1473 Best Sights in Italy

At the southeast corner of the sprawling Piazza dei Miracoli, this museum holds a wealth of medieval sculptures and the ancient Roman sarcophagi that inspired Nicola Pisano's figures.

Adjacent to this fascinating small museum is an opificio, or workshop, that Ferdinand I established in 1588 to train craftsmen in the art of working with precious and semiprecious stones and marble (pietre dure means hard stones). Four hundred–plus years later, the workshop is renowned as a center for the restoration of mosaics and inlays in semiprecious stones. The museum is highly informative and includes some magnificent late-Renaissance examples of this highly specialized and beautiful craft. If you're going to the Uffizi, do keep your ticket, as entrance to this museum is free.

In bygone ages, the task of protecting the local inhabitants from Vesuvius fell to the patron saint of Naples, San Gennaro, whose statue was often paraded through city streets to placate the volcano's wrath, but since the mid-19th century the Osservatorio Vesuviano has attentively monitored seismic activity. The original 1841 observatory, conspicuous with its Pompeian-red facade, has survived unscathed on the volcano's upper slopes and now serves as a conference center and small museum whose exhibits include a mineralogical display, landscape gouaches, and early seismographs. Informational panels describe the contributions of the observatory's directors and other staff to the development of volcano-monitoring instrumentation.

The cathedral museum exhibits many items too precious to be in the church, most notably the finely worked golden decorations of the Volto Santo, the Byzantine crucifix that remains in the Duomo.

Some of the original decorations of the town's main church, the former church, and the cloister of San Romano reside in the Museo della Cattedrale, across the piazza from the Duomo. Inside you'll find 22 codices commissioned between 1477 and 1535; early-13th-century sculptures by the Maestro dei Mesi; a mammoth oil on canvas by Cosmè Tura from 1469; and an exquisite Jacopo della Quercia, the Madonna della Melagrana. Although this last work dates from 1403 to 1408, the playful expression on the Christ child seems very 21st century.

The Museo della Ceramica has some 3,000 pieces of majolica, a type of glazed pottery made in this region since the early 14th century. The museum is beautifully lighted, and objects dating from the early 14th century to the late 18th century are well labeled and arranged, providing a good overview of the region's ceramics-making history. There's also an interesting display of the coats of arms of important Renaissance families such as the Medici and Strozzi.

Caltagirone was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site for its ceramics as well as for its numerous Baroque churches. Although the museum offers little information in English about the beautiful items displayed in its many glass cases, you can still see one of Sicily's most extensive ceramics collections, ranging from Neolithic finds to red-figure pottery from 5th-century-BC Athens and 18th-century terra-cotta Nativity figures.

A 20-minute drive from Caltabellota, the sleepy village of Burgio is home to this cultural treasure, a former convent that is now a museum dedicated to the region's ceramics. It perches on a picturesque hilltop overlooking the village, as well as the surrounding orange and olive groves, and Caltabellotta in the distance. Inside, you can explore the fascinating history of the local pottery and its distinctive colors, with some examples dating back to the 1600s. Ask for a guide at the reception to get the most out of your visit. A bonus is that the museum is open on Sunday, when some of the other smaller villages in the area seem to come to a standstill. 

Not surprisingly, only one painting is displayed here, Piero's Madonna del Parto (circa 1455), a fresco depicting the expectant Virgin flanked by two angels. Originally painted for the small chapel of Santa Maria a Momentana in Monterchi's cemetery, the work was restored in 1992–93 and moved, shortly thereafter, into the museum. The iconography of the image is extremely rare and, emphasized by its static atmosphere and studied symmetry, the fresco achieves an extraordinary sense of enigmatic and monumental spirituality.

Charming Salvatore Amorelli, known affectionarly as Totò, has been crafting pipes since 1982, and his evocative, tobacco-perfumed workshop-museum, which is hidden away within a historic courtyard lined with beautifully gnarled pieces of wood, is a joy to visit. As you enter his workshop, smiling Salvatore will take you through the fascinating history of the pipe, the different types of wood and techniques he uses, with displays of pipes laid out on tables. Totò's pipes are sculptural works of art, enjoyed by people from around world, including Bill Clinton, who has a sax-shaped number. Visitors may drop by any day but Sunday, but it's better to call ahead to make an appointment (long lunches are sacred here, of course).

