1473 Best Sights in Italy

Rocky, hilly, unspoiled Capraia has only one sandy beach, Cala della Mortola, on its northern end. The rest of the coast is a succession of cliffs and deep green coves with pretty rock formations. The 2½-hour ferry trip departs from Livorno and docks at the town of Capraia Isola, dominated by the Fortezza di San Giorgio up above. Nearby, an archway leads to an area that was once a prison.

Some 10 km (6 miles) south of La Verna on SR54 is the small hilltop town where Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet, was born on March 6, 1475. During two weekends in mid-October, Caprese Michelangelo's very lively Sagra della Castagna (Chestnut Festival) takes place. Among the many delights that feature in the fair, the freshly made castagnaccio (a typically Tuscan dessert made with chestnut flour, pine nuts, olive oil, and rosemary) is a must-try.

On arrival at the port, pick up the excellent map of the island at the tourist office. You may have to wait for the funicular railway (€2.40 one-way) to Capri Town, some 450 feet above the harbor. So this might be the time to splurge on an open-top taxi—it could save you an hour in line and a sweaty ride packed into a tiny, swaying bus. From the upper station, walk out into Piazza Umberto I, better known as the Piazzetta, the island's social hub.

If you like to seek out the esoteric, explore the rugged inland hills and town of Carbonia, less than 30 minutes' drive from Sant'Antioco and about an hour by car or train from Cagliari. Built in 1938 by Mussolini to serve as an administrative center of a once-booming coal-mining area, its time-frozen architecture—ordered rows of workers' houses around a core of monumental public buildings on the broad Piazza Roma—has been called an urban UFO set down in the Sardinian landscape.

The state prison of the ancient city has two subterranean cells where Rome's enemies, most famously the Goth, Jugurtha, and the indomitable Gaul, Vercingetorix, were imprisoned and died of either starvation or strangulation. Legend has it that, under Nero, saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned in the lower cell, and they used the water from a miraculous spring that appeared to baptize their jailers. A church, San Giuseppe dei Falegnami, now stands over the prison. The multimedia tour has received mixed reviews: it focuses on the Christian history of the site, and the audio is more fluffy than historical.

Pontormo's Visitation is in this small village a short drive from Poggio a Caiano. The Franciscan church of San Michele, dedicated in 1211, houses the work. The painting dates from 1527–30, and it may well be Pontormo's masterpiece. The luminous colors, flowing drapery, and steady gaze shared between the Virgin and St. Elizabeth are breathtaking. The church's small cloister, shaded by olive trees, is always open, and offers a quiet place to sit.

If you really enjoy walking in the footsteps of the great genius, you may want to complete the picture by visiting the Buonarroti family home. Michelangelo lived here from 1516 to 1525, and later gave it to his nephew, whose son, Michelangelo il Giovane (Michelangelo the Younger), turned it into a gallery dedicated to his great-uncle. The artist's descendants filled it with art treasures, some by Michelangelo himself. Two early marble works—the Madonna of the Stairs and Battle of the Centaurs—demonstrate his genius.

Luminaries such as Picasso, Bertrand Russell, Ernest Hemingway, and Tennessee Williams all fell for the charms of this house, which from 1947 was set up as a hotel for writers and artists. It was run for over 50 years by Daphne Phelps, the niece of the painter Robert Kitson, who with the artist Frank Brangwyn designed and built the villa in the early 1900s. A guided tour reveals its stories and the works of art donated by artists. The dining room holds distinctive frescoes and furniture by Frank Brangwyn, and the library has the desk where Roald Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There are five antiques-filled rooms where guests can stay.

The richly decorated House of the Green Count, in the oldest part of Rivoli, attests to the wealth and importance of its onetime owner, Amedeo VI of Savoy (1334–83). Legend has it that the count attended tournaments dressed all in green, hence the name. Inside, a small gallery occasionally hosts temporary exhibitions, which may increase the entrance fee.

Serious Mantegna aficionados will want to visit the house the artist designed and built around an intriguing circular courtyard. The exterior is interesting for its unusual design, and the interior, with its hidden frescoes, can be seen during occasional art exhibitions. Hours and prices vary depending on the exhibition.

