1473 Best Sights in Italy

Close to the historic quarter (but not that close—many locals prefer to use the town bus to shuttle up and down the steep hill), the port, or borgo, of the Marina Grande is Sorrento's fishing harbor. In recent years it has become unashamedly touristy, with outdoor restaurants and cafés encroaching on what little remains of the original harbor. The marina still remains a magical location for an evening out on the waterfront. Don't confuse this harbor with Marina Piccola, at the base of the cliff, below Piazza Tasso and the Hotel Excelsior Vittoria; that's the area where ferries and hydrofoils dock.

Amalfi's main beach stretches along the front of town and is popular with both locals and visitors. During the summer months, the beach is covered with rows of brightly colored sun beds and umbrellas, each color indicating a different swimming establishment generally associated with the restaurant overlooking the beach. The water is clear, especially in the mornings, and the swimming is good. Both ends of the beach have free areas, which are popular with locals and families. The beach has large pebbles, so if you're planning a leisurely day, then renting a sun bed is recommended. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: swimming.

Although Capri is not noted for fine beaches, Marina Piccola is generally considered to have the best beach on the island. It's certainly the most historic: Homer believed this to be the legendary spot where the Sirens nearly snared Odysseus. Expect to pay about €16 per person for the use of showers, lockers, and a sun chair/sun bed or search for a spot on the pebble-covered free beach and just lay out your towel. It's definitely worth investing in snorkeling gear, as the sea is rich in marine life, and visibility is often excellent. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

Most of the 20,000 works of contemporary and modern art in this collection are from the 20th century. Rotating exhibitions and special events throughout the year highlight still more contemporary art.

If you're keen to delve deeper into Rome's contemporary art scene, come to this stark-white gallery, which represents local and international artists whose work gets shown at international art fairs and prestigious museums like MAXXI and MACRO. The gallery has four exhibitions per year.

Unlike the other mausoleums in the area, this one is much more recent: buried here are the 335 victims of a massacre ordered by the Nazis as retribution for a partisan attack that killed 33 Nazis in March 1944. The tombs are labeled with the names, ages, and occupations of the victims, most of whom had nothing to do with the attack. As you enter the complex and walk through the caves, note the sculpture at the entrance and the bronze gates inside the tunnels. The statue, called The Three Ages of Man, represents the age range of the victims, from the youngest (15 years old) to the oldest (74 years old), while the bronze gates represent the horrific tangle of tortured bodies. A small museum with artifacts from the war sheds some light on the tragedy that took place here.

Below the main city of Taormina is Mazzarò (reached via a cable car called the funivia), where summertime beachgoers jostle for space on a pebble beach against the scenic backdrop of the aptly named Isola Bella. The first section of beach is reserved for expensive resorts but the far end, next to Isola Bella, has a large free area. The tiny "beautiful island" of Isola Bella was once the private residence of Florence Trevelyan and now houses a small exhibition. This and the surrounding grottoes and nature reserve can be visited by walking or paddling across a narrow strip of sand. 

For a fascinating and delightful day excursion out of Padua, take a drive (or a bus ride) to see several medieval towns. Monselice, 23 km (14 miles) south of Padua, has a castle perched on a hilltop that is everything a 13th-century castle should be, both inside and out. It also has the Villa Duodo, designed by Palladio's disciple and collaborator, Scamozzi. Este, 10 km (6 miles) west of Monselice, is another example of a medieval walled city. Farther west, the walls surrounding the town of Montagnana, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Padua, are some of the best preserved in Italy; they enclose a market square, a 500-year-old cathedral, a Palladian Villa, and a medieval castle.

The open-air loggia, built in 1551, teems with souvenir stands, but the real attraction is a copy of Pietro Tacca's bronze Porcellino (which translates as "little pig" despite the fact the animal is, in fact, a wild boar). The sculpture is Florence's equivalent of the Trevi Fountain: put a coin in his mouth, and if it falls through the grate below (according to one interpretation), it means you'll return to Florence someday. What you're seeing is a copy of a copy: Tacca's original version, in the Museo Bardini, is actually a copy of an ancient Greek work.

A bustling place, this produce, fish, and meat market in a former church cloister has added a second-floor bar, restaurant, and cooking school. Experience the sensory overload of colorful everyday Genovese life while watching the merchants and buyers banter over prices on the ground floor, and then head upstairs for a craft beer, a cooking lesson, or to try authentic Ligurian cuisine.

