Sights in Italy
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Castello di Serralunga d’Alba
On the highest point of Serralunga d’Alba, 15km south of Alba, the Castello di Serralunga d’Alba is the Langhe’s most absorbing castle, due to its intact but completely unrenovated, shell-like interior. Wandering around its echoing rooms, you’d swear you can hear the footsteps of the armoured sentry who once guarded it. The former fortress was built in the 11th century, but most of what you see today was reconstructed in the 14th century, including a then-state-of-the-art defence system (you can still see the remains of the drawbridge). If no one’s around during opening hours, knock on the castle-keeper’s door to be let in.
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Castello di Sarre
Heading west from Aosta towards Mont Blanc, you’ll quickly come across Castello di Sarre. Built in 1710 on the remains of a 13th-century fort, it was then bought by King Vittorio Emanuele II in 1869 to use as a hunting residence. The Savoys sold the castle in 1972 and it now serves as a museum of the royal presence in the region.
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Castello di Sainte-Pierre
Castello di Sainte-Pierre is home to a natural history museum with changing exhibitions.
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Castello di Fénis
East from Aosta is the magnificently restored Castello di Fénis. Formerly owned by the Challant family, it features rich frescoes. It was never really used as a defensive post but served as a plush residence.
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Castello
Just behind the duomo rises the brooding carcass of the Castello, a medieval fort whose 15th-century Palazzo Dipinto (Painted Mansion) attracts particular attention with its frescoes.
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Brion Family Tomb
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Basilica di San Giulio
The island Isola San Giulio is dominated at its south end by the 12th-century Basilica di San Giulio, full of vibrant frescoes that alone make a trip to the island worthwhile. The church, island and mainland town are named after a Greek evangelist, Giulio, who’s said to have rid the island of snakes, dragons and assorted monsters in the late 4th century.
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Basilica della Santa Casa
While the original basilica started in 1468 was Gothic, Renaissance additions (including some savvy engineering by Bramante) have made today’s imposing Basilica della Santa Casa an architectural masterpiece. Inside, gold-leafed halos, impressive frescoes and religious triptychs create viewing opportunities worth braving the schlock shops. Plus, whether you’ve sinned in Italian, English, Japanese or German, you’re in luck: in addition to several daily masses, visitors can take advantage of multilingual confessionals throughout the day.
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Banca del Vino
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Abbazia della Santissima Trinità
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Villa Widmann Foscari
An early-18th-century rococo caprice lying just west of Oriago, the Villa Widmann Foscari was built by a trading family, the Serriman (of Persian origin). It was later taken over by the Widmann clan and given the French-rococo flavour it exudes today. Inside, the most impressive element is the grand Sala delle Feste (Ballroom), sumptuously decorated and ringed halfway up by an ornate gallery. The garden is littered with 18th-century statuettes of nymphs and cherubs.
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Villa Sagredo
A noteworthy villa in Vigonovo, known as a romantic spot for weddings.
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Villa Pisani
Villa Pisani, also known as Villa Nazionale, is set in extensive gardens just short of Strà and was completed in 1760 for Doge Alvise Pisani. It was later used by Napoleon as a temporary residence and in more recent times hosted Hitler's first meeting with Mussolini. It is quite an exercise in family trumpet-blowing. From the outsize statues at the entrance to Tiepolo's ceiling fresco (a pictorial eulogy to the Pisani clan), it is a flashy display of wealth.
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Villa Gradenigo
A noteworthy villa in Oriago, used for conventions.
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Villa Foscarini Rossi
In Strà itself is the imposing 17th-century Villa Foscarini Rossi, constructed for one of Venice's senior families. Among the many architects involved was Vincenzo Scamozzi (who worked from designs by Palladio), although the present look results partly from a later neoclassical reworking.
The restored mansion, surrounded by carefully manicured grounds, hosts a couple of permanent displays, one dedicated to Rossimoda, which for decades has produced footwear for the biggest names in fashion (from Yves Saint Laurent to Fendi), and the other a private art collection of Luigino Rossi, who happens to be behind the shoