Grado
A corner of Grado's busy town square is home to the mosaic floors of a paleo-Christian basilica. Uncovered during roadworks in 1902, they have, more…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Cagliari
Originally a synagogue in the city’s Ghetto, this basilica was built in the wake of the Jewish expulsion from Sardinia in 1492. It was subsequently…
Genoa
Three monumental gates were built in Genoa from 1155 as part of a defensive wall system. Porta Soprana is one of two that survived, Porta dei Vacca is the…
Sorrento
Built in the 14th century, the Palazzo Correale features a fetching Gothic-Catalan facade, complete with mullioned windows in dark tuff stone. The window…
Brescia
The medieval town hall looms large over the plaza down below thanks to its soaring brick tower, which was built in the 12th century. Other parts of the…
Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
This hulking basilica occupies what was once the central hall of Diocletian's baths complex. It was originally designed by Michelangelo, but only the…
Northwestern Sardinia
Stintino’s history and tuna-fishing heritage are documented at this small museum. Videos, documents, old black-and-white photos and computer displays…
Basilicata
Potenza's Cattedrale di San Gerardo is the town's ecclesiastical highlight. Originally erected in the 12th century but rebuilt in the 18th (since then it…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Mazzorbo's late 13th-century Romanesque St Catherine's Church is the only one of the island's 10 medieval churches to survive. Call in to see its wooden…
Pistoia
Break between sights with a frolic in this whimsical city park designed by local artists where contemporary works of art mingle with playful slides,…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
Not to be confused with the Tomb of St Peter, this ancient Roman cemetery extends beneath the Vatican hill. Guided tours, which must be pre-booked, take…
Promontorio del Gargano
On the former site of Lucera’s Great Mosque (itself built by the Saracens over an existing church as a symbol of conquest) Puglia’s only Gothic cathedral…
Rome
Overshadowed by the mighty Stadio Olimpico, this small athletics stadium is part of the Fascist-era Foro Italico sports complex. It takes its name from…
San Gimignano
Youngsters love this handmade ceramic re-creation of the medieval city, complete with houses, streets, towers and people as they would have looked in 1300…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
This showy brick facade adorned with a gold apse mosaic is an 18th-century reconstruction of the end wall of the banqueting hall in the original Palazzo…
Reggio Emilia
Reggio's 13th-century cathedral was first built in Romanesque style but was given a comprehensive makeover 300 years later. Nowadays, virtually all that…
Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro
Bologna
A short walk north of Piazza Maggiore, Bologna’s cathedral, the Metropolitana di San Pietro, has suffered redevelopment many times over the centuries…
Tyrrhenian Coast
Dating to 1484 but largely made over in the 17th century, this church is one of the major landmarks along Petralia Sottana's main street. The interior is…
Genoa
Just east of Via Garibaldi, a path from Piazza Corvetto twists through terraced gardens to one of Europe's largest collections of Japanese art, bringing…
Stromboli
Stromboli's black sandy beaches are the best in the Aeolian archipelago. The most accessible and popular swimming and sunbathing is at Ficogrande, a strip…
Mantua
Enter Piazza Sordello from the south and on your left you have the grand house of the Gonzagas' predecessors, the Bonacolsi clan. Hapless prisoners used…
Vieste
This palaeo-Christian graveyard dating from the 4th to 6th centuries AD is 9km out of town. Inside the cave, tier upon tier of narrow tombs are cut into…
Northwestern Tuscany
Elisa Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister and short-lived ruler of Tuscany, once lived in handsome Villa Reale, 7km north of Lucca in Marlia. The house isn't…
UN Food & Agriculture Organisation
San Giovanni & Testaccio
Seat of the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation since 1952, this vast building was originally commissioned by Mussolini to house the Ministry of Italian…
Livorno
This Greek Orthodox church was built in 1607, acquired its magnificent baroque facade in the 18th century and became a Catholic church after WWII. The…
Turin
A sumptuous 17th-century Savoy refit of an 11th-century castle; the 19th-century gardens with lakes, caves and follies are great for rambling. It's…
Trapani
The huge Cattedrale di San Lorenzo has a baroque facade and stuccoed interior. Constructed in 1421, the cathedral was modified dramatically over the…
Capri
This giant natural cave on the Passeggiata del Pizzolungo was used by the Romans as a nymphaeum (shrine to the water nymph). You can still see traces of…
Calabria
Housed in part of San Giovanni in Fiore's old abbey (the Abbazia Forense), the Museo Demologico exhibits tools from the town's strong artisan culture…
Verona
From the battlements of the Castelvecchio you can look down on this asymmetrical, brick bridge that takes just three leaps to span the river Adige. It…
Catania
Escape the madding crowd and enjoy the fine views of Mt Etna from these lovely, if unkempt, gardens along Via Etnea. Speckled with lush foliage and…
Vicenza
This is one of the few Palladio palaces not strictly open to the public, though as it is the seat of the town council, you can in theory take a sneaky…
Eastern Sardinia
A short wander uphill from the centre of town brings you to the quiet Parco Colle Sant’Onofrio, which commands broad mountain views. From the highest…
La Spezia
Opened to much fanfare in 2013, this photogenic cable-stayed pedestrian bridge connects the city with the port. Vaguely resembling a large double-masted…
Lake Garda
This palace was home to Malcesine's governor when it was ruled by the Republic of Venice, largely between 1405 and 1797. A single, large hall leads onto a…
Arezzo
Up high to the southeast of Duomo di Arezzo, across the peaceful gardens of the Passeggio del Prato, rears the Fortezza Medicea, built between 1538 and…
Syracuse
In the northwestern corner of Piazza del Duomo is the Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco. While its origins are medieval, the baroque palace you see today is…
Ventimiglia
Sandwiched between the road and the railway line on the eastern edge of town, these Roman ruins bear testimony to Ventimiglia's Roman romance and include…
Valle d'Aosta
East from Aosta is the magnificently restored Castello di Fénis. Formerly owned by the Challant family, it features rich frescoes. Despite its…
Bosa
This tower overlooking the beach at Bosa Marina is one of the largest in a series of defensive towers built by the island's Aragonese rulers in the 16th…