This contemporary photography and visual languages exhibition space, developed in partnership with Fondazione Prada, is spread over two floors in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Exhibitions, which rotate several times a year, explore the cultural and social implications of expression. The space itself, bombed after World War II and then fully restored, is worth visiting just for the unique view of the Galleria dome through the large windows. You can reach the gallery via the elevator next to the Prada store.

Located high above Mistretta are the ruins of this Arab-Norman castle. At over 3,000 feet above sea level, the location offers some spectacular views out to the coast and the highest peaks of the mountains from Santa Croce down to Santo Stefano di Camastra. The remaining structure of the castle gives you an idea of its original dimensions, which were built to defend the city and look out all along the coast. The castle was also connected to an extended walled perimeter that encircled the original town.

The exterior of this church may seem a bit run-down, but take a step to see the intricate details and explosions of excessive ornamentation. The old monastery dates back to 1450 and is a testament to the wealth derived from the lands and agricultural wealth of Polizzi Generosa. The church is filled with elaborate stonework and intriguing canvases, most strikingly San Benedetto in trono fra i Santi Mauro e Placido by Giuseppe Salerno (1573--1633). Of particular note is the exquisite floral ironwork in the upper choir, a 15th-century statue of Santa Margherita replete with dragon's tail by Domenico Gagini, and a well-preserved and vibrant majolica tile floor.

First built in 1299, these cloisters and their courtyard, up the hill above the Valle dei Templi near the modern city, are open to the public. However, most visitors only stop by the adjacent abbey for a treat and tour of the church, so be sure to ring the doorbell and try the chewy almond cookies. On special occasions, there may be kus-kus dolce—a sweet dessert dish made from pistachios, almonds, and chocolate—made from a recipe that the Cistercian nuns learned from Tunisian servants back in the 13th century. For the full abbey experience, visitors can choose to stay at the monastery guesthouse, which offers seven single rooms and four double rooms.

The town's beach is a 2-km (1-mile) stretch of sand, unusually clean for its proximity to the city. You can choose between public areas or private lidos where you can rent sun loungers and a parasol and gain access to washing facilities with hot showers and changing rooms (expect to pay €15–€20 for an entire day, though afternoon rates may be reduced). The private beaches are also noticeably tidier and are patrolled by lifeguards. All the beaches get very busy on weekends but you should always be able to find space. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; water sports. Best for:  swimming; walking.

The futuristic funivia (cable car), which zips visitors to the top of Monte Baldo (7,276 feet), is unique because it rotates. After a 10-minute ride, you're high in Veneto where you can take a stroll and enjoy spectacular views of the lake. Ride the cable car down or bring along a mountain bike (or even a hang glider) for the descent. In the winter, there's skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing.

The highest point on Elba, Monte Capanna is crossed by a twisting road that provides magnificent vistas at every turn; the tiny towns of Poggio and Marciana have enchanting little piazzas full of flowers and trees. You can hike to the top of the mountain or take an unusual open-basket cable car from just above Poggio.

The inland town of Fontana is the base for excursions to the top of this long-dormant volcano that dominates the island landscape. You can reach its 2,589-foot peak in less than 1½ hours of relatively easy walking.

About 7 km (4 miles) northeast of Nuoro is Monte Ortobene, a granite peak at 2,900 feet offering lofty views over the gulch below. Here you can also see up close the imposing bronze statue of the Rendentore, or Christ the Redeemer, overlooking the valley. Pilgrimages and Masses take place in summer here. Picnic tables make this a favorite spot for an alfresco lunch throughout the year. The mountain is easily reachable from Nuoro by bus or car via SP45.

Just outside Carbonia and strategically positioned atop a plateau that provides views inland and far out to sea, the remains of one of Sardinia's most important Carthaginian military strongholds were discovered by chance in 1962. The walls of Mt. Sirai were erected around 375 BC, and they continued to function as impregnable fortress barriers until the Roman conquest in 238 BC. For the full picture, try to combine your visit with a look at Carbonia's archaeological museum on Via Campania.

The older town, Montecatini Alto, sits atop a hill nearby, and is reached by a funicular from Viale Diaz. Though there isn't much to do once you get up there, the medieval square is lined with restaurants and bars, the air is crisp, and the views of the Nievole, the valley below, are gorgeous.

The most famous visitor to this island, about 50 km (30 miles) south of Elba, was fictional: Alexandre Dumas's legendary count. Today, the island is a well-protected nature preserve with wild Montecristo goats and vipers, peregrine falcons, and rare Corsican seagulls who make their home amid rosemary bushes and stunted pine trees. Scientific-research teams are given priority for permission to land on the island, and an annual quota of 1,000 visitors strictly limits even their number.

