Turin
One of the twin churches on Piazza San Carlo, this Baroque beauty was dedicated to San Carlo Borromeo by Carlo Emanuele I in 1619, although the facade…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Bari
Exhibits artefacts from the adjacent Basilica di San Nicola, including chalices, vestments, parchments, relics and paintings.
Arezzo
Cobbled Piazza Grande is overlooked at its upper end by the porticoes of this wonderful palazzo, completed in 1573.
Elba
More than 150 Mediterranean species inhabit this modest aquarium, making it a good grey-day option. It’s 2km northeast of town, signposted off the SP30 to…
Catania
Designed by the great baroque architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini, this elegant 18th-century palazzo flanks the eastern edge of Piazza dell'Università.
Alghero
Also known as the Torre di Garibaldi, this tower was incorporated into the Forte della Maddalena in the late 16th century.
Golfo di Orosei
On the southern edge of Piazza Sas Animas rises the 15m-high hulk of the Prigione Vecchia, also known as the Castello, a tower left over from a medieval…
Southwestern Sardinia
Guarding the crossroads in Barumini's village centre, this squat 17th-century church sports a crenellated facade punctuated by an unusual octagonal rose…
Spoleto
This ancient arch, built in the 1st century AD and named after the Emperor Tiberius' sons, originally formed the monumental entrance to Spoleto's Roman…
Southern Tuscany
This small baroque church is one of the most prominent sights in Porto Ercole's hillside centro storico (historic centre). Sadly, it is rarely open.
Vieste
This esoteric shell museum has four rooms of fossils and molluscs, some enormous and all beautifully patterned and coloured. Note the seasonal opening…
Museo Civico Antonio Collisani
Tyrrhenian Coast
Focusing on the archaeology and geology of the Madonie, this small museum has an impressive display of fossils found in the area and is worth a short…
Bay of Naples
Named after the elegant brick Corinthian columns that flank its main entrance, the House of the Large Portal is home to some well-preserved wall paintings.
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Bernini crafted the Fontana delle Api, in the northeastern corner of Piazza Barberini, for the Barberini family, whose crest featured three bees in flight.
Museo della Città e del Territorio
Molise
Housed in converted farm buildings above Saepinum's Roman theatre, this small museum displays artefacts unearthed from the site and surrounding territory.
Eastern Sardinia
The Cantina del Mandrolisai, a significant local wine producer, is famous for its beefy reds. You are more than welcome to taste the wines before you buy.
Puglia
Explore the ruins of the ancient city of Cannae, scene of a famous battle between the Romans and a victorious Carthaginian army led by Hannibal in 216 BC.
Museo dell'Osservatorio Vesuviano
Mt Vesuvius
About halfway up the hill, the museum tells the history of 2000 years of Vesuvius-watching.
Southwestern Sardinia
Flanking the Cattedrale di Santa Chiara on Piazza del Municipio is the bishop's 18th-century residence, the Palazzo Vescovile. It is closed to the public.
Pistoia
This striking, life-size sculpture of three blindfolded men (1996) by contemporary Pistoia artist Roberto Barni (b 1939) sits in Piazzetta degli Orgaggi.
Taormina
Located just west of the main square, Piazza IX Aprile, this 12th-century clock tower marks the entrance to Borgo Medievale, Taormina's oldest quarter.
Western Sicily
Northernmost of the temples on Selinunte's Acropolis is Temple D, built towards the end of the 6th century BC and dedicated to either Neptune or Venus.
Montepulciano
Michelozzo's Chiesa di Sant'Agostino features a lunette above the entrance holding a terracotta Madonna and Child, John the Baptist and St Augustine.
Verona
Flanking the northern end of vibrant Piazza delle Erbe is Palazzo Maffei, an elegantly baroque creation now home to numerous offices and businesses.
Montepulciano
This medieval tower house is topped by the town clock and the hunched figure of Pulcinella (Punch, of Punch and Judy fame), which strikes the hours.
Alghero
Rising directly from the seashore, the octagonal Tower of St James stands on the corner of the Bastioni Cristoforo Colombo and Bastioni Marco Polo.
Trentino & South Tyrol
This pretty but unremarkable Venetian-style Baroque church was where the 13-year-old Wolfgang Mozart wowed the Roveretini in the late 18th century.
Porta Marina Entrance & Ticket Office
Pompeii
One of two main entrances to the ruins of Pompeii, located an 80m walk south of the Pompei Scavi–Villa dei Misteri Circumvesuviana train station.
Bari
The Colonna della Giustizia (Column of Justice) is the place where debtors were once tied and lashed (in the less gentle days of the 16th century).
Chiesa di Nostra Signora del Buon Cammino
Southwestern Sardinia
To the northwest of the town centre, this white 18th-century church, now part of a monastery, is perched on a tall hill commanding lovely views.
Genoa
A Genovese looker that dominates Piazza de Ferrari, the former stock exchange building is testament to Genoa's shipping boom in the early 1900s.
Marsala
Tapestry fans should check out this tiny museum displaying eight 16th-century Flemish tapestries, woven in Brussels for Spanish King Philip II.
Northeastern Sardinia
This granite cathedral is the town’s imposing centrepiece. All that remains of the 15th-century original is the bell tower and main entrance.
Friuli Venezia Giulia
The Museo Storico Militare is inside Porta Cividale. The military museum traces the history of troops stationed in Palmanova from 1593 to WWII.
Chiesa e Convento dei Domenicani
Bolzano (Bozen)
The chapel (Cappella di San Giovanni) and adjacent cloisters here feature touching, vibrant 14th-century frescoes by school-of-Giotto artists.
Mediterranean Coast
This architectural mish-mash of a church has an odd-looking 13th-century rose window that predates the majolica-tiled dome by some 600 years.
Lecce
The graceful baroque structure next to Lecce's Basilica di Santa Croce, once a convent for Celestine monks, now houses the local government.
Parco Naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana
Piedmont
This nature reserve, a lovely natural amphitheatre, is located on Avigliana’s western fringe and includes protected lakes and marshlands.
Museo Archeologico Eoliano (Sezione Epigrafica)
Lipari
This small garden littered with engraved stones and a room of Greek and Roman tombs remained indefinitely closed at the time of research.
Abruzzo
This small wildlife sanctuary is devoted to the Apennine chamois. There's a viewpoint from which you can usually see the animals roaming.
