423 Best Sights in Italy

In a combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles, Sansepolcro's cathedral, though somewhat austere, contains some significant works of art. These include the Volto Santo, a wooden sculpture of the 9th century, which is believed to be the earliest crucifix depicting a completely clothed Christ on the cross. The Ascension of Christ, by Perugino (circa 1448–1523), and its neighbor, an Assumption of the Virgin, by Jacopo Palma the Younger (circa 1550–1628) are also highlights.

The Romanesque Duomo, the Cattedrale di San Zeno, dates from as early as the 5th century. It houses a magnificent silver altar dedicated to St. James. The two half-figures on the left are by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446), the first Renaissance architect and the designer of Florence's magnificent Duomo cupola.

Cremona's Romanesque Duomo was consecrated in 1190. It's an impressive structure in a breathtaking piazza, and certainly one of the most beautiful churches in Italy. Here you can find the Story of the Virgin Mary and the Passion of Christ, the central fresco of an extraordinary cycle commissioned in 1514 and featuring the work of local artists, including Boccaccio Boccaccino, Giovanni Francesco Bembo, and Altobello Melone.

Cividale's Renaissance Duomo is largely the work of Pietro Lombardo, principal architect of Venice's famous Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The interior was restructured in the 18th century by another prominent Venetian architect, Giorgio Massari. The church contains a magnificent 12th-century silver gilt altarpiece.

Dedicated to St. Peter, the Duomo was begun in the 11th century and was reconstructed in the early 1500s. Inside is a crucifix dating from the 14th to 15th century. There's also an early-16th-century terra-cotta attributed to the school of the della Robbia.

A few steps from the Piazza della Libertà is Udine's 1335 Duomo, with some significant works by Tiepolo (1696–1770). Its Cappella del Santissimo has important early frescoes by Tiepolo, and the Cappella della Trinità has a Tiepolo altarpiece. There is also a beautiful late Tiepolo Resurrection (1751) in an altar by the sculptor Giuseppe Toretti. Ask the Duomo's attendant to let you into the adjacent Oratorio della Purità to see Tiepolo's later works: the altarpiece Immaculate Conception and ceiling frescoes Assumption and Glory of the Angels, alongside eight monochrome, chiaroscuro scenes by son Giandomenico Tiepolo (1726--1804). The Museo del Duomo, housed in two 14th-century chapels and baptistery, contains sculptures (including a fine funereal marble sarcophagus), paintings, textiles, and devotional jewels.   

The Cattedrale San Pietro Apostolo, or Duomo, was given a 19th-century neoclassical makeover but retains the Renaissance splendor of the Malchiostro Chapel, with an Annunciation by Titian (1520) and Pordenone's (1484–1539) Adoration of the Magi frescoes. The crypt has 12th-century columns. Bring a handful of coins for the coin-operated lights that illuminate the artwork. To the left of the Duomo is the Romanesque Battistero di San Giovanni (11th–12th centuries), which is probably quite similar in style to the medieval Duomo; it's open only for special exhibitions.

Dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, the Duomo is an object lesson in Italian Gothic architecture. Completed in the early 14th century, it is decorated so as to emphasize geometry and verticality: pointed arches and narrow vaults are completely covered with frescoes that direct your gaze upward. The porch on the south side of the cathedral facing the square was built in 1470; it represents the Gothic style at its most florid and excessive.

A stark medieval interior yields many masterpieces at Fiesole Cathedral (Cathedral of Saint Romulus of Fiesole). In the raised presbytery, the Cappella Salutati was frescoed by 15th-century artist Cosimo Rosselli, but it was his contemporary, sculptor Mino da Fiesole (1430–84), who put the town on the artistic map. The Madonna on the altarpiece and the tomb of Bishop Salutati are fine examples of the artist's work.

This massive Romanesque church, also known as the Cathedral of San Vigilio (St. Vigilius), forms the southern edge of the Piazza del Duomo. Locals refer to this square as the city's salotto (sitting room), as in fine weather it's always filled with students and residents drinking coffee, sipping an aperitif, or reading the newspaper. The Baroque Fontana del Nettuno presides over it all. When skies are clear, pause here to savor the view of the mountaintops enveloping the city.

Within the Duomo unusual arcaded stone stairways border the austere nave. Ahead is the baldacchino (altar canopy), a copy of Bernini's masterpiece in St. Peter's in Rome. To the left of the altar is a mournful 16th-century crucifixion, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Apostle. This crucifix, by German artist Sisto Frey, was a focal point of the Council of Trent: each decree agreed on during the two decades of deliberations was solemnly read out in front of it. Stairs on the left side of the altar lead down to the 4th-century Paleo-Christian burial vault (Early Christian Basilica). Outside, check out the bronze scale model of the city on the south side of the cathedral, then walk around to the back to see an exquisite display of 14th-century stonemason artistry, from the small porch to the intriguing knotted columns on the graceful apse.

