337 Best Sights in Italy

From the church of San Domenico it's a five-minute walk northwest to Fiesole's original cathedral. Dating from the 11th century, it was first the home of the Camaldolese monks. Thanks to Cosimo il Vecchio de' Medici, the complex was substantially restructured. The facade, never completed owing to Cosimo's death, contains elements of its original Romanesque decoration.

Originally endowed by Willa, Marquess of Tuscany, in 978, this ancient church is an interesting mélange of 13th-century, Renaissance, baroque, and 18th-century architectural refurbishing. Its graceful bell tower, best seen from the interior courtyard, is beautiful for its unusual construction—a hexagonal tower built on a quadrangular base.

The interior of the church was halfheartedly remodeled in the baroque style during the 17th century. Three tombs by Mino da Fiesole (circa 1430–84) line the walls, including the monumento funebre di Conte Ugo (tomb sculpture of Count Ugo), widely regarded as Mino's masterpiece. Executed in 1469–81, it shows Mino at his most lyrical: the faces seem to be lit from within—no small feat in marble.

The best-known work of art here is the delicate Vision of St. Bernard, by Filippino Lippi (circa 1457–1504), on the left as you enter. The painting—one of Filippino's finest—is in superb condition; note the Virgin Mary's hands, perhaps the most beautifully rendered in the city. On the right side of the church, above the cappella di San Mauro, is a monumental organ dating from 1558. Constructed by Onofrio Zeffirini da Cortona (1510–86), it's largely intact but is missing its 16th-century keyboard.

Just past the glass museum, this is among the first churches founded by the lagoon's original inhabitants. The elaborate mosaic pavement includes the date 1140; its ship's-keel roof and Veneto-Byzantine columns add to the semblance of an ancient temple. Though renovations are ongoing, the church can still be visited.

Filippo Brunelleschi designed this basilica, as well as that of Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno, in the 15th century. He never lived to see either finished. The two interiors are similar in design and effect. San Lorenzo, however, has a grid of dark, inlaid marble lines on the floor, which considerably heightens the dramatic effect. Brunelleschi's Sagrestia Vecchia (Old Sacristy) has stucco decorations by Donatello; it's at the end of the left transept.

A splendid example of southern Italian Baroque architecture, the basilica contains rows of lavishly decorated altars in polychrome marbles, as well as treasures like the silver statues of the two patron saints, San Martino and Santa Comasia. Eyes are drawn to the the gorgeous main altar (1773) by Neapolitan master Sanmartino (of San Severo, Naples fame). Among the other artistic, allegorical highlights is the vibrant sculpture of the Madonna Pastorella as a shepherd girl in a gown of cloth-of-gold, defending Christ's flock from demons. MuBa, a fab free museum nearby at via Stabile 4, exhibits religious artefacts from the basilica and archival art. 

Construction on this vast cathedral began in 1390, and the work still isn't finished more than 600 years later. Above the center of the door is a Madonna and Child flanked by Saints Ambrose and Petronius, the city's patrons. Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, and Andrea Palladio (among others), submitted designs for the facade, which were all eventually rejected. The Bolognesi had planned an even bigger church but had to tone down construction when the university seat was established next door in 1561. The most important art in the church is in the fourth chapel on the left: these frescoes by Giovanni di Modena date to 1410–15.

A former monastery, founded in the 7th century by monks fleeing Jerusalem following the Arab invasion, this is a major monument of Rome, though it takes on a subdued air thanks to its modern quiet surroundings in the upscale San Saba district. The serene but rustic interior harbors 10th-century frescoes, a famed Cosmatesque mosaic floor, and a hodgepodge of ancient marble pieces.

The ornate facade of this 18th-century Baroque church—a UNESCO World Heritage site—dominates Piazza del Popolo. The interior is worth a visit for its towering marble main altar, carved wooden sacristy, and numerous statuary and artworks, including some dedicated to the cult of Madonna Odigitria, traditionally venerated by the residents of the upper part of town with a music-and-flower-filled annual May procession. 

Milan's bishop, St. Ambrose (one of the original Doctors of the Catholic Church), consecrated this church in AD 387. St. Ambroeus, as he is known in Milanese dialect, is the city's patron saint, and his remains—dressed in elegant religious robes, a miter, and gloves—can be viewed inside a glass case in the crypt below the altar. Until the construction of the more imposing Duomo, this was Milan's most important church. Much restored and reworked over the centuries (the gold-and-gem-encrusted altar dates from the 9th century), Sant'Ambrogio still preserves its Romanesque characteristics, including 5th-century mosaics. The church is often closed for weddings on Saturday.

Two of Bernini's original angels that decorated the Ponte Sant'Angelo are found here, on either side of the high altar. The door in the right aisle leads into one of Rome's hidden gardens, where orange trees bloom in the cloister. Borromini's fantastic contributions—the dome and a curious bell tower with its droop-winged angels looking out over the city—are best seen from Via di Capo le Case, across Via dei Due Macelli.

