Southern Tuscany
This spectacular regional park incorporates the Uccellina Mountain Range, marshy plains and 20km of unspoiled coast. Access is limited to 12 signed…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Le Marche
The poster child of the Parco del Conero's beaches is this dreamy white-pebble beach named after two rock stacks (the Due Sorelle or two sisters) that…
Southeastern Sicily
Never judge a book by its cover, or a palazzo by its facade. Take the 19th-century Palazzo Bonelli Patanè, its demure neoclassical facade tight-lipped…
Ferrara
Dating to 1385, the Este's 14th-century pleasure palace suffered significant earthquake damage in May 2012 and the museum will be shuttered until 2020 for…
Schloss Trauttmansdorff Gardens
Merano (Meran)
You could give an entire day to these beautiful botanical gardens a little outside Merano (and they do suggest it). Exotic cacti and palms, fruit trees…
Pistoia
This cathedral with beautiful Pisan-Romanesque facade safeguards a lunette of the Madonna and Child between two angels by Andrea della Robbia. Its other…
Western Sicily
The southernmost of the region's two salt museums is housed in a beautifully restored 16th-century windmill opposite the Mozia boat dock, 10km north of…
Oristano
Oristano’s elegant outdoor salon sits at the southern end of pedestrianised Corso Umberto I. An impressive, rectangular space, it comes to life on summer…
Lecce
Descend through Lecce's rich historical strata in this fascinating home-turned-museum, where sewerage excavations led to the chance discovery of an…
Palazzina Cinese & Parco della Favorita
Palermo
Once a retreat for King Ferdinand IV and his wife Maria Carolina, this pagoda-inspired pavilion exemplifies the popularity of 'Oriental exotica' in 18th…
Mediterranean Coast
This stunning 761-hectare natural park, administered by the World Wildlife Fund, offers plenty of scope for walkers, with well-marked trails and sweeping…
Emilia-Romagna
Inaugurated in 2017, the main event of this fascinating and beautifully laid-out museum, housed in the 18th-century neoclassical Comacchio Hospital, is…
Bergamo
Just east of the old city walls is one of Italy's great art repositories. Founded in 1780, it contains an exceptional range of Italian masters. Raphael's…
Cagliari
This vast neoclassical structure, comprising a gallery space, monumental stairway and panoramic terrace, was built into the city's medieval walls between…
Western Sardinia
This landmark Romanesque church is one of Sardinia's architectural jewels. Dating to the early 12th century, it sports a severe sandstone exterior…
Turin
Architect-designer-artist Carlo Mollino is perhaps Turin's most intriguing son and a quintessentially 20th-century Torinese. The little-known Museo Casa…
Milazzo
If you have a car, don't miss the scenic drive north along Strada Panoramica to see the gorgeous, rugged coastline of Capo Milazzo. At the end of the…
Western Sicily
To get under the skin – quite literally – of the island of Favignana, take an eye-opening stroll around these unusual botanical gardens, created by owner…
Lucca
The bird's-eye view from the top of this medieval, 45m-tall red-brick tower adjoining 14th-century Palazzo Guinigi is predictably magnificent. But what…
Villa San Michele di Axel Munthe
Capri
The former home of Swedish doctor, psychiatrist and animal-rights advocate Axel Munthe, San Michele di Axel Munthe should be included on every visitor’s…
Trento
Guarded by hulking fortifications, this massive edifice was home to Trento's bishop-princes until Napoleon's arrival in 1801. Enclosed within is the…
Parco Archeologico 'Città del Tufo'
Southern Tuscany
The picturesque towns of Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano form a triangle enclosing a dramatic landscape where local buildings have been constructed from the…
Rimini
The majestic five-arched Tiberius' Bridge dates from AD 21. In Roman times it marked the start of the Via Emilia – the important arterial road between the…
Chiesa della Madonna dell’Orto
Venice
This elegantly spare 1365 brick Gothic church remains one of Venice's best-kept secrets. It was the parish church of Venetian Renaissance painter…
Parma
The Galleria Nazionale displays Parma’s main art collection in dark and ambiently affective environs. Alongside works by local artists Correggio and…
Treviso
When Treviso-born Nando Salce donated his collection of Italian advertising posters to the Italian state in 1962, he established a unique Italian graphic…
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Palestrina
Lazio
This delightful museum occupies Palazzo Colonna Barberini, a Renaissance palace built atop the 2nd-century BC Santuario della Fortuna Primigenia. Its airy…
Southern Tuscany
Set in the wild surrounds of Seggiano, this sculpture garden is the passionate project of Romanian–Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri (b 1930), who created many…
Noto
Abandoned for decades, this 18th-century palazzo found its saviour in French journalist and documentary filmmaker Jean-Louis Remilleux, who purchased the…
Pisa
For an alternative bird's-eye perspective of the Leaning Tower and grandiose Piazza dei Miracoli rooftops, take a walk atop Pisa's medieval city walls,…
Museo Archeologico e d'Arte della Maremma
Southern Tuscany
Grosseto's major tourist drawcard features an archaeological museum on the ground floor and a museum of ecclesiastical art upstairs. Items unearthed from…
Arezzo
Art lovers will adore visiting this conservation laboratory. The base of Art Angels Arezzo (www.artangelsarezzo.org), a group of professional art…
Palermo
Elegant 18th-century Villa Zito houses a sharply curated collection of mainly Sicilian-themed art spanning the 17th to 20th centuries. You'll find a…
The Veneto
Pretty Palazzo Sturm sits overlooking the Brenta river. It was built in the mid-18th century by wealthy industrialist and silk merchant Vincenzo Ferrari,…
Sirmione
Occupying 2 hectares at Sirmione's northern tip, this ruined 1st-century-AD Roman villa is a picturesque complex of teetering stone arches and tumbledown…
Praiano
Located a couple of kilometres east of the centre, this charming beach and harbour are the reasons why most people stop off in Praiano. From the SS163 …
Western Sicily
No visit to Favignana is complete without a memorable hike or run uphill to this hilltop fort, built atop an ancient Saracen fort in the 15th century and…
Emilia-Romagna
This stately theatre on Busseto's aptly named Piazza Verdi was built in 1868, although Verdi himself initially pooh-poohed the idea. It opened with a…
Catania
Completed in 1890 and made for homegrown composer Vincenzo Bellini, Catania's opera house is suitably lavish, from the stucco-and-marble extravagance of…
Val d'Orcia
Built in four stages between 1924 and 1939, these formal gardens were commissioned by Anglo-American expat Iris Origo and her Italian husband Antonio…
