Oltrarno
Composed of three elliptical arches of the utmost elegance – the first of their kind ever used in bridge construction – Ponte Santa Trinità was designed…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Genoa
In the sacristy of the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, the Museo del Tesoro preserves various dubious holy relics, including the medieval Sacro Catino, a glass…
Bay of Naples
Just east of the port, sunken in a leafy piazza, sits the Tempio di Serapide, which can be viewed from the street but not visited. Despite its name, it…
Brindisi
After the Romans, the next big event to hit Brindisi was the Crusades during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Porta dei Cavalieri Templari, an exotic…
Promontorio del Gargano
There is a small centro visitatori (visitors centre) in the middle of Foresta Umbra that houses a museum and nature centre with fossils, photographs, and…
Area Archeologica Eraclea Minoa
Mediterranean Coast
Set on a headland above the seaside village of Eraclea Minoa, the vestiges of this ancient Greek city are limited to the crumbling remains of a soft…
Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Southern Tuscany
Construction of Pitigliano's duomo commenced in the late 13th century; the campanile was added a century later and the facade and interior were given…
Giardini-Naxos
Giardini's long beach (mainly sand and coarse grey pebbles) curves around the crescent-shaped bay between Capo Taormina and Capo Schisò, a lick of…
Western Sardinia
A characteristic of Fordongianus is the rusty-red trachyte stone of which so many of its buildings are made. As red as the rest is the lovely late-16th…
Oratorio di Santa Maria Assunta
Riomaggiore
Built by a Christian brotherhood in the 16th century, this simple stone church is home to the unusual 14th-century wooden statue Madonna delle catene …
Venice
The right hand of John the Baptist was once housed in this church founded in the 9th century; however, the church burned in the 14th century, and what you…
Bosa
On the south bank of the river, this museum occupies Bosa's former tanneries, which remained in business until after WWII. On the ground floor you can see…
Emilia-Romagna
This museum in the centre of Busseto is inside the home of composer Verdi's patron, and was the site of Verdi's first concert. It is lovingly curated and…
Northwestern Sardinia
Between the Necropoli di Sant’Andrea Priu and Bonarva is hilltop Rebeccu, a windswept and largely abandoned medieval hamlet carved into calcareous rock…
Langhe, Roero & Monferrato
Dating back to the early 1700s, La Morra's stolid bell tower soars 31m above Piazza Castello. Make your way up the narrow staircases for fine 360-degree…
Palermo
Surrounded on all sides by elegant palazzi, gentrified Piazza Marina is Palermo's quietest piazza, and its small Giardino Garibaldi encloses Palermo's…
Golfo dei Poeti
Strategic fortifications date back at least to the 12th century on this hilltop perch overlooking the bay. As part of La Spezia's coastal defense system…
Trapani
One of Trapani's most admired historic buildings, this 16th- to 18th-century palazzo (mansion) enjoys a creamy neoclassical facade and many an admiring…
Volterra
Volterra's 13th-century town hall is the oldest seat of local government in Tuscany. The staircase bears a fresco of the Crucifixion by Pier Francesco…
Arezzo
Ivan Bruschi, a wealthy antiques dealer, restored 13th-century Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo in the 1960s. After his death, the palazzo (mansion) became…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Housed in a 17th-century Carmelite convent, this museum hosts excellent temporary photography exhibitions. Upstairs the permanent collection contains a…
Chiesa di San Michele al Pozzo Bianco
Bergamo
This dark chilly church is home to an entire Lorenzo Lotto fresco-cycle devoted to the Storie della Vergine (Stories of the Virgin Mother; 1525)…
Lecce
Two Roman columns once marked the end of the Appian Way in Brindisi. When one of them crumbled in 1582 some of the pieces were rescued and subsequently…
Ancient Rome
Caesar's Forum sits at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, on the opposite side of Via dei Fori Imperiali to most of the other Imperial Forums. Caesar…
Messina
The pale marble Fontana di Orione (1553) depicts a lounging Orion, the mythical founder of Messina. The fountain was constructed by Giovanni Angelo…
Catania
The Arco di San Benedetto is an arch built by the Benedictines in 1704. According to legend, it was built in one night to defy a city ordnance against its…
Cefalù
Built of massive limestone blocks quarried directly from the mountainside, the megalithic Tempio di Diana dates back to the 4th or 5th century BC. On the…
Northeastern Sardinia
This modest 17th-century church, presiding over Piazza del Purgatorio, has an intriguing history. The story goes that a member of the noble Misorro family…
Mantua
This huge, 13th-century palace sits between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza Broletto and was commissioned by Duke Ludovico Gonzaga. For centuries it served…
Syracuse
Ortygia's Museo del Papiro offers a fine collection of papyrus documents and products, including artefacts from antiquity. There's also an English…
Salina
This tiny hamlet on the south coast is Salina's second port, regularly served by hydrofoils and ferries. Pastel-coloured houses huddle around the…
The Veneto
At the southern reaches of the Colli Euganei (Euganean Hills), in the pocket-sized town of Monselice, lies this remarkable medieval castle. Its oldest…
Genoa
A giant glass ball housing a humid mini-ecosystem with tropical plants, butterflies and birds, the Biosphere is an innovative addition to the port,…
Naples
The oldest of the three obelisks in the centro storico, the Guglia di San Gennaro was dedicated to the city's patron saint in 1636. Like the Guglia di San…
Alghero
At some point you'll probably find yourself passing by Alghero's public gardens. The verdant park, which effectively separates the medieval centre from…
Friuli Venezia Giulia
This cross-border Italian-Austrian museum network is dedicated to preserving and promoting the unique cultural heritage of this mountain region via a…
Venice
Housed in the restored neoclassical Chiesa di San Maurizio, this collection of rare 17th- to 20th-century instruments is accompanied by informative panels…
Collegiata di Santa Maria del Colle
Abruzzo
Rebuilt in the decades following a 1456 earthquake, the atmospheric Collegiata di Santa Maria del Colle combines a superb Romanesque portal with a lavish…
Eastern Sardinia
This museum presents a romp through the region’s archaeological sites. Finds from the surrounding province range from ancient ceramics and bronzetti to a…
Umbria
In front of the 14th-century Palazzo del Bargello, the city's medieval police station and prison, the Fontana dei Matti (Fountain of the Lunatics) owes…