Several reconstructions have left little to admire of the once-Romanesque Duomo. Inside is the Cappella del Santo Chiodo (Chapel of the Holy Nail), built in the 15th century to hold a nail allegedly from the cross upon which Christ was crucified. (Perhaps it inspired the locals to go into the nail-making business, which became another of the town's flourishing industries.)

Arezzo's medieval cathedral at the top of the hill contains a fresco of a tender Maria Maddalena by Piero della Francesca (1420–92); look for it in the north aisle next to the large marble tomb near the organ. Construction of the Duomo began in 1278 but twice came to a halt, and the church wasn't completed until 1510. The ceiling decorations and the stained-glass windows date from the 16th century. The facade, designed by Arezzo's Dante Viviani, was added later (1901–14).

In the center of the borgo antico, Gallipoli's Duomo is a notable Baroque cathedral from the late 17th century, dedicated to Sant'Agata, patron saint of the city. Built in local limestone, the ornate facade is matched by an equally elaborate interior with columns and altars in fine polychrome marble and paintings by leading local Gallipoli and Neapolitan maestros of the time. Particularly interesting are the stone carvings that depict episodes from the city's history.

Cortona's cathedral stands on an edge of the city, next to what's left of the Etruscan and medieval walls. Built on the site of a Romanesque church, the present Renaissance church was begun in 1480 and finished in 1507. An arcade along the outside wall was erected in the 16th century. The interior, a mixture of Renaissance and baroque styles, features an exquisite 1664 baroque tabernacle on the high altar by Francesco Mazzuoli.

The central Piazza Garibaldi, dating from the 13th to the early 14th century, contains this Romanesque cathedral, with sculptures of the life of patron saint Cerbone above the door.

Sovana extends from the Rocca Aldobrandesca at the eastern end of town west to this imposing cathedral, built between the 10th and 14th century. The church, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, is Romanesque in style but, atypically, the main entrance is on the left-hand side of the building.

This 18th-century Baroque cathedral has a single nave with chapels and paintings on the sides. There are two altarpieces by local artist Francesco Zuccarelli (1702–88), a Rococo landscape artist, a favorite of George III and one of the founders of the British Royal Academy.

This 15th-century cathedral was built by the architect Bernardo Rossellino (1409–64) under the influence of Leon Battista Alberti. The travertine facade is divided into three parts, with Renaissance arches under the pope's coat of arms encircled by a wreath of fruit. Inside, the cathedral is simple but richly decorated with Sienese paintings. The building's perfection didn't last long—the first cracks appeared immediately after it was completed, and its foundations have shifted slightly ever since as rain erodes the hillside behind. You can see this effect if you look closely at the base of the first pier as you enter the church and compare it with the last.

Pisa's cathedral brilliantly utilizes the horizontal marble-stripe motif (borrowed from Moorish architecture) that became common on Tuscan cathedrals. It is famous for the Romanesque panels on the transept door facing the tower that depict scenes from the life of Christ. The beautifully carved 14th-century pulpit is by Giovanni Pisano.

Ancient, but rebuilt from the 15th-century right up to 1924, the town's cathedral follows a Latin-cross design; its nave and two side aisles are divided by thick piers with round arches. A Renaissance-style door and artworks, including the archbishop's 16th-century marble throne and ceiling paintings attributed to the 18th-century Neapolitan school, are easily viewable. Twentieth-century marquetry ornaments the choir stalls with representations of the Stations of the Cross. Torquato Tasso, Sorrento's most famous native son, was baptized here in the 16th century (probably at the front in the first chapel on the right). The delightfully florid three-story campanile, topped by a clock and a belfry, has an open arcaded base and recycled Roman columns.

The imposing town cathedral was built in the 13th century but acquired a baroque facade 500 years later; its 14th-century cloister is decorated with medieval frescoes.

Set on a narrow street on the highest tier of the town, the Duomo dates from the 13th century, with some Baroque additions—in particular, a lavishly decorated bishop's chapel.

