Northwestern Sardinia
Capo Caccia's principal crowd-puller is the Grotta di Nettuno, a haunting fairyland of stalactites and stalagmites. The easiest way to get to the caves is…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Capri
This beautifully melancholic art-nouveau villa is set on a clifftop on Capri’s northeast tip and was the one-time retreat of French poet Jacques d…
Panarea
Directly below Panarea's prehistoric village, about 45 minutes south of San Pietro, steps lead down to this gorgeous little cove with a rock-strewn beach…
Friuli Venezia Giulia
This small interactive museum deploys digital displays and an excellent virtual-reality experience to explore the horrors of the Italian front in the…
Southern Tuscany
At Tuscany's most significant Etruscan tombs, part of the Parco Archeologico 'Città del Tufo', signs in Italian and English guide you around four…
The Veneto
The huge 14th-century battlements surrounding Montagnana represent one of the most complete medieval fortified complexes in Europe. The 2km-circuit,…
Southwestern Sardinia
An impressive Roman temple set in bucolic scenery 9km south of Fluminimaggiore, the Tempio di Antas has stood in isolation since the 3rd century AD. Built…
Salerno & the Cilento
The grottoes are fascinating, otherworldly caves that date from prehistoric times: excavations have revealed that they were inhabited 42,000 years ago,…
Modena
Modena's celebrated duomo combines the austerity of the Dark Ages with throwback traditions from the Romans in a style known as Romanesque. The church…
Ischia
A symphony of plants, La Mortella (the myrtles) is the former home and gardens of the late British composer William Walton (1902–83) and his Argentine…
Parma
The opening of the world's largest maze in 2015 fulfilled a lifetime dream of art publisher Franco Maria Ricci, who once published what many considered to…
Molise
Built around the adjacent 730,000-year-old archaeological site of La Pineta, this intriguing museum stands next to a pavilion that protects the site of…
Eastern Sardinia
Beautifully renovated in 2016, this museum zooms in on Sardinian folklore, harbouring a peerless collection of filigree jewellery, carpets, tapestries,…
Ferrara
Housed within what is arguably Ferrara's most beautifully preserved palace – the 1505 Palazzo Costabili – the city's national archaeological museum is…
Pistoia
The bishops' palace, wedged next to the cathedral, provides a fascinating tour of Pistoia's urban history, ranging from touchable scale models of…
Western Sicily
Between 6000 and 10,000 years old, the Upper Palaeolithic wall paintings and Neolithic incised drawings at the Genovese Cave were discovered in 1949 by…
Gela
This splendid archaeological museum offers insight into Gela's great artistic past. It contains artefacts from the city's ancient acropolis and is famed…
Lucca
Fire the romantic in you with a stroll around this beautiful 17th-century palace where parts of Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John…
Cremona
Cremona’s history echoes to sound of violins and violin-making, meaning a visit to this relatively new, state-of-the-art museum is practically obligatory…
Emilia-Romagna
Standing sentinel high above town on a gypsum hilltop, this medieval fortress, along with the Torre dell'Orologio and Santuario del Monticino on…
Southern Tuscany
Twenty-two oversized Gaudí-influenced sculptures tumble down a hillside at this fantastical sculpture garden created by Franco-American artist Niki de…
Val d'Orcia
The serenely beautiful Romanesque Abbazia di Sant’Antimo lies in a valley just below the village of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, 11km from Montalcino. The…
Northwestern Sardinia
This reserve, just west of Porto Conte at the base of Monte Timidone (361m), is a beautiful pocket of uncontaminated nature. Encompassing 12 sq km of…
The Italian Lakes
Religious art museums are often dull, full of faded priestly vestments and tarnished silver that hasn’t been polished since the Risorgimento. But this…
Santuario della Madonna di Montenero
Livorno
The story goes like this: in 1345, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd, who led her to monte nero (black mountain), a haven of brigands. Needless to…
Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo – Villa Frigerj
Abruzzo
Housed in a neoclassical villa in the Villa Comunale park, Abruzzo's best archaeological museum displays a comprehensive collection of local finds,…
Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Rovereto
Trentino & South Tyrol
This four-storey, 12,000-sq-metre steel, glass and marble behemoth, designed by Ticinese architect Mario Botta, is both imposing and human in scale, with…
San Gimignano
It may seem strange to highlight contemporary art in this medieval time capsule of a town, but there's good reason to do so. This is one of the best…
Trentino & South Tyrol
Northwest of Pinzolo is the entrance to the Val di Genova, renowned as one of the Alps' most beautiful valleys. It's great walking country, lined with a…
Cagliari
This hilltop citadel is Cagliari’s most iconic image, its domes, towers and palazzi, once home to the city’s aristocracy, rising above the sturdy ramparts…
Val d'Orcia
Pienza's duomo was built on the site of the Romanesque Chiesa di Santa Maria, of which little remains. The Renaissance church with its handsome travertine…
Volterra
The vast collection of artefacts exhibited here makes this one of Italy's most impressive Etruscan collections. Found locally, they include some 600…
Southwestern Sardinia
This magnificent beach is a picture of unspoilt beauty. A broad band of golden sand, it's sandwiched between a big-wave sea and a vast expanse of dunes…
Rimini
This rambling museum is best known for its Roman section. Spread over several rooms, with excellent bilingual (Italian/English) signage, are finds from…
Northwestern Sardinia
Signposted off the SS131 between Sassari and Porto Torres, Monte d’Accoddi is a unique Neolithic temple. Unlike anything else in the Mediterranean basin …
Spoleto
A flight of steps sweeps down to Spoleto's pale-stone cathedral, photogenically set on a graceful hillside piazza. Originally constructed to a Romanesque…
Southern Tuscany
Presiding over photogenic Piazza Garibaldi (aka Piazza Duomo), Massa Marittima's asymmetrically positioned 13th-century duomo (cathedral) is dedicated to…
Naples
Traverse five centuries along Naples’ Bourbon Tunnel. Conceived by Ferdinand II in 1853 to link the Palazzo Reale to the barracks and the sea, the never…
The Italian Lakes
In Monza's colossal park stands this equally colossal palace. Built between 1777 and 1780 as a viceregal residence for Archduke Ferdinand of Austria,…
Sassari
Sassari’s largest piazza is one of Sardinia’s most impressive public spaces. Covering about a hectare, it is surrounded by imposing 19th-century buildings…
