1473 Best Sights in Italy

All of this Borromean island is a botanical garden, with a season that stretches from late March to late October due to the climatic protection of the mighty Alps and the tepid waters of Lake Maggiore. The cacti and palm trees here, so far north and so near the border with Switzerland, are a beautiful surprise. Two special times to visit are April, for the camellias, and May, for azaleas and rhododendrons. Also on the island is a 16th-century palazzo, where the Borromeo family still lives for part of the year. 

The twisted maze of narrow streets and tiny courtyards at the core of Mazara’s historical center is most interesting if you visit with a local guide. There is no danger, but as the distinction between what is a private courtyard and a public thoroughfare is blurred, it is far more comfortable, as a stranger, to be accompanied by a local (in addition, you will probably get to meet a few of the 4,000-strong Tunisian community who live here). Throughout the Kasbah (and indeed scattered all over the historic center) are a series of ceramic statues, some commissioned from local artists, others by schoolchildren, as an appealing initiative by the local administration. On Via Porta Palermo, students from the local art school were given free rein to decorate the metal doors of abandoned lockups. Tours are at their most evocative just before sunset, when men gather after a day’s work in little social clubs, children play in the street or go to the community play center, and the sound of a recorded muezzin calls the faithful to prayer.

The highlight of the Basilica complex is the spectacular 3rd- to 4th-century mosaic covering the entire floor of the basilica and the adjacent crypt, which make up one of the most important early Christian monuments. Theodore, the basilica's first bishop, built two parallel basilicas (now the north and the south halls) on the site of a Gnostic chapel in the 4th century. These were joined by a third hall, forming a "U." The complex later accumulated the Romanesque portico and Gothic bell tower. The mosaic floor of the basilica is the remains of the floor of Theodore's south hall.

In his north hall, Theodore retained much of the floor of the earlier Gnostic chapel, whose mosaics represent the ascent of the soul, through the realm of the planets and constellations, to God, who is represented as a ram. (The ram, at the head of the zodiac, is the Gnostic generative force.) This integration of Gnosticism into a Christian church is interesting, since Gnosticism had been branded a heresy by early church fathers.

The 4th-century mosaics of the Südalle (the south hall is the present-day nave) represent the story of Jonah as prefiguring the salvation offered by the Church. Down a flight of steps, the Cripta degli Affreschi contains 12th-century frescoes.

In Piazza Capitolo, the Domus and Palazzo Episcopale's newest discoveries reveal fascinating layers of the city's history, with beautiful geometric mosaics and frescoes, and original walls.

Providing refuge for the last remnants of the Sienese army during the Florentine conquest of 1555, the battlements of this 14th-century fortress are still in excellent condition. Climb the narrow, spiral steps for the 360-degree view of most of southern Tuscany. An on-site enoteca serves delicious snacks that pair beautifully with the local wines.

One piazza over from the dancing nymphs of Fontana Pretoria, this church, with its elegant Norman campanile, was erected in 1143 but had its interior altered considerably during the Baroque period. High along the western wall, however, is some of the oldest and best-preserved mosaic artwork of the Norman period. Near the entrance is a fascinating mosaic that shows the Norman King Roger II being crowned by Christ. In it Roger is dressed in a bejeweled Byzantine stole, reflecting the Norman court's penchant for all things Byzantine. Archangels along the ceiling wear the same stole wrapped around their shoulders and arms. The much plainer San Cataldo is next door.

According to legend, it was at the huge natural lake of Pergusa that the Greek goddess Persephone was abducted by Hades and taken to live with him in hell. Ringed these days by a motor-racing track and overlooked by modern villas, a less evocative setting for the myth would be hard to imagine. Far more inspiring is the nearby hilltop known as Cozzo Matrice, riddled with caves that have niches carved into their walls for tombs, votive objects, and candles, with 360-degree views stretching as far as Mount Etna and the coast. One of the caves is known as the Grotta di Ade, or Cave of Hades, and would indeed be a far more resonant spot for his abduction of Persephone to the Underworld than the overexploited lake.

The beautifully restored 17th-century Basilica di Pietrasanta, a Cosimo Fanzago Baroque masterpiece built on the site of the Roman Temple of Diana, hosts regular multimedia exhibitions, but the star attraction here is the underground visit to a section of Naples’s oldest aqueduct. Four tours a day descend 40 meters (131 feet) below the busy Via dei Tribunali to large lavishly illuminated cisterns hewed from excavated tuff two millennia ago, still filled with running water (thanks to a collaboration with the city’s waterworks).

Thought to be originally from the Byzantine period (although their exact history is still unknown), these caves carved out of stone can be found in and around town. They were originally used as burial sites, but then eventually became homes, although how or why is still a mystery. They were actually still inhabited up until the 1960s. Today the curious tiny houses are open to the public, and those closest to town have been turned into a museum by the local government. 

