Rimini
Also known as the Rocca Malatestiana, Rimini's classic Renaissance castle was designed by the great military leader himself, Sigismondo Malatesta…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Naples
Join the perma-tanned for a spot of window-shopping on this popular pedestrianised strip. Linking Piazza Trieste e Trento with Piazza dei Martiri, it's a…
Parco Archeologico di Elea Velia
Cilento Coast
Founded by the Greeks in the mid-6th century BC, Velia subsequently became a popular resort with wealthy Romans. You can wander around the evocative ruins…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
This vast and fading frieze adorns the River Tiber walls between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini. The creation of South African artist William Kentridge, it…
Venice
Flourishes of carved stone like icing across the 1660s facade of this church, dedicated to Moses, make it appear positively lickable, although 19th…
Ancient Rome
Now a huge basin of dusty grass, Circo Massimo was ancient Rome’s largest chariot racetrack, a 250,000-seater capable of holding up to a quarter of the…
Brescia
Perhaps beautiful is not the word but this nonetheless fascinating piazza is a leftover of Il Duce's dreams of grandeur. Designed by Marcello Piacentini…
Southern Tuscany
Housed in the 13th-century Palazzo del Podestà, the historic residence of the town's chief magistrate, this archaeological museum has a small collection…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Meander west from Trevi Fountain, along pedestrian Via delle Muratte, and duck a block south to this magnificent art nouveau courtyard, hidden away on Via…
Western Sardinia
A fine example of Piedmontese neoclassicism, 18th-century Palazzo Boyl dominates Milis' manicured village centre. Originally a summer residence for the…
Chiesa di San Martino ai Monti
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
This was already a place of worship in the 3rd century, when Christians would meet in what was then the home of a Roman named Equitius. In the 4th century…
Lucca
Legend has it that Lucca's 13th-century clock tower – at 50m tall, the highest of the city's 130 medieval towers – is inhabited by the ghost of Lucida…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Travellers pass modest St Paul's Church (founded in the 9th century) without guessing that major dramas unfold inside. Under the carena di nave (ship's…
Santuario di Santa Maria Madonna di Bonacattu
Western Sardinia
According to an edict issued by Pope Pius VII in 1821, anyone who confesses at this tiny church between 14 and 28 September will receive full plenary…
Naples
Naples' Museum of the Underground is a DIY ode to speleologists and the treasures they find under the modern city. Its series of restored underground…
Naples
Once home to the area's fishing fleet, Mergellina's marina is now a crowd-pulling combo of anchored yachts and kitsch Neapolitan chalets, neon-lit seaside…
Northwestern Sardinia
To the south of Mores, the mighty Dolmen Sa Coveccada is said to be the largest dolmen (a megalithic chambered tomb) in the Mediterranean. Dating to the…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Sixteenth-century St Martin's Church, with its worryingly wonky 53m-high campanile (bell tower), is worth a peek for Giambattista Tiepolo’s 1725 La…
Santuario della Madonna del Tindari
Tyrrhenian Coast
This enormous church can be seen from miles around: it sits right on Capo Tindari, its dome glistening in the sun. A sanctuary was built here in the 16th…
Southeastern Sardinia
In Uta, a farm village 20km northwest of Cagliari, this beautifully proportioned church is a wonderful example of Sardinian Romanesque architecture. It…
Eastern Sardinia
Up in the oldest part of town, the birthplace of Grazia Deledda (1871–1936) has been converted into this lovely little museum. The rooms, full of Deledda…
Northwestern Sardinia
A natural inlet about 11km north of Lago Baratz, the haunting backwater of Argentiera is dominated by the ghostly ruins of its silver mine, once Sardinia…
Pistoia
Delve into the underbelly of subterranean Pisa with a one-hour guided trek (in English) of passageways snaking beneath 13th-century hospital Ospedale del…
Naples
Bar Nilo is home to this tongue-in-cheek shrine dedicated to Argentine football player and ex-Napoli deity Diego Armando Maradona. Stuck to an epic poem…
Costa Smeralda
This necropolis is a curious site made up of four interlocking megalithic burial grounds, possibly dating to 3500 BC. Archaeologists believe that VIPs…
Ferrara
Linked to the castle by an elevated passageway, the 13th-century crenellated Palazzo Municipale was the Este family home until they moved next door to the…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Curving up from Piazza Barberini to Villa Borghese, Via Vittorio Veneto is the spiritual home of la dolce vita – the Rome of the swinging '50s and '60s…
Catania
One of Italy's great opera composers, Vincenzo Bellini was born in Catania in 1801. The house he grew up in has since been converted into this museum,…
Western Sicily
Walk west about 20 minutes from the acropolis across the now-dry river Modione (formerly the Selinon), then up a dirt path, and you'll reach the ravaged…
Arezzo
Construction of Arezzo's cathedral started in the 13th century, but wasn't completed until 1511. In the northeast corner, next to the vestry door left of…
Aosta
This intriguing church is part of a still-operating monastery. The church dates back to the 10th century but was altered on several occasions, notably in…
Agropoli
Built by the Byzantines in the 5th century, the castle was strengthened during the Angevin period, the time of the War of the Vespers, which was initially…
Abruzzo
The defining symbol of Pacentro, this unusual castle with its three oversized towers guards the foothills of Monte Morrone and is visible for miles around…
Ravenna
Ravenna's new city museum, located in an 1899 sugar-extraction plant just down the road from Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe, welcomes you with its…
Bay of Naples
Straddling Via Pugliano in the heart of Ercolano, Italy's largest pre-loved clothing market sells everything from stock-standard junk to fabulous offbeat…
Abruzzo
Inside the Palazzo dell'Annunziata is the four-in-one Museo Civico, with sections dedicated to archaeology, religious art, Abruzzese-Molisiano culture and…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
In the heart of the eponymous neighbourhood, this grass-covered mount, known locally as Monte dei Cocci, is an artificial hill made entirely from the…
Chiesa di San Giorgio dei Genovesi
Palermo
Sporting an elegant Renaissance-style facade, this church was built between 1575 and 1591 to a design by Piedmontese architect Giorgio di Faccio. A simple…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
The little-known excavations of Vicus Caprarius (the name of the ancient street) include a Roman house and a Hadrian-era cistern that connected with the…
Stresa
An easy 1km walk southeast of central Stresa along the SS33 main road, the Pallavicino is a 19th-century neoclassical villa set in banked lakeside grounds…