Gracing Piazza Sant'Antonino and one of the largest churches in Sorrento, the Basilica di Sant'Antonino honors the city's patron saint, St. Anthony the Abbot. The church and the portal on the right side date from the 11th century. Its nave and side aisles are divided by recycled ancient columns. A painting on the nave ceiling is signed and dated by Giovan Battista Lama in 1734. The crypt, housing the saint’s bones, is enriched by polychrome marble and votive offerings. In addition, a relic case contains two whale ribs, which commemorates one of the saint’s miracles, when he saved a child from the cetacean. Directly opposite across the piazza is the turn-of-the-20th-century Municipio (town hall).

Gubbio's famous ceri—three 16-foot-tall pillars crowned with statues of Saints Ubaldo, George, and Anthony—are housed in this basilica atop Monte Ingino. The pillars are transported to the Palazzo dei Consoli on the first Sunday of May, in preparation for the Festa dei Ceri, one of central Italy's most spectacular festivals.

The lovely, wide piazza in front of this church is reason enough to visit. The red-and-white-striped facade frames the piazza's panoramic view over the Umbrian plains. Santa Chiara is dedicated to St. Clare, one of the earliest and most fervent of St. Francis's followers and the founder of the order of the Poor Ladies—or Poor Clares—which was based on the Franciscan monastic order. The church contains Clare's body, and in the Cappella del Crocifisso (on the right) is the cross that spoke to St. Francis. A heavily veiled nun of the Poor Clares order is usually stationed before the cross in adoration of the image.

This Early Christian basilica is stark and tranquil, showing off the lovely simplicity common to churches of its era. Although some of the side chapels were added in the 16th and 17th centuries, the essential form is as Rome's Christians knew it in the 5th century. Most striking are the 24 fluted Corinthian columns that line the classical interior. Once bright with mosaics, today the church has only one above the entrance door (its gold letters announce how the church was founded by Peter of Illyria, "rich for the poor," under Pope Celestine I). The beautifully carved, 5th-century cedar doors to the left of the outside entrance are the oldest of their kind in existence.

Olbia's little basilica, a short walk from the main Corso Umberto I, is the city's unmissable sight. The simple granite structure dates from the 11th century, part of the great Pisan church-building program, using pillars and columns recycled from Roman buildings. The basilica has a bare, somewhat somber interior; its three naves are separated by a series of Romanesque arches, and fragments of frescoes are visible behind the altar. Recent renovations of the monument have unearthed the remains of a Greek and Roman necropolis, which is now open to the public (the entrance is in the car park beneath the piazza).

Dominican friars commissioned this Baroque, Greek cross–shape basilica, replete with majolica-tiled dome, in the early 17th century. The church acts as a small museum of the era's Counter-Reformation art—the most flagrantly devotional school of Catholic art—and includes no less than five Luca Giordano altarpieces. Note Giovan Vincenzo Forli's 17th-century Circumcision on the left. Elsewhere, the richly decorated elevated presbytery, complete with a double staircase, provides a note of color in the mostly gray-and-white decoration. The stairs to the right of the crypt provide access to the Catacombe di San Gaudioso, with visits every hour 10 am–1 pm that include seeing the Presepe Favoloso, an elaborate Nativity scene donated to the church by renowned artisans the Scuotto brothers in 2021.

Baptisms still happen in this octagonal baptistery designed by Benedetto Antelami between 1196 and 1216. It has a simple Pink Verona–marble Romanesque exterior and an uplifting Gothic interior. The doors are richly decorated with figures, animals, and flowers, and inside, the building has stucco figures (probably carved by Antelami) showing the months and seasons, and a vibrantly decorated cupola. Early-14th-century frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Christ grace the walls.

Next door to Ravenna's 18th-century cathedral, this baptistery has one of the town's most important mosaics. It dates from the beginning of the 5th century AD, with work continuing through the century. In keeping with the building's role, the great mosaic in the dome shows the baptism of Christ, and beneath are the Apostles. The lowest register of mosaics contains Christian symbols, the Throne of God, and the Cross. Note the naked figure kneeling next to Christ—he is the personification of the River Jordan.

There is no general access to the 17th-century Benedictine convent of San Michele, currently inhabited by just four nuns, but if you ring the doorbell, the nuns will invite you into the lobby to buy the traditional cookies they make, including nutty muconetti, made of candied pumpkin and almonds. You place your money—and the nuns place your cookies—in a small revolving hatch originally designed so that unwanted babies could be left to the care of the nuns while maintaining the anonymity of the mother.

Bergamo's Duomo and Battistero are the most substantial buildings in Piazza Duomo. But the most impressive structure is the Cappella Colleoni, which boasts a kaleidoscope of marble decoration and golden accents.