Legend holds that Galileo conducted an experiment on the nature of gravity by dropping metal balls from the top of the 187-foot-high Leaning Tower of Pisa. Historians, however, say this legend has no basis in fact—which isn't quite to say that it's false. Work on this tower, built as a campanile (bell tower) for the Duomo, started in 1173. The lopsided settling began when construction reached the third story.

The architects attempted to compensate through such methods as making the remaining floors slightly taller on the leaning side, but the extra weight only made the problem worse. The settling continued, and, by the late 20th century, it had accelerated to such a point that many feared the tower would simply topple over, despite all efforts to prop it up. The structure has since been firmly anchored to the earth. Work to restore the tower to its original tilt of 300 years ago was launched in early 2000 and finished two years later. This involved removing some 100 tons of earth from beneath the foundation.

Reservations, which are essential, can be made online or by calling the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. It's also possible to arrive at the ticket office and book for the same day. Note, though, that children under eight aren't allowed to climb.

Opened in 2024, Trieste's newest museum brings together various collections exploring multifarious facets of the written word and the lives of literary figures who have become synonymous with the city. Sections include the introductory "History Kiosk," a wonderful space dedicated to cinematic adaptations, and immersive exhibitions dedicated to James Joyce, Italo Svevo, and poet Umberto Saba. If you fancy a leaf through 1,000 books, there's the "Writers' Bookstore," and listening stations allow visitors to enjoy audiobooks while gazing through picture windows with city views.

Take a cable car to the top of Kronplatz to reach this 19,375-square-foot museum dedicated to mountain photography (actually, you have your choice of eight different cable cars, two from the town of Brunico). Once inside, you’ll find pictures from Alpine photography’s early days all the way to the present, taken by photographers from mountainous regions throughout the world and displayed across four floors. Lumen also houses AlpiNN, a casual restaurant from critically acclaimed chef Norbert Niederkofler of St. Hubertus fame. Note that the museum can be difficult to access in winter if you’re not a skier; it's down a slight, rather terrifying incline from the top of the mountain. Be aware that the museum closes at 4 pm (last admission at 3:30), so that you won't miss the last cable car back down.

The first thing Mayor Luigi de Magistris did after his 2011 election was to banish traffic from the city's seafront. Strolling, skating, or biking along Via Caracciolo and Via Partenope with Capri, Vesuvius, and the Castel dell'Ovo in your sights is a favorite Neapolitan pastime.

Formerly known as Rome's Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, and before that as the Peroni beer factory, this redesigned industrial space has brought new life to the gallery and museum scene of a city hitherto hailed for its "then," not its "now." The collection here covers Italian contemporary artists from the 1960s through today. The goal is to bring current art to the public in innovative spaces and, not incidentally, to support and recognize Rome's contemporary art scene, which labors in the shadow of the city's artistic heritage. After a few days—or millennia—of dusty marble, it's a breath of fresh air.  Check the website for occasional late-night openings and events.

The museum—the name stands for Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, or Bologna's Museum of Modern Art—houses a permanent collection of modern art. All of this is set within the sleek minimalist structure built in 1915 as the Forno del Pane, a large bakery. Seek out the powerful Arte e Ideologia section for Guttuso's Funerali di Togliatti (1972), a charged symbol of pride and pain for many Bolognesi and Italiani. The work of Bologna's celebrated abstract painter Giorgio Morandi (1890–64), known for his muted still life paintings of domestic objects and landscapes, can be viewed at the Museo Morandi here. The fab bookshop and MAMbo Cafè complete the complex.

Painstaking excavations begun in 2003 below the oratory of Santa Maria Assunta are now open to the public and showcase tantalizing traces of Positano's vast Roman settlement buried by the AD 79 eruption. Through volcanic debris some 30 feet below the piazzetta is a cool subterranean world with different captivating chambers and crypts. The new entrance by the campanile leads to the most recently discovered Roman villa excavations, which sit below the Cripta Superiore with its spine-tingling funereal seating, reserved for Positano's most upstanding 18th-century citizens (i.e., the wealthy wanting to book a pew in heaven), members of the Confraternita del Monte dei Morti. Among the Roman artifacts are vibrant frescoes, ornate stucco reliefs, intricate bronzes and ceramics, and the mother of all stone mortars. The excellent restoration shows the impact of eruptions in the strewn debris, contorted surfaces, and cracks; glass stairs and walkways, multimedia displays, and subtle lighting cleverly illuminate the finest details below your feet and all around. Another entrance nearby leads to the Cripta Inferiore, with two naves, marble columns, and later additions (a rough stone altar believed through various documents to be dedicated to the Nativity, plus some 17th-century funereal seating). Ask one of the enthusiastic archaeological guides stationed in the small box by the church entrance for a tour, and you'll be guided down the steps to the new Ingresso Museo Villa Romana entrance behind the bell tower.