From silkworm litters to textile finishing machinery to temporary exhibitions, this small but complete collection preserves the history of a manufacturing region that continues to supply a large proportion of Europe's silk. The friendly staffers will give you an overview of the museum; they are also happy to provide brochures and information about local retail shops. Follow the textile school's driveway around to the low-rise concrete building on the left, and take the shallow ramp down to the entrance.

Fine historic and contemporary examples of local woodworking are on display here, as well as a retrospective on the life of local film director Luis Trenker.

Rome's first walls were erected in the 6th century BC, but the ancient city greatly expanded over the next few centuries, and when Rome was at its peak, it didn't need walls. In the 3rd century AD, however, Emperor Aurelian commissioned a 12-mile wall to protect the city. Although many considered this a sign of weakness, it was more than a century before those walls were first breached in a siege that would herald the end of the empire. The ancient walls eventually became the fortifications of the papal city and remained in use for 16 centuries until the unification of Italy in 1870. Studding the Aurelian Walls were 18 main gates, the best preserved of which is the Porta di San Sebastiano at the entrance to the Via Appia Antica. This gate is also home to a small museum that allows you to walk a section of the ancient ramparts and take in some truly wonderful views. Note that the museum closes relatively early, at 2 pm.

In the 1930s, the Italian government drained Nemi's lake to recover two magnificent ceremonial ships, loaded with sculptures, bronzes, and art treasures, that were submerged for 2,000 years. The Museo delle Navi Romane, on the lakeshore below the town of Nemi, was built to house the ships, but they were destroyed in a fire during World War II. Inside are scale models, finds from the Bronze Age Diana sanctuary and the area nearby, and an excellent video exhibit explaining the history of the ships. There's also a colossal statue of the infamous and extravagant Roman emperor Caligula, who had the massive barges built; the Italian police once snatched the marble sculpture back from tomb robbers just as they were about to smuggle it out of the country.

The well-arranged museum on the south side of the Piazza del Duomo holds the sinopie (preparatory drawings) for the Camposanto frescoes. Though the exhibits are mostly of interest to specialists, some audiovisual material provides a good introduction to the whole religious complex.

Though part of this ancient bath complex (the largest in the Roman world) is now the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and other parts were transformed into a Carthusian monastery or razed to make room for later urban development, a visit still gives you a sense of the scale and grandeur of this complex, which included a gymnasium, library, and public baths. Upon entering the church, you see the major structures of the baths, partly covered by 16th- and 17th-century overlay, some of which is by Michelangelo. The calm monastery cloister is filled with the Museo Nazionale Romano's collection of inscriptions; other rooms have pieces associated especially with remote Roman antiquity (think: huts), as well as archaeological finds from Rome's Republican and imperial periods, including a rare painted relief of the god Mithras.

A small but fascinating collection of artifacts found at archaeological sites in and around Turin is displayed here. A spiral ramp winds down through the subterranean museum, and as in a real archaeological site, the deeper you go, the older the objects on display. A life-size silver bust of the Roman emperor Lucius Verus (AD 161–169) is one of the masterpieces of the collection.

The museum, housed in the Palazzo Orsini, has several rooms featuring paintings by Zuccarelli, who was born in Pitigliano in 1702. Other works include a Madonna carved in wood by Jacopo della Quercia (1371/74–1438), a 14th-century crucifix, period furniture, and a numismatic collection.

In the converted convent church of San Pietro all'Orto, this museum houses a large number of medieval paintings and sculptures gathered from churches in and around Massa Marittima. Perhaps the most important piece, Ambrogio Lorenzetti's early-14th-century Maestà, was discovered in the storage room of the church in 1866.

The wealthy Martelli family, long associated with the all-powerful Medici, lived, from the 16th century, in this palace on a quiet street near the Basilica of San Lorenzo. The last Martelli died in 1986, and, in October 2009, the casa-museo (house-museum) opened to the public. It's the only nonreconstructed example of such a house in all of Florence, and for that reason alone it's worth a visit. The family collected art, and while most of the stuff is B-list, a few gems by Beccafumi, Salvatore Rosa, and Piero di Cosimo adorn the walls.