Designed by Rosario Gagliardi in 1738 (and completed in 1791), Ragusa's main cathedral, a fine example of the Sicilian Baroque, was further modified in the 19th century with the addition of a Neoclassical cupola. The flamboyant convex facade with bell tower rises 203 feet, looking like a wedding cake from the sloping piazza below to provide sightlines for the 141-foot dome. Although visitors enter via side entrances, the ornate portal frames wooden doors that are decorated with six episodes in the martyrdom of San Giorgio, all carved by Fiorello (1793). The three-nave interior is more subdued in comparison and contains numerous paintings and statuary by mostly 18th-century Sicilian artists, as well as an impressive 3,383-pipe Organum Maximum made in Bergamo in 1881; that alone is well worth hearing and a reason to visit. But you may wish to linger to take in the artworks and sunlight-bathed atmosphere from 20 vibrant, stained-glass windows, each detailing more saintly scenes and allegories.

The main Norman cathedral of Caccamo, the original church was built in the 1400s by the Chiaramonte family and filled with artwork from many Sicilian Renaissance masters. The building was expanded and rebuilt in the 1600s in the elaborate Sicilian Baroque style and still houses all the paintings from the previous structure and other artwork from abandoned or destroyed churches in the area.

The most impressive part of Turin's 15th-century cathedral is the Cappella della Sacra Sindone (Chapel of the Holy Shroud), where the famous relic is housed in a sealed casket. The Sacra Sindone is a 12-foot-long sheet of linen, thought by millions to be the burial shroud of Christ, bearing the light imprint of his crucified body. The shroud first made an appearance around the middle of the 15th century, when it was presented to Ludovico of Savoy in Chambéry. In 1578 it was brought to Turin by another member of the Savoy royal family, Duke Emanuele Filiberto.

It was only in the 1990s that the Catholic Church began allowing rigorous scientific study of the shroud. Not surprisingly, the results have been hazy. On one hand, three separate university teams—in Switzerland, Britain, and the United States—have concluded, as a result of carbon-14 analysis, that the cloth dates from between 1260 and 1390. On the other hand, they are unable to explain how medieval forgers could have created the shroud's image. Either way, the shroud continues to be revered as a holy relic, exhibited to the public on very rare occasions.

One end of the Piazza del Popolo is dominated by this 12th-century Romanesque-Gothic masterpiece, built over the site of a Roman temple. The simple facade is enlivened by a finely carved rose window. Look up at that window as you step inside and you'll notice its peculiarity: each "petal" of the rose has a cherub's face in the stained glass. Also take a close look at the capitals of the double columns with pilasters: perched between the acanthus leaves are charming medieval sculptures of saints—Peter with his keys, George and the dragon, and so on. You can see the rich brown tones of the wooden choir near the altar, but unless you have binoculars or request special permission in advance, you can't get close enough to see all the exquisite detail in this Renaissance masterpiece of woodworking (1521–30). The severe, solid mass of the Duomo is mirrored by the Palazzo dei Priori (1595–97) across the way.

Behind the church of San Galgano, a short climb brings you to this charming little chapel with frescoes, by painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti (documented 1319–48), and a sword in a stone. Legend has it that Galgano, a medieval warrior and bon vivant, was struck by a revelation on this spot in which an angel told him to give up his fighting and frivolous ways forever. As a token of his conversion, he plunged his sword into the rock, where it remains today.

About 8 km (5 miles) south of Florence on the road to Siena is one of the country's two American cemeteries (the other is in Nettuno). It contains 4,392 bodies of Americans who died in Italy during World War II. Spread across a gently rolling hill, the simple crosses and Stars of David bearing only name, date of death, and state seem to stretch endlessly. Atop the hill is a place for reflection and large mosaic maps depicting the Allied assault in 1943. The two fronts—called the Gothic Line and the Gustav Line—are vividly rendered. So, too, is the list containing 1,409 names of those missing in action.

This broad, bustling waterfront promenade is one of Venice's prime stretches for strolling; thanks to its southern orientation along the Giudecca Canal, it is full of families, students, children, and dogs whenever there is the slightest ray of sunshine. Come in spring or winter to warm up a little, or in the summer to cool off under café umbrellas with drinks or gelato. Restaurant terraces over the water lure diners until late. The name Zattere means "rafts," and this was the area designated by the Venetian government for storing the vast platforms of tree trunks that were floated down rivers from the nearby Alps destined to become pilings, beams, ships, or any other item made of wood.

This small nonprofit art foundation is housed inside the turn-of-the-century Cerere factory, which produced pasta until 1960 and embodies San Lorenzo's transition from industrial to artsy. Although the foundation was established in 2004 to promote the work of young contemporary artists, artists have been renting studio space in the factory since the 1970s. Part of the exhibition space has remained raw, which makes for interesting site-specific installations. Check in advance to see what's happening, as exhibitions typically change every couple of months.