An outstanding example of carbonized remains is found in the Casa del Tramezzo di Legno, as it has been prosaically labeled by archaeologists. Following renovation work in the mid-1st century AD, the house was designed to have a frontage on three sides of Insula III and included a number of storerooms, shops, and second-floor habitations. This suggests that the owner was a wealthy mercator, a member of the up-and-coming merchant class which was starting to edge the patricians out of their privileged positions. The airy atrium has a lovely garden. Look closely at the impluvium (a basin to collect rainwater) and above the open compluvium roof with dog's-head spouts. You'll see the original flooring below, which was later replaced with marble, perhaps after a change of owners. Next to the impluvium is an elegant marble table, or cartibulum, while behind is the tablinum (reception room), partially screened off by a wooden partition that would also have had hooks for hanging lucernae (lamps).

Giorgio Vasari (1511–74), the region's leading Mannerist artist, architect, and art historian, designed and decorated this house after he bought it in 1540. He ended up not spending much time here, since he and his wife moved to Florence in 1554. Today, the building houses archives on Vasari, as well as works by the artist and his peers. In the first room, which Vasari called the "Triumph of Virtue Room," a richly ornamented wooden ceiling shows Virtue combating Envy and Fortune in a central octagon.

First excavated in 1839, this house was identifiable from the name inscribed on a lead pipe, Iulia Augusta. In other words, it belonged to the notorious Livia who—according to Robert Graves's I, Claudius—made a career of dispatching half of the Roman imperial family. (There's actually very little evidence for such claims.) She was the wife of Rome's first, and possibly greatest, emperor, Augustus. He married Livia when she was six months pregnant by her previous husband, whom Augustus "encouraged" to get a divorce.

As empress, Livia became a role model for Roman women, serving her husband faithfully, shunning excessive displays of wealth, and managing her household. But she also had real influence: as well as playing politics behind the scenes, she even had the rare honor (for a woman) of being in charge of her own finances. Here, atop the Palatine, is where she made her private retreat and living quarters. The delicate, delightful frescoes reflect the sophisticated taste of wealthy Romans, whose love of beauty and theatrical conception of nature were revived by their descendants in the Renaissance Age.

Caterina Benincasa, born here in 1347, had divine visions and received the stigmata, but she is most famous for her words and her argumentative skills. Her letters—many of which are preserved in the Biblioteca Comunale—were dictated because she did not know how to write. She is credited with convincing Pope Gregory XI (1329–78) to return the papacy to Rome after 70 years in Avignon and French domination, ending the Western Schism. Caterina died in Rome in 1380 and was canonized in 1461.

In subsequent centuries, the rooms of the house, including her cell and the kitchen, were converted into a series of chapels and oratories and decorated by noteworthy artists with scenes from Caterina's life. In 1939, she was made a patron saint of Italy, along with St. Francis of Assisi. In 1970, she was elevated to Doctor of the Church, the highest possible honor in Christendom. She has been named a patron saint of Europe but, strangely enough, never of her hometown.

Lucca's most famous musical son was born in this house. It includes the piano on which Puccini composed Turandot, as well as scores of important early compositions, letters, costumes and costume sketches, and family portraits.

An engaging audio-guide itinerary for each of the eight modestly furnished rooms of Verdi's birthplace evokes the atmosphere of his family life here, shared with his seamstress mother and osteria (tavern)-running father. Despite Verdi's worldwide success and fame he never forgot his origins. In 1863 he wrote: "Sono stato, sono e sarò sempre un paesano delle Roncole: "I was, am, and always will be a Roncole peasant." 

No one knows the precise location of Leonardo da Vinci's birthplace, but this typical 15th-century Tuscan house is in the general vicinity and probably shares much in common with the house where he was born. It's in Anchiano, 3 km (2 miles) from Vinci, and can be reached easily on foot or by car. It has a primitive interior—it hasn't been gussied up for tourists. Note the printed inventory of Leonardo's library. His tastes in literature were wide-ranging, from the ancient to contemporary (15th-century) authors.

This is the house in which the painter was born and where he took his first steps in painting, under the direction of his artist father. There's some debate about the fresco of the Madonna here; some say it's by Raphael, whereas others attribute it to the father—with Raphael's mother and the young painter himself standing in as models for the Madonna and Child.