A former Dominican convent adjacent to the church of San Marco houses this museum, which contains many stunning works by Fra Angelico (circa 1400–55), the Dominican friar famous for his piety as well as for his painting. When the friars' cells were restructured between 1439 and 1444, he decorated many of them with frescoes meant to spur religious contemplation. His unostentatious and direct paintings exalt the simple beauties of the contemplative life. Don't miss the famous Annunciation, on the upper floor, and the works in the gallery off the cloister as you enter. Here you can see his beautiful Last Judgment; as usual, the tortures of the damned are far more inventive and interesting than the pleasures of the redeemed.

Damaged during World War II, the 13th-century Gothic church of Sant'Agostino now houses a museum displaying pieces of medieval architecture, sculptures, and frescoes. Highlights of the collection are the enigmatic fragments of a tomb sculpture by Giovanni Pisano (circa 1250–1315). Surviving from the original construction are the fine campanile with a Moorish inlaid marble design and two well-preserved cloisters (one of which is the only triangular cloister in Europe).  If you have a ticket for the Childhood Home of Christopher Columbus, present it here for a discounted entry.

Set behind what could be, save for the palm trees, a very English expanse of lawn, this salmon-pink building with its Athenian-style porch was built in 1826 for Ferdinand Acton, the son of English aristocrat Sir John Acton. In 1841, it was bought by the Rothschild banking family, who brought in Gaetano Genovese—he of the Palazzo Reale's sumptuous staircase—to design the Salotto Rosso and the ballroom.

The villa then passed to a distant ancestor of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, and eventually went to the Italian State in 1955. Attractions here include a sumptuous collection of porcelain and a biblioteca-discoteca—an archive of classical and operatic records. The villa also contains paintings that are part of Banco di Napoli's collection, including works by masters of Neapolitan Baroque, as well as 18th- and 19th-century landscapes.

This museum, which sits to the left of Pienza's Duomo, is small but has a few interesting papal treasures and rich Flemish tapestries. The most precious piece is a rare mantle that belonged to Pope Pius II: it's woven in gold and embellished with pearls and embroidered religious scenes.

Although the Museo Diocesano is small, its modest collection incorporates a number of subtle and pleasant local works of art. Note the rather odd Crucifixion by Lorenzo Lippi, Il Redentore, probably by a follower of Verrocchio (1435–88), and the small but exquisite Education of the Virgin by Tiepolo (1696–1770).

Housed in part of the original cathedral structure, this nine-room museum has an impressive number of large, splendid paintings by native son Luca Signorelli (1445–1523), as well as a delightful Annunciation by Fra Angelico (1387/1400–55). The church was built between 1498 and 1505 and restructured by Giorgio Vasari in 1543. Frescoes depicting sacrifices from the Old Testament by Doceno (1508–56), based on designs by Vasari, line the walls.

The Bishop's Palace houses an abundance of local medieval art, in particular Gothic wood carvings—statues and liturgical objects collected from the cathedral treasury. During the Christmas season, curators arrange the museum's large collection of antique Nativity scenes; look for the shepherds wearing Tyrolean hats.

This cathedral museum is housed in a 13th-century church designed in the Catalan Gothic style. The usual assortment of religious treasures—paintings, wooden sculptures, and bronze statues—is on display; look for the masterful 16th-century Catalan silverware, forged with intricate ancient motifs. Call ahead to check opening times.

The religious art collection housed in the Bishop's Palace was collected from local churches and includes an unusual reliquary by Antonio Pollaiolo with the head of St. Octavian in silver resting on four golden lions. There's also a fine terra-cotta bust of St. Linus by Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525/28). Two paintings are noteworthy: Rosso Fiorentino's (1495–1540) Madonna di Villamagna and Daniele da Volterra's (1509–66) Madonna di Ulignano, named for the village churches in which they were originally placed.

Situated between the archbishop's palace and the Duomo, the museum contains paintings, silverware, vestments, and other precious objects collected by the archbishops of Cosenza over centuries. Look for the filigreed silver cup known as "the Pope," the 15th-century "Torquemada" chalice, and paintings by Luca Giordano, Andrea Vaccaro, and Giuseppe Pascaletti. The heart of the museum contains La Stauroteca, emblem of Cosenza and the city's greatest treasure: a unique reliquary cross dating back to the 13th century.