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
Kleines Berlin
TriesteWWII air-raid tunnels, SS secret passage, Italian and German sectors, 1943-45 occupation history
Libarna
AlessandriaRoman amphitheater and theater, Via Postumia trading hub, Latin citizenship city, 452 AD abandonment
MUSE Science Museum
TrentoRenzo Piano architecture, glacier-to-rainforest exhibit descent, suspended animal displays, LEED Gold certification
Museum of Mediterranean Masks
OrgosoloMamuthones and Issohadores masks, Barbagia carnival tradition, Mediterranean masking comparisons
National Archaeological Museum of Abruzzo
ChietiWarrior of Capestrano statue, disk-shaped helmet, 1934 plow discovery, Villa Frigerj setting
Ocriculum
OtricoliRoman theater and amphitheater, Via Flaminia paving, octagonal bath mosaic, archaic necropolis antiquarium
Plestia
FolignoUmbrian Plestini origins, Roman municipium status, mosaic-floored houses, Colfiorito Park museum finds
Rocca di Mondavio
MondavioFrancesco di Giorgio Martini design, rounded anti-cannon bastions, arms and armor museums, mid-August reenactment
Rosazzo Abbey
Cividale del Friuli9th-century foundation, 1070 consecration, 1535 frescoes by Francesco India, Rosazzo Foundation vineyard
San Giovanni Theristis
StiloThis small Byzantine monastery stands in the Stilaro valley near Bivongi, in a green fold of the Calabrian Serre.
San Giusto Hill
TriesteTrieste stacks its whole history on this one hill.
San Liberatore a Maiella
ChietiSan Liberatore stands in the Alento valley at the foot of the Majella, inside the national park.
Trostburg
OrtiseiWolkenstein family seat, South Tyrolean Castle Museum, Knights' Hall and Gothic stube, guided-tour-only access
Venafrum (Roman theatre and amphitheatre)
IserniaVenafro was the Roman town of Venafrum, known in antiquity for its olive oil.
Birthplace of Gabriele d'Annunzio
PescaraD’Annunzio’s birthplace, its first five childhood rooms, painted ceilings, personal effects and the stable recalling his first horses.
Cala Luna
Cala GononeOn Sardinia’s east-central coast, Cala Luna lies in the Gulf of Orosei where the Codula di Luna reaches the sea.
Castle of Pianisi
CampobassoThe castle of Pianisi is a ruin on a hill above the Fortore valley, in the territory of Sant’Elia a Pianisi, about 33 km east of Campobasso.
Larinum
TermoliFlavian-era amphitheater, polychrome marine mosaics, Frentanian-then-Roman city, free admission and few visitors
Monforte Castle
CampobassoCastello Monforte crowns the hill above Campobasso, and it is what the Molise capital looks up to.
Murat Castle
PizzoJoachim Murat's 1815 execution, Aragonese keep, preserved cell and sentencing room, steps from Pizzo's tartufo piazza
- Sanctuary of San RomedioBolzanoHidden GemFive churches on a rock spur, 130-step covered stair, San Romedio and the bear legend, Val di Non setting
- Parco della Murgia MateranaMateraAcross the Gravina ravine from Matera’s Sassi, the Murgia Materana park protects the wild plateau where the city’s story began.
- Roman Theatre of AostaAosta22-meter Augustan stage wall, open-air summer performances, combined Aosta ticket
- Skyway Monte BiancoCourmayeurSkyway Monte Bianco climbs from Entrèves near Courmayeur through Pavillon on Mont Fréty to Punta Helbronner, at 3,466 metres.
