10 Best Sights in Italy

For a walk on the moonlike surface of Etna, visit the Silvestri craters on the southern side of the volcano, near Nicolosi. Located at an altitude of roughly 6,200 feet, these five extinct craters formed during the 1892 eruption. Just a few meters away, across from Rifugio Sapienza, you'll find the Funivia dell'Etna (€50 round-trip), a cable car that carries you 8,000 feet up to Monte Montagnola, where you can hike further with a guide or go skiing in winter. 

Also known as the faraglioni, these ancient volcanic islets are so dramatically stunning they have inspired writers throughout the centuries. Homer set Odysseus's battle with the cyclops here in the Odyssey, contending that the angered and freshly blinded cyclops Polyphemus hurled giant hunks of rock from Etna to the sea to destroy Odysseus and his ship. Sicilian writer Giovanni Verga set his most famous novel, I Malavoglia, on the island of Lachea, the largest of the isles. Today the area is a protected marine preserve. You can kayak or swim the waters or take a short boat taxi to Lachea to visit the Lachea Island Museum of Sea Studies, which highlights the flora and fauna of the area in a tiny museum perched near the top.

Few landscapes set more artists dreaming than that of the famous Faraglioni—three enigmatic, pale-ocher limestone colossi that loom out of the sea just off the Punta Tragara on the southern coast of Capri. Soaring almost 350 feet above the water, the Faraglioni have become a beloved symbol of Capri. The first rock is called Faraglione di Terra, since it's attached to the land; at its base is the famous restaurant and bathing lido Da Luigi. The second is called Faraglione di Mezzo, or Stella, and little boats can often be seen going through its picturesque tunnel. The rock farthest out to sea is Faraglione di Scopolo and is inhabited by a wall lizard species with a striking blue belly.

The earth pyramids of Renon Plateau are a bizarre geological formation where erosion has left a forest of tall, thin, needlelike spires of rock, each topped with a boulder. To get here, take the Soprabolzano cable car from Via Renon, about 300 yards left of the Bolzano train station. At the top, switch to the electric train that takes you to the plateau, which is in Collalbo, just above Bolzano. The cable car takes about 12 minutes and the train takes around 18 minutes. The final 30-minute hike along gentle Trail No. 24 is free.

After the active volcanoes of Mount Etna and Stromboli, the tilted white "staircase" of the Scala dei Turchi cliff is the most stunning geological site in Sicily. Formed by eroded strata of pure white marl, with a silken, gold, sandy beach below, the cliff was allegedly named after the so-called Turkish (actually Saracen) pirates who plagued the Sicilian coast in the 16th century. The Scala and its beach are extraordinarily popular, so try to visit in the low season. If you don't want the hassle of going to the beach on a busy day, you can also catch some beautiful views from several lookout points along the road. Another option is to see the rock formations from the sea, with several tour operators offering boat rides. The best access is from the signposted paid car park just south of the cliff (follow the sign to Majata Beach/Ingresso Scala dei Turchi). 

One of Capri's most famous natural wonders, this geologic arch framing Punto Massullo is all that remains of a large limestone cave that has suffered the erosive effects of wind and rain over the millennia. Once a cave that was likely hollowed out by wave action, it broke apart when lifted up to its present position, hundreds of feet above sea level, in relatively recent geological times (about 1 to 2 million years ago).

Head 25 km (16 miles) west of Alghero for the spectacular heights of the imposing limestone headland of Capo Caccia. The rugged promontory, blanketed by thick maquis, forms part of the Porto Conte nature reserve and is home to deep caves such as the Grotta di Nettuno. Close by are the beaches of Porto Ferro, Cala Viola, and, on the beautiful Porto Conte inlet, Cala Dragunara.

Park in the car park just off the main inland road from Tracino to Rekale. From here, a lovely path leads up to lush upland meadows (carpeted with wildflowers in spring) where favare, natural emissions of sulfurous steam, billow through crevices in the rock. If you want a longer walk, a path continues from here to the Grotta del Bagno Asciutto. Alternatively, you could climb one of Pantelleria’s two main peaks, Montagne Grande (1 hour, 40 minutes) or Monte Gibele (50 minutes).

Regarded by the ancients as the doorway to the Underworld, the fabled lake was well-known by the time the great poet Virgil settled here to write the Aeneid. Forested hills rise on three sides of the lake, and the menacing cone of Monte Nuovo (formed in 1538) looms on the fourth. Its name comes from the Greek Aornos ("without birds," Avernus in Latin). The water is "black," the smell of sulfur sometimes hangs over the landscape, and blocked-off passages lead into long-abandoned caves into which Virgil might well have ventured. Not far away is the spring that was thought to flow directly from the River Styx. It was there that Aeneas descended into the Underworld with the guidance of the Cumaean Sibyl, as famously recounted in the Aeneid. Today a gravel path around the lake is popular with joggers, cyclists, and walkers; it's well worth a detour from Lucrino through the dismal Via Italia to reach the peaceful, verdant water's edge. The lake walk is varied in its attractions: it starts by the waterfowl-flapping lakeside and Caronte seafood restaurant, then heads counterclockwise, passing Roman temple ruins, verdant slopes, and vineyards and fruit orchards, including fig trees. Among the reeds you'll spot a burgeoning population of non-native turtles. Adding to the myth-filled eeriness are a few abandoned buildings, including a discotheque and villa owned by a Camorra clan and seized by the police in 2010.

Walk along Via San Lino, through Porta San Francesco, and out Borgo Santo Stefano into Le Balze—a haunting, undulating landscape of yellow earth drawn into crags and gullies that's thought to be the result of rainwater wearing down the soil substructure. This area was originally part of the Etruscan town of Velathri, as evidenced by walls that extend 1 km (½ mile) toward the old Porta Menseri. Toward the end of the road, on the right, is the church of San Giusto (with terra-cotta statues of the town's patron saints) built to replace an earlier church under which the earth had eroded. The bus for Borgo San Giusto, leaving from Piazza Martiri, goes through Le Balze (about 10 runs per day).