423 Best Sights in Italy

Following the shape of Emperor Domitian's Odeon arena, a curving, columned portico identifies this otherwise inconspicuous palace on a traffic-swept bend of Corso Vittorio Emanuele. In the 1530s, Renaissance architect Baldassare Peruzzi built this palace for the Massimo family, after their previous dwelling had been destroyed during the Sack of Rome. (High in the papal aristocracy, they claimed an ancestor who had been responsible for the defeat of Hannibal.)

If you visit on March 16, you'll be able to go upstairs to visit the family chapel in commemoration of a miracle performed here in 1583 by St. Philip Neri, who is said to have recalled a young member of the family, one Paolo Massimo, from the dead (expect a line). Any other day of the year, though, you'll only be able to view the private residence from the outside. The palazzo's name comes from the columns of the ancient Odeon; one is still visible in the square at the back of the palazzo.

Built in 1244, this palace became home to King Enzo of Sardinia, who was imprisoned here in 1249 after he was captured during the fierce battle of Fossalta. He died here 23 years later. The palace has other macabre associations as well: common criminals received last rites in the tiny courtyard chapel before being executed in Piazza Maggiore. The colonnaded courtyard is worth a peek, and its two grand saloni (salons) are used for events including concerts.

The Strozzi family built this imposing palazzo in an attempt to outshine the nearby Palazzo Medici. The exterior is simple, severe, and massive: it's a testament to the wealth of a patrician, 15th-century Florentine family. The interior courtyard is another matter altogether. It is here that the classical vocabulary—columns, capitals, pilasters, arches, and cornices—is given uninhibited and powerful expression. Inside, find rotating exhibits with a focus on contemporary art.

This amusing palazzo was designed in 1591 by noted painter Federico Zuccari (1540–1609), who frescoed the first floor of his custom-built home. Typical of the outré Mannerist style of the period, the two windows and the main door are designed to look like monsters with mouths gaping wide. Zuccari—whose frescoes adorn many Roman churches, including Trinità dei Monti just up the block—sank all his money into his new home, dying in debt before his curious memorial, as it turned out, was completed.

Today, it is home to the German state-run Bibliotheca Hertziana, a prestigious fine-arts library. Access is reserved for scholars, but the pristine facade can be admired for free. Leading up to the quaint Piazza della Trinità del Monti, the nearby Via Gregoriana is quite charming and has long been one of Rome's most elegant addresses, home to such residents as 19th-century French painter Ingres; Valentino also had his first couture salon here.

Frustrated by Capri's ongoing commercial overdevelopment, Swedish professor Gunnar Adler-Karlsson acquired the land around the Belvedere di Migliara with the intention of maintaining an ecologically pure area. Covering 11,000 square meters (36,000 square feet), paths lead through rich Mediterranean maquis with more than 60 ceramic panels lining the way with quotes from great thinkers from Aristotle to Einstein. Allegedly the first of its kind in the world, just feet away from one of the most gorgeous views in the world, this park is devoted to peace and reflection. A complete guide, called "Meditation Upon Western Wisdom," is available from the adjacent Da Gelsomino restaurant.

The Alps' (and Italy's) biggest national park is spread over 1,350 square km (520 square miles) and four provinces. Opened in 1935 to preserve flora and protect fauna, today it has more than 1,200 types of plants, 600 different mushrooms, and more than 160 species of animals, including the chamois, ibex, and roe deer. There are many entrances to the park and five visitor centers.  Bormio makes a good base for exploring—the closest entrance to town is the year-round gateway at Torre Alberti.

Umbrella-like Roman pines line the pathway of Savello Park, an enchanting public garden atop the Aventine Hill. The towering trees lead the way to a mesmerizing belvedere of the Tiber and the city rooftops, offering views spanning from the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuele II all the way to St. Peter’s. The park is named after the Savelli family who built a fortified palace on the spot in the late 13^th century, but it is better known simply as the Giardino degli Aranci, or the Orange Garden, thanks to the numerous citrus trees that were planted here in honor of St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order who preached under an orange tree at the nearby cloister of Santa Sabina. The former fortress opened as a park in 1932, but there are still some traces of its more ancient past in the old walls opposite the church, where the outline of an old drawbridge is still visible.

An often overlooked sight in western Naples, this park—not to be confused with the Parco Virgiliano, at the western end of the Naples suburb of Posillipo—is named for the poet Virgil and is reputedly his burial site. The sign at the entrance indicates that not only (by legend) is Virgil's tomb here, but also the tomb-memorial of Giacomo Leopardi, the author of the evocative poem "L'infinito," who died during the 1837 cholera epidemic. As a safety precaution, victims of the disease were usually buried in mass graves, but the writer (and later politician) Antonio Ranieri, a close friend, arranged for this monument, which until 1939 was located elsewhere. From the Mergellina metro station, walk south to Salita della Grotta and turn right just before the church of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta; the park's entrance is just before the road tunnel.