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.

In Tropea's beguiling warren of lanes, seek out the old Norman cathedral, whose main altar contains the locally revered icon of the Madonna di Romania, protectress of the city. Also of interest are the imposing 14th-century "Black Crucifix," in one of the side chapels, and the adjoining Museo Diocesano, which contains an archaeological section and a collection of sacred art, including a life-size statue of Santa Domenica in solid silver, dating from 1738. November through March, the cathedral is open for church services only, but if you're quiet and respectful, you can probably sneak a peek.

The city's Duomo was founded in 1093 by Sicily’s first Norman ruler, Roger I, who is depicted in relief above the main entrance on horseback trampling a turbanned Arab. It has an interior dominated by the huge marble tableau of the Transfiguration above the altar, revealed as if behind stucco curtains held back by cherubs, designed by the Palermitan Renaissance sculptor Antonello Gagini who is thought to have worked with Michelangelo in Rome. In the right transept is the fragment of a fresco of Christ Pantokrator dating back to the original Norman church and created by Greek Byzantine artists.

Originally dedicated to Santa Maria Maddalena before San Cataldo (St. Cathal of Munster) got the Papal nod, Puglia's oldest Duomo has 5th-century origins and been rebuilt several times—its present shape layered on top of an 11th-century Byzantine layout. Striking features include the ornate Baroque facade (1713) by the Leccese Mauro Manieri, geometric motifs in the nave and transept, 16 ancient marble columns with ornate capitals, and a recently rebuilt campanile and 1657 cupola. 

This church is a lesson in Palermitano eclecticism—originally Norman (1182), then Catalan Gothic (14th to 15th century), then fitted out with a Baroque and neoclassical interior (18th century). Its turrets, towers, dome, and arches come together in the kind of meeting of diverse elements that King Roger II (1095–1154), whose tomb is inside along with that of Frederick II, fostered during his reign. The exterior is more intriguing than the interior, and it's worth walking round to the gracefully decorated back of the apse to view the interlacing Arab arches inlaid with limestone and black volcanic tufa. The climb to the cathedral's roof is also recommended for some fabulous city views.

This beautiful cathedral, which practically abuts the Museo Nazionale Etrusco, is thought by many to be among the oldest churches in Tuscany; parts of it date from the mid-6th century. It houses the remains of Santa Mustiola, the patron saint of the city. It has very little artificial light inside, so you can get a pretty good idea of how people experienced this space over the centuries.

The Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (aka the Duomo of Lipari) was built in the 16th century with an initial construction and history dating back to the Arab era in 838. This Baroque-style co-cathedral in the heart of Lipari's main town is the island's most famous landmark and the main place of worship of the entire Aeolian archipelago. The prominent facade can be seen from afar, but a visit is recommended. Even though you must ascend a steep staircase to reach it, the church is well worth the climb up. And it's located directly next door to the Aeolian Regional Archaeological Museum, the island's other main sight. 

The magnificent Gothic cathedral, a few steps from the Castello Estense, has a three-tier facade of slender arches and beautiful sculptures over the central door. Work began in 1135 and took more than 100 years to complete. The interior was completely remodeled in the 17th century. On Palm Sunday 2024, the Duomo reopened having undergone major restoration after the 2012 earthquake; the extensive works uncovered ornately sculpted capitals hidden behind plaster for more than three centuries.

Dating from the 14th century and occupying the site of an ancient Roman forum, the cathedral contains remnants of at least three previous buildings, the earliest a hall dating from the 5th century. A section of the original floor mosaic still remains, incorporated into the floor of the present church. In the 9th and 11th centuries two adjacent churches were built—the Church of the Assumption and the Church of San Giusto. The beautiful apse mosaics of these churches, done in the 12th and 13th centuries by a Venetian artist, still remain in the apses of the side aisles of the present church. The mosaics in the main apse date from 1932. In the 14th century the two churches were joined and a Romanesque-Gothic facade was attached, ornamented with fragments of Roman monuments taken from the forum. The jambs of the main doorway derive from Roman funereal stelae.

Viterbo's Romanesque cathedral was built over the ruins of the ancient Roman Temple of Hercules. During World War II, the roof and the vault of the central nave were destroyed, and you can still see the mark the shrapnel left on the columns closest to the pulpit. Subsequently, the church was rebuilt to reflect its medieval design, and it still has many original details, including a beautiful Cosmati floor that dates from the 13th century.

Three popes are buried here, including Pope Alexander IV (1254–61), whose body was hidden so well by the canons, out of fear that it would be desecrated, that it has never been found. The adjoining Museo del Colle del Duomo has a collection of 18th-century reliquaries, Etruscan sarcophagi, and a painting of the Crucifixion that has been attributed to Michelangelo. The ticket to the museum also grants you entrance to the Palazzo Papale, located on the same square.