Spoleto became a Roman colony in the 3rd century BC, but the best excavated remains date from the 1st century AD. Well preserved among them is the Casa Romana. According to an inscription, it belonged to Vespasia Polla, the mother of Emperor Vespasian (one of the builders of the Colosseum and perhaps better known by the Romans for taxing them to install public toilets, later called "Vespasians"). The rooms, arranged around a large central atrium built over an impluvium (rain cistern), are decorated with black-and-white geometric mosaics.

Built by the wealthy banker Giovanni Romei (1402–83), this vast structure with a graceful courtyard ranks among Ferrara's loveliest Renaissance palaces. Mid-15th-century frescoes adorn rooms on the ground floor; the piano nobile contains detached frescoes from local churches as well as lesser-known Renaissance sculptures. The Sala delle Sibille has a very large 15th-century fireplace and beautiful coffered wood ceilings.

To most people, Italian art means Renaissance art, but the 20th century in Italy was also a time of artistic achievement. An apartment on the second floor of a stunning Art Deco building designed by Milan architect Portaluppi houses this collection, which was donated to the city of Milan in 2003 and is a tribute to the enlightened private collectors who replaced popes and nobles as Italian patrons. The walls are lined with the works of postwar greats, such as Fontana, de Chirico, and Morandi. Along with the art, the museum holds distinctive postwar furniture, sculptures, and stunning Murano glass chandeliers.

The road east of Terni (SS3 Valnerina) leads 10 km (6 miles) to the Cascata delle Marmore (Waterfalls of Marmore), which, at 541 feet, are the highest in Europe. A canal was dug by the Romans in the 3rd century BC to prevent flooding in the nearby agricultural plains. Nowadays, the waters are often diverted to provide hydroelectric power for Terni, reducing the roaring falls to an unimpressive trickle, so check with the information office at the falls (there's a timetable on its website) or with Terni's tourist office before heading here. On summer evenings, when the falls are in full spate, the cascading water is floodlit to striking effect. The falls are usually at their most energetic at midday and at around 4 pm. This is a good place for hiking, except in December and January, when most trails may be closed.

Outside Saturnia, the hot, sulfurous waters cascade over natural limestone shelves at the Cascate del Mulino, affording bathers a sweeping view of the open countryside. The falls are on public land and can be enjoyed 24 hours a day. They get extremely crowded—day and night—during August.

Formerly accessible only through the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, this important ancient Roman excavation was opened in 2002 as a museum in its own right. An underground honeycomb of rooms, the site consists of the lower levels of a so-called insula, or apartment block, the heights of which were a wonder to ancient Roman contemporaries.

Through the door on the left of the Clivo di Scauro lane, a portico leads to the Room of the Genie, where painted figures grace the walls virtually untouched over two millennia. Farther on is the Confessio altar of Saint John and Saint Paul, officials at Constantine's court who were executed under Julian the Apostate. Still lower is the Antiquarium, where state-of-the-art lighting showcases amphorae, pots, and ancient Roman bricks, with stamps so fresh they might have been imprinted yesterday.

Hallowed as the site of Richard Wagner's death and today Venice's most glamorous casino, this magnificent edifice found its fame centuries earlier: Venetian star architect Mauro Codussi (1440–1504) essentially invented Venetian Renaissance architecture with this design. Built for the Loredan family around 1500, Codussi's palace married the fortresslike design of the Florentine Alberti's Palazzo Rucellai with the lightness and delicacy of the Venetian Gothic. Note how Codussi beautifully exploits the flickering light of Venetian waterways to play across the building's facade and to pour in through the generous windows. Consult the website to book a guided tour of the small Museo Wagner upstairs, where an archive, events, and concerts may interest Wagnerians.

Venice has always prized the beauty of this palace. In 1652 its owners were convicted of a rather gruesome murder, and the punishment would have involved, as was customary, the demolition of their palace. The murderers were banned from the Republic, but the palace, in view of its beauty and historical importance, was spared. Only a newly added wing was torn down.