Perched 500 feet above the Bay of Naples, this large urban park is worth the trip for its stunning vistas that face the islet Nisida with the formerly industrial area of Bagnoli stretching out below. A raised central area has a sports field where the Naples American Football team often trains.

An 8-km (5-mile) botanical promenade dating from 1892 ends with a panoramic view of Bolzano. Recent updates include signposting for various species of plants and trees, as well as benches and picnic tables. You can choose to return to town along the same path, or you can walk along the River Fago and end up back in the center of Bolzano.

This secluded natural sea pool is located at the end of Milazzo's long, wild cape. A meandering rustic path will take you on a 20-minute walk down to the unique natural rock formations that create pools of variable depths. You're able to swim in them, but there are no changing rooms, toilets, or places to buy food or drinks so be sure to bring everything you need.

Located in the geographical heart of the Parco delle Madonie about a half-hour north of Petralia Sottana, the hamlet of Piano Battaglia makes a good day trip for anyone hoping to have a true mountain experience. This is where locals, and many Palermitani, come to enjoy the mountains, whether it's skiing in the winter or picnicking in the summer. The visitor center is a good place to find out about any number of summer and winter activities, including snow tubing, sleighing, skiing, mountain biking, and hiking excursions, and to have a snack at Café Fun Park.

The center of this piazza has a Baroque fountain, the Fontana di Diana, festooned with fainting sea nymphs and dancing jets of water. Look for the Chiaramonte-style Palazzo Montalto, an arched-window gem just off the piazza on Via Montalto.

A bustling marketplace in the morning (Monday through Saturday from 8 to 2) and a trendy meeting place the rest of the day and night, this piazza has plenty of down-to-earth charm. Just after lunchtime, all the fruit and vegetable vendors disappear, and this so-called piazza trasformista takes on another identity, becoming a circus of bars particularly favored by study-abroad students, tourists, and young expats. Brooding over the piazza is a hooded statue of the philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake here in 1600 for heresy, one of many victims of the Roman Inquisition.

The piazza, with its fine Renaissance Palazzo dei Cavalieri, Palazzo dell'Orologio, and Chiesa di Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, was laid out by Giorgio Vasari in about 1560. The square was the seat of the Ordine dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano (Order of the Knights of St. Stephen), a military and religious institution meant to defend the coast from possible invasion by the Turks.

Also in this square is the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore, founded by Napoléon in 1810 on the French model. Here graduate students pursue doctorates in literature, philosophy, mathematics, and science. In front of the school is a large statue of Ferdinando I de' Medici dating from 1596. On the extreme left is the tower where the hapless Ugolino della Gherardesca (died 1289) was imprisoned with his two sons and two grandsons—legend holds that he ate them. Dante immortalized him in Canto XXXIII of his Inferno. Duck into the Church of Santo Stefano (if you're lucky enough to find it open) and check out Bronzino's splendid Nativity of Christ (1564–65).

The hub of the city is the Piazza dei Cavalli, with the flamboyant equestrian statues from which the piazza takes its name. These are depictions of Ranuccio Farnese (1569–1622) and, on the left, his father, Alessandro (1545–92). The latter was a beloved ruler, enlightened and fair; Ranuccio, his successor, less so. Both statues are the work of Francesco Mochi, a master Baroque sculptor. Dominating the square is the massive 13th-century Palazzo Pubblico, also known as Il Gotico. This two-tone, marble-and-brick, turreted and crenellated building was the seat of town government before Piacenza fell under the iron fists of the ruling Pallavicini and Farnese families.

In the 14th century, this piazza was part of a neighborhood of primarily wool- and silk-trade workers. The disenfranchised wool workers, forbidden entry to the Arte della Lana (the Wool Guild, whose members included those who traded in wool), briefly seized control of the government. It was a short-lived exercise in rule by the unrepresented, and it was eventually quashed by the ruling upper class. The loggia, executed in 1567, is by Giorgio Vasari.

Some fine examples of 15th- and 16th-century buildings line this square. On the west side, the Palazzo del Capitanio (facade constructed 1598–1605) has an impressive Torre dell'Orologio, with an astronomical clock dating from 1344 and a portal made by Falconetto in 1532 in the form of a Roman triumphal arch. The 12th-century Battistero del Duomo (Cathedral Baptistry), with frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi (1374–78), is a few steps away.

