Where to begin
These are the places worth planning a trip around: the museums, cathedrals and palaces, the ancient sites and the landscapes that make Italy what it is, from the Uffizi and the Colosseum to the Dolomites and the temples of Agrigento. Each has its own guide, with the story behind it, what to look for once inside, how to plan the visit and the tours worth booking. Begin with the best known, or choose a region.
391 monuments
Prosecco Hills of Valdobbiadene
ValdobbiadeneLook at the shape of the ground From a village on the slopes near Valdobbiadene, look past the vines to the ridges themselves.
Arch of Augustus
AostaThe Arch of Augustus stands at the eastern entrance of Aosta, built in 25 BC after Rome defeated the Salassi and founded the colony of Augusta Praetoria.
Basilica of Collemaggio
L'AquilaPink and white façade, Celestine V's tomb, Holy Door and the Perdonanza
Museo Enzo Ferrari
ModenaEnzo Ferrari was born in Modena on 18 February 1898, in the house that now anchors this museum.
Saepinum Archaeological Area
SepinoSaepinum, in the Molise countryside, is the Roman provincial town that no one bothered to demolish.
Scaliger Castle of Sirmione
SirmioneMoated lake fortress, fortified harbor, drawbridge entrance, swallowtail battlements, 146-step keep
Villa Rufolo
RavelloFrom Piazza Duomo in Ravello, enter through the gate tower and pause at the Moorish Cloister.
Sacro Monte di Orta
Orta San GiulioTwenty chapels of Saint Francis, terracotta tableaux, UNESCO listing, views over Lake Orta and Isola San Giulio
Christ of Maratea
MarateaOn Monte San Biagio, high above Maratea, Bruno Innocenti's Christ the Redeemer has stood with arms spread toward the Gulf of Policastro since 1965.
Fortress of San Leo
Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna1441 Francesco di Giorgio Martini rebuild, arms museum, cliff-top ramparts, Cagliostro's prison cell
Hanbury Botanical Gardens
Bordighera1867 Hanbury acclimatization garden, 2,500 plant species, La Mortola terraces, University of Genoa research station
Lake Scanno
ScannoLake Scanno occupies a basin held behind the deposits of a rock avalanche.
Ponte Coperto
PaviaPonte Coperto is both a crossing and a way to read Pavia from the river.
Romito Cave
AltomonteThe Romito Cave opens in a limestone cliff above the Lao river, in Pollino National Park near Papasidero.
Santa Caterina del Sasso
LeggiunoCliffside hermitage, 1170 founding legend, centuries of frescoes, dramatic Lake Maggiore views
Scolacium (Scylletium)
CatanzaroRoman theatre and amphitheatre, Greek Skylletion origins, unfinished Norman basilica, olive-grove setting
Sferisterio of Macerata
MacerataNeoclassical arena, hundred-meter acoustic wall, summer opera festival since 1967, ball-game origins
Stagnone Salt Pans
MarsalaFrom seawater to crystals The Stagnone is a shallow lagoon north of Marsala.
Toirano Caves
AlassioThe Toirano caves are a prehistoric sanctuary in the hills of the Val Varatella, in the Ligurian back country.
Two Towers of Bologna
BolognaAsinelli and Garisenda towers, medieval lean, Dante's Inferno reference, Bologna's skyline since 1119
Vezio Castle
PerledoMedieval fortress, Theodolinda legend, botanical garden, Lariosaurus fossil exhibit, Lake Como views
Violin Museum
CremonaCremona invented the violin in the sixteenth century and never stopped making them: roughly 150 workshops in the city still practice the craft today.
Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria
SulmonaLouis II, a descendant of Charlemagne, founded this abbey in 871 after promising a church to Saint Clement while held captive in Benevento.
Castello Caldora
SulmonaCastello Caldora watches over Pacentro from a hill above the Peligna valley, at the foot of Monte Morrone in the Majella foothills.