The most famous of Calabria's beaches is backed by sheer cliffs topped by Tropea's stacked buildings—seemingly growing out of the rock. Beyond this popular vacation destination stretch sits the gleaming island promontory sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola. For bathers, snorkelers, and frolickers the light-hued sand is quite fine underfoot and the greenish-blue waters are wonderful. Adding to the drama is the smoking cone of island volcano Stromboli on the western horizon. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; surfing; swimming; windsurfing.

Perched under the citadel of the Terra Murata which encompasses Palazzo d'Avolos (a 1500s palace turned prison and now cultural center), the Marina Corricella is Procida's most memorable sight. Singled out for the waterfront scenes in Il Postino (The Postman, the 1995 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film), this fishermen's cove is one of the most eye-popping villages in Campania—a rainbow-hued, horizontal version of Positano, comprising hundreds of traditional Mediterranean-style stone houses threaded by numerous scalatinelle (staircase streets).

From the lofty top of Furore, 944 steps (count 'em!) lead down to Marina di Furore, nearly hidden away in a fjord. Set on the coast, this enchanting hamlet—perhaps 10 houses?—beckons to most travelers as their SITA buses pass over it on a towering viaduct that is the site of high-diving competitions. The locale's name derives from the "furor" of stormy water that once rushed down the Torrente Schiato here, now a mere trickle. Adorning the gorge is a fishermen's village scene fit for a Neapolitan presepe (with some houses renovated for Anna Magnani during the filming of Roberto Rossellini's L'Amore in 1948); these buildings and the adjoining paper mill were abandoned when the tiny harbor closed. Today, the sleepy hamlet comes to life only during the summer months when the colorful houses are complemented by sunbathers who follow the narrow pathway down to the secluded beach. From the beach, the Sentiero della Volpe Pescatrice ("fox-fish's path") and the Sentiero dei Pipistrelli Impazziti ("mad bats' path") climb up some 3,000 steps and were built to portage goods from the harbor to the town of Furore. The hard walk up takes a couple of hours, as you climb from sea to sky. To see any of this by car, you have to pay to park in the rest area some 450 yards away on the Amalfi side of the gorge, just before the gas station. Unless you're in pretty good shape, it's better to boat to the beach and just rubberneck.

Marina Piccola is a delightfully picturesque inlet that provides the Capresi and other sun worshippers with their best access to beaches and safe swimming. The entire cove is lined with stabilimenti—elegant bathing lidos where the striped cabanas are often air-conditioned. The most famous of these lidos (there's a fee to use the facilities) is La Canzone del Mare. Its seaside restaurant offers a dreamy view of the Faraglioni and a luncheon here, although pricey, can serve as an indelible Capri moment. Jutting out into the bay at the center of the marina is the Scoglio delle Sirene, or Sirens' Rock—a small natural promontory—which the ancients believed to be the haunt of the Sirens, the mythical temptresses whose song seduced Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. 

Driving along the flat and winding coast road north of Marsala, you'll soon come across the extraordinary series of salt pans glistening in the shallows of Sicily's largest lagoon, the Stagnone di Marsala. The shallow depth of the lagoon, ranging from 2 to 6 feet, has made it perfect for the production of salt, and it has been put to this purpose since Phoenician times. The sheer flatness of the scene is varied only by the conical heaps of salt and a scattering of the disused windmills once used to supply power. The scene is still and quiet most of the time, but you'll sometimes see pockets of activity, with full wheelbarrows of salt being hauled to the conveyor belts that create the mounds. The stacks of earthenware tiles you'll see everywhere are used to weigh down the salt to prevent it being from blown away by gusts of wind. It's an extremely photogenic tableau, with the light changing through the day, the occasional presence of spindly pink flamingos in the lagoon, and Mozia and the Egadi archipelago looming through the haze. The narrow coastal road is one-way for much of its length, and the cycle track running alongside it enables the area to be comfortably toured on two wheels.

There's a small museum dedicated to the salt extraction industry in a restored windmill at the Ettore e Infersa embarcation point, where souvenir samples of salt can be purchased. You'll also find the Mamma Caura bar-restaurant here ( www.seisaline.it  Closed Tues. Oct.–May), with outdoor tables and a rooftop terrace.

Taranto's outstanding National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) occupies the historic premises of the ex-monastery of San Pasquale. The museum dates from 1887, and its collection of Greek and Roman antiquities is considered to be one of the most important in Italy. Admire the rich cache of tomb goods, including magnificent gold jewelry, objects in ivory and bone, and rare colored glass. A display of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim funeral epitaphs, dating from the 4th century, demonstrate the peaceful coexistence of the three religions in this multicultural Mediterranean hub from the Byzantine era to the Middle Ages.