The center of medieval Treviso, this Piazza dei Signori remains the town's social hub, with outdoor cafés and some impressive public buildings. The most important of these, the Palazzo dei Trecento (1185–1268), was the seat of the city government, composed of the Council of 300, during the Middle Ages. It was rebuilt after bombing in 1944. Step inside to view its beautiful loggia, the Salone, replete with impressive wooden roof trusses and elaborate frescoed walls.

The impressive cobblestone piazza scene contains the cathedral and the Battistero, plus the Palazzo del Vescovado (Bishop's Palace). Behind the Duomo is the Baroque church of San Giovanni Evangelista.

In 1994, after a period of having been used as a parking lot, this square was restored to create one of Napoli Nobilissima's most majestic spaces, with a Doric semicircle of columns resembling St. Peter's Square in Rome. The piazza was erected in the early 1800s under the Napoleonic regime, and after the regime fell, Ferdinand, the new King of the Two Sicilies, ordered the addition of the Church of San Francesco di Paola. On the left as you approach the church is a statue of Ferdinand and on the right one of his father, Charles III, both of them clad in Roman togas. Around dusk, floodlights come on, creating a magical effect. A delightful sea breeze airs the square, and most days one corner becomes an improvised soccer stadium where local youths emulate their heroes.

The heart of the town is the majestic Piazza del Popolo, dominated by the Gothic church of San Francesco and the Palazzo del Popolo, a 13th-century town hall that contains a graceful Renaissance courtyard. The square functions as the living room of the entire city and at dusk each evening is packed with people strolling and exchanging news and gossip—the sweetly antiquated ritual called a passeggiata—performed all over the country.

The town's main square teems with cafés and bars. It's an excellent spot for people-watching; in the evening and on weekends it seems like everyone is out walking, seeing, and being seen.

Built above the Roman Forum, Piazza del Popolo is Todi's high point, a model of spatial harmony with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. In the best medieval tradition, the square was conceived to house both the temporal and the spiritual centers of power.

This square is the civic center of town and is home to the local town hall, a neo-Gothic style palace that was once a Carmelite convent. Surrounding the piazza, there are important aristocratic palaces, including the Palazzo Pottino, which contains the grand, frescoed, 19th-century Salone Delle Feste, which hosted a dinner dance for Umberto di Savoia, Crown Prince of Italy. The palazzo is open to the public on various Sundays.

Here, in the central town square, you'll find the 13th-century Palazzo Pretorio, which has a facade adorned with coats of arms of Sovana's captains of justice, and the Renaissance Palazzo Bourbon dal Monte.

This strategic location atop the Quirinale has long been important. Indeed, it served as home of the Sabines in the 7th century BC—when they were deadly enemies of the Romans, who lived on the Campidoglio and Palatino (all of 1 km [½ mile] away). Today, it's the foreground for the presidential residence, Palazzo del Quirinale, and home to the Palazzo della Consulta, where Italy's Constitutional Court sits.

The open side of the piazza has a vista over the rooftops and domes of central Rome and St. Peter's. The Fontana di Montecavallo, or Fontana dei Dioscuri, has a statuary group of Dioscuri trying to tame two massive marble steeds that was found in the Baths of Constantine, which once occupied part of the Quirinale's summit. Unlike many ancient statues in Rome, this group survived the Dark Ages intact, becoming one of the city's great sights during the Middle Ages. The obelisk next to the figures is from the Mausoleo di Augusto (Tomb of Augustus) and was put here by Pope Pius VI in the late 18th century.

Here's where the ancient Roman amphitheater once stood. Some of the medieval buildings built over the amphitheater retain its original oval shape and brick arches.

A statue of Hapsburg emperor Leopold I looks out over this square, which contains Trieste's original stock exchange, the Borsa Vecchia (1805), an attractive neoclassical building now serving as the chamber of commerce. It sits at the end of the Canal Grande, dug in the 18th century by the Austrian empress Maria Theresa as a first step in the expansion of what was then a small fishing village of 7,000 into the port of her empire.

Udine was conquered by the Venetians in 1420, so there is a distinctly Venetian stamp on the architecture of the historic center, most noticeably here, in the large main square. The Loggia del Leonello, begun in 1428, dominates the square and houses the municipal government. Its similarity to the facade of Venice's Palazzo Ducale (finished in 1424) is clear, but there is no evidence that it is an imitation of that palace. It's more likely a product of the same architectural fashion. Opposite stands the Renaissance Porticato di San Giovanni (1533–35) and the Torre dell'Orologio, a 1527 clock tower with naked mori (Moors), who strike the hours on the top.