilica dei SS Quattro Coronati
San Giovanni & Testaccio
This brooding fortified church harbours some lovely 13th-century frescoes and a delightful hidden cloister, accessible from the left-hand aisle. The…
Modica
The high point of a trip to Modica – quite literally as it's up in Modica Alta – is the Duomo di San Giorgio, one of Sicily's most extraordinary baroque…
Modena
Construction began in 1634 on this massive palace, a baroque masterpiece that absolutely dominates the northeast end of Modena's historic centre. Today,…
Salerno & the Cilento
A giant among monasteries, even by Italian standards, the Certosa di San Lorenzo dates from 1306 and covers 250,000 sq metres. Numerologists can get a…
Centro Storico
The plain white facade of this early Renaissance church, built in the 15th century and renovated in the late 1700s, gives no indication of the impressive…
Chiesa Anime Sante del Purgatorio
Trapani
Just off the corso in the heart of the city, this church houses the impressive 18th-century misteri, 20 life-sized wooden effigies depicting the story of…
Siena
The highlight of this repository of artworks that formerly adorned the duomo is undoubtedly Duccio (di Buoninsegna)'s striking Maestà (1308–11), which was…
Naples
When Madonna and Child overload hits, reboot at Naples' museum of modern and contemporary art. In the lobby, French conceptual artist Daniel Buren sets…
The Veneto
A World Heritage Site, the 16th-century Villa di Maser is a spectacular monument to the Venetian bea vita (good life). Designed by the inimitable Andrea…
Como
Como is flanked to the east and west by steep and thickly wooded hills (scarred in part by the spread of residential housing). Northeast along the…
Lake Garda
The long mountain ridge that towers above the northeast shores of Lake Garda is known as Monte Baldo. Ironically, the name doesn’t refer to its baldness …
Naples
When Ferdinand Acton, a minister at the court of King Ferdinand IV (1759–1825), asked Pietro Valente to design Villa Pignatelli in 1826, Valente whipped…
Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali
Ancient Rome
This striking museum showcases the Mercati di Traiano (Trajan's Markets), the emperor Trajan's towering 2nd-century complex, while also providing a…
Emilia-Romagna
Located in the village of Sant’Agata Bolognese (20km east of Modena and 35km northwest of Bologna), the museum formerly known as the Lamborghini Museum…
Tivoli
In the hilltop centre, the steeply terraced grounds of Villa d'Este are a superlative example of a Renaissance garden, complete with monumental fountains,…
Palermo
This 17th-century chapel showcases the breathtaking stuccowork of Giacomo Serpotta, who famously introduced rococo to Sicilian churches. Note the…
Paestum
Facing the east side of the ruins, the Museo di Paestum houses a collection of much-weathered metopes (bas-relief friezes). Among these are originals from…
Basilica di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria
Salento
Most people come to Galatina to see the incredible 14th-century Basilica di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria. Its interior is a kaleidoscope of frescoes and…
Ancient Rome
Built between 1455 and 1464, Palazzo Venezia was the first of Rome's great Renaissance palaces. For centuries it was the embassy of the Venetian Republic …
Parma
Magnifico Pier Maria Rossi's impressive Torrechiara Castle is one of the most important examples of Italian castle architecture and is considered one of…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Formerly the private grounds of Palazzo Corsini, Rome’s 12-hectare botanical gardens are a little-known, slightly neglected gem and a great place to…
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
Southern Rome
Known more prosaically as the Square Colosseum, this iconic building in the EUR district is a prime example of rationalist architecture, featuring…
Northwestern Tuscany
A couple of kilometres from the seafront is 'Carnival City', aka 16 gargantuan hangars that serve as workshops and garage space for the fantastic floats,…
Centro Storico
With its stuccoed ornamental facade and handsome courtyard, this grand palazzo is a fine example of 16th-century mannerist architecture. Upstairs, a small…
Centro Storico
Home to the French embassy, this towering Renaissance palazzo, one of Rome's finest, was started in 1514 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, continued by…
Assisi
Perched on the forested slopes of Monte Subasio, this monastery is set around the caves where St Francis and his followers prayed and contemplated…
Genoa
Lavishly frescoed rooms in Palazzo Rosso, part of the Musei di Strada Nuova, provide the backdrop for several portraits by Van Dyck of the local Brignole…
Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l'Arena
Catania
This is one of Europe's largest monasteries and an example of the wealth enjoyed by the Benedictine order. Built in 1703 and now part of the city…
Brescia
Brescia’s impressive archaeological complex cleverly reconstructs the city’s Roman past from fragments first discovered in the 1820s. It consists of three…