A tiny hilltop hamlet, about 2 km (1 mile) west of Greve in Chianti, Montefioralle is the ancestral home of Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512), the mapmaker, navigator, and explorer who named America. (His cousin-in-law, Simonetta, may have been the inspiration for Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, painted sometime in the 1480s.)

At this spa town about 13 km (8 miles) southwest of Padua, you can luxuriate in thermal mineral pools. Montegrotto Terme has several hotels whose treatments vary from simple massage and thermal and mud baths to hydrokinetic therapy. Scuba enthusiasts head here for the world's deepest indoor pool, Y-40 Deep Joy. The verdant hills of the nearby Parco dei Colli Euganei provide opportunities for walking, cycling, and other outdoor pursuits. The nearest railway stop, on the Bologna–Padua line, is Terme Euganee–Montegrotto. Taxis are available outside the station.

This sleepy town, sitting on a small knoll about 15 km (9 miles) south of Sansepolcro, would probably attract little attention if not for the fact that, in the 1450s, Piero della Francesca painted one of his greatest masterpieces—the Madonna del Parto, a rare image of a pregnant Virgin Mary—here. It's now on display in Sansepolcro's Museo della Madonna del Parto.

Nestled into the wide valley that leads to the sea, Monterosso is built above numerous streams, which have been covered to make up the village's main streets. Via Buranco, the oldest street in Monterosso, leads to the most characteristic piazza of the village, Piazza Matteotti. Locals pass through here daily to shop at the supermarket and butcher. This piazza also contains the oldest and most typical wineshop in the village, Enoteca da Eliseo—stop here between 6 pm and midnight to share tables with fellow tourists and locals over a bottle of wine. There’s also the Chiesa di San Francesco, built in the 12th century and an excellent example of the Ligurian Gothic style. Its distinctive black stripes and marble rose window make it one of the most photographed sites in the Cinque Terre.

Fegina, the newer side of the village (and site of the train station), has relatively modern homes ranging from the Liberty style (Art Nouveau) to the early 1970s. At the far eastern end of town, you'll run into a private sailing club sheltered by a vast rock carved with an impressive statue of Neptune. From here, you can reach the challenging trail to Levanto (a great 2½-hour hike). This trail has the added bonus of a five-minute detour to the ruins of a 14th-century monastery. The expansive view from this vantage point allowed the monks who were housed here to easily scan the waters for enemy ships that might invade the villages and alert residents to coming danger. Have your camera ready for this Cinerama-like vista. After a day of sightseeing, unwind on Spiaggia di Fegina, a large sandy beach. 

The local outdoor market is held on Thursday and attracts crowds of tourists and villagers from along the coast to shop for everything from pots, pans, and underwear to fruits, vegetables, and fish. Often a few stands sell local art and crafts, as well as olive oil and wine.

I Girolamini is another name for the Oratorians, followers of St. Philip Neri, to whom the splendid church I Girolamini is dedicated. The church is part of a larger complex managed as the Monumento Nazionale dei Girolamini. The Florentine architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio designed I Girolamini, which was erected between 1592 and 1619; the dome and facade were rebuilt (circa 1780) in the most elegant neoclassical style after a design by Ferdinando Fuga. Inside the entrance wall is Luca Giordano's grandiose fresco (1684) of Christ chasing the money changers from the temple. The intricate carved-wood ceiling, damaged by Allied bombs in 1943, has now been restored to its original magnificence.

Home to a permanent collection of ethnographic displays as well as temporary exhibitions of big-name artists such as Basquiat and Miró, MUDEC is in the vibrant Zona Tortona area of the city. British architect David Chipperfield designed the soaring space in a former factory. The permanent collection includes art, objects, and documents from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Book in advance for the most popular temporary exhibits. There’s also a highly rated restaurant, Enrico Bartolini Mudec, as well as a more casual bistro.

If you're heading northwest to Siena, stray 9 km (5½ miles) west of the Via Cassia to Vescovado and then follow the signs 2 km (1 mile) south to this tiny fortified medieval borgo (village) that has been completely restored.

The eclectic city-owned museum of Piacenzan art and antiquities is housed in the vast Palazzo Farnese, a monumental palace began in 1558, but never completed as planned. The highlight of the museum's collection is the tiny 2nd-century-BC Etruscan Fegato di Piacenza, a bronze tablet shaped like a fegato (liver), marked with the symbols of the gods of good and ill fortune. The collection also contains Botticelli's beautiful Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist. The museum's eclectic collections include not only artworks and sculpture but also archaeological, armory, carriages, glass and ceramics, and Risorgimento artifacts.