Crowning an isolated hill 1,778 feet above sea level in the heart of the Alta Murgia National Park, this enigmatic octagonal fortress, built by Frederick II in the first half of the 13th century, has puzzled historians and researchers for centuries. Rooms are arranged in a seemingly illogical sequence through eight towers around a central courtyard. Recent interpretations suggest it was an elaborate cultural center conceived by Frederick to study various scientific disciplines of the Western and the Arabic worlds. Umberto Eco used it as his inspiration for riddles in The Name of the Rose. To avoid disappointment: it's an impressive if largely empty building, and can be tricky to get to and pricey to visit when adding parking, guided tours, and so on.

This 12th-century castle, the oldest in Naples, was built atop the ruins of an ancient Roman villa on a thin promontory that dangles over the Porto Santa Lucia. Legend has it that the poet Virgil hid inside the villa an egg that had protective powers as long as it remained intact. The belief was taken so seriously that to quell the people's panic after Naples suffered an earthquake, an invasion, and a plague in quick succession, its monarch felt compelled to produce an intact egg, solemnly declaring it to be the original.

Today, the castle shares its views with some of the city's top hotels, and its gigantic rooms, rock tunnels, and belvederes over the bay are among the city's most striking sights. Some rooms are even given over to temporary art and photography shows. You enter below a forbidding trio of cannons. On the right is a large picture of the castle in Renaissance times. Turn left and look through the battlements to the intimate Borgo Marinaro below. An elevator on the right ascends to the castle top, or you can continue along the walkway overlooking the ramparts. The roof's Sala della Terrazze offers a postcard-come-true view of Capri.

Note that Castel dell'Ovo is closed for renovation work. Although it's scheduled to reopen in 2026, check on its status before visiting.

Green hills and farmhouses north of town surround this meticulously kept castle (also called Runkelstein Castle, or Schloss Runkelstein in German) with a tiled roof. It was built in 1237, destroyed half a century later, and then rebuilt soon thereafter. The world's largest cycle of secular medieval frescoes, beautifully preserved, is inside. A tavern in the courtyard serves excellent local food and wines. To get here from Piazza Walther, take Bus No. 12 (weekdays) or 14 (Sunday and public holidays). Alternatively, it's a 45-minute walk from Piazza delle Erbe: head north along Via Francescani, continue through Piazza Madonna, connecting to Via Castel Roncolo. If you drive or take the bus, be advised that you'll still have a 5- to 10-minute walk up to the castle.

Standing between the Tiber and the Vatican, this circular castle has long been one of Rome's most distinctive landmarks. Opera lovers know it well as the setting for the final scene of Puccini's Tosca. Started in AD 135, the structure began as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian and was completed by his successor, Antoninus Pius. From the mid-6th century the building became a fortress, a place of refuge for popes during wars and sieges.

Its name dates to AD 590, when Pope Gregory the Great, during a procession to plead for the end of a plague, saw an angel standing on the summit of the castle, sheathing his sword. Taking this as a sign that the plague was at an end, the pope built a small chapel at the top, placing a statue next to it to celebrate his vision—thus the name, Castel Sant'Angelo.

In the rooms off the Cortile dell'Angelo, look for the Cappella di Papa Leone X (Chapel of Pope Leo X), with a facade by Michelangelo. In the Pope Alexander VI courtyard, a wellhead bears the Borgia coat of arms. The stairs at the far end of the courtyard lead to the open terrace for a view of the Passetto, the fortified corridor connecting Castel Sant'Angelo with the Vatican. In the appartamento papale (papal apartment), the Sala Paolina (Pauline Room) was decorated in the 16th century by Perino del Vaga and assistants with lavish frescoes of scenes from the Old Testament and the lives of St. Paul and Alexander the Great.

The monumental Castel Sant'Angelo, more commonly referred to as the Castello Aragonese, guards the drawbridge leading from the island center of Taranto to the newer city on the mainland. The castle is occupied by the Italian navy, but it's open to the public, and navy personnel conduct regular, free guided tours. The castle, built in its present form by King Ferdinand of Aragon, King of Naples, in the 15th century, contains ruins of older Greek, Byzantine, and Norman constructions as well as the Renaissance Chapel of San Leonardo.