The famous peak straddles the border between Italy and Switzerland, and all sightseeing and skiing facilities are operated jointly. Splendid views of the peak can be seen from Plateau Rosa, which can be reached by cable car from the center of Breuil-Cervinia. The cable car gives access to climbing and off-trail skiing on ridges that were once inaccessible. The Matterhorn Glacier Ride II cable car from Cervinia directly to Zermatt opened in summer 2023. This 90-minute ride is the highest border crossing in the Alps; ticket prices vary by season.

The little tomb and the great church stand side by side, but the tomb predates the Basilica di San Vitale by at least 100 years: these two adjacent sights are decorated with the best-known, most elaborate mosaics in Ravenna. Galla Placidia was the sister of the Roman emperor Honorius, who moved the imperial capital to Ravenna in AD 402. This mid-5th-century mausoleum is her memorial.

The simple redbrick exterior only serves to enhance by contrast the richness of the interior mosaics, in deep midnight blue and glittering gold. The tiny central dome is decorated with symbols of Christ, the evangelists, and striking gold stars. Eight of the Apostles are represented in groups of two on the four inner walls of the dome; the other four appear singly on the walls of the two transepts. There are three sarcophagi in the tomb, none of which are believed to actually contain the remains of Galla Placidia.  Visit early or late in the day to avoid the school groups that can sometimes swamp the Mausoleo from March through mid-June.

Locals and visitors flock to this fruit, vegetable, meat, and fish market with good reason. Ingredients are of the finest and of the freshest, and visually the place is a glorious sight to behold. It's been around in this current incarnation since 1931, and it's pretty easy to see why.

High atop the Mountain Station Kronplatz–Plan de Corones, almost 7,500 feet above Brunico, the newest museum from mountaineer Reinhold Messner displays climbing equipment and other Alpine paraphernalia from the 1800s until now. It also examines all facets of mountaineering through painting, sculpture, and other media. Equally interesting is the museum's Zaha Hadid–designed concrete building: its sloped roof makes it seem like a miniature mountain, and its outdoor lookout point affords magnificent vistas. Note that the museum closes at 4 pm (last admission at 3:30), so that you won't miss the last cable car back down.

Perched on a peak overlooking Bolzano, the 10th-century Castle Sigmundskron is home to one of six mountain museums established by Reinhold Messner—the first climber to conquer Everest solo and the first to reach its summit without oxygen. The Tibetan tradition of kora, a circular pilgrimage around a sacred site, is an inspiration for the museum, where visitors contemplate the relationship between human and mountain, guided by images and objects Messner collected during his adventures. The museum is 3 km (2 miles) southwest of Bolzano, just off the Appiano exit on the highway to Merano.

Since 1983 this 13th-century castle in the hills above the hamlet of Stava has been the summer home of the South Tyrolese climber and polar adventurer Reinhold Messner—the first climber to conquer Everest solo. Part of the castle has been turned into one of six in Messner's chain of mountain museums, where visitors can view his collection of Tibetan art and masks from around the world. You can download an app to use as a self-guided tour. It's a 10-minute shuttle ride from the parking lot below, plus a 15-minute walk up to the castle, or a 60- to 90-minute hike on local trails; wear sturdy shoes, even if you take the shuttle, as the paths are uneven.

A 19th-century castle on the Gulf of Trieste, this is nothing less than a major expression of the culture of the decaying Austrian Hapsburg monarchy: nowhere else—not even in Vienna—can you savor the decadent opulence of the last years of the empire. Maximilian of Hapsburg, brother of Emperor Franz Josef and the retired commander of the Austrian Navy, built the seafront extravaganza between 1856 and 1860, complete with a throne room under a wooden ceiling shaped like a ship's keel. The rooms are generally furnished with copies of medieval, Renaissance, and French period furniture, and the walls are covered in red damask. In 1864 Maximilian became emperor of Mexico at the initiative of Napoléon III. He was executed three years later by a Mexican firing squad.

During the last years of the Hapsburg reign, Miramare became one of the favorite residences of Franz Josef's wife, the Empress Elizabeth (Sissi). The castle was later owned by Duke Amedeo of Aosta. Changing exhibitions in the revamped Sala Progetti showcase the impressive museum archive. Tours in English are available by reservation via  coopculture.it. Surrounding the castle is a gorgeous 54-acre park. To get here from central Trieste, take Bus No. 36 from Piazza Oberdan; it runs every half hour.

You can't miss the unusual square dome and thin, elaborate spire of this Turin landmark above the city's rooftops. This odd structure, built between 1863 and 1889, was intended to be a synagogue, but costs escalated and eventually it was bought by the city; it now houses the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Cinema Museum), a worthy sight for film buffs. At scheduled times on weekends, you can walk all the way up to the top of the dome, a journey not for the faint of heart (and not permitted for children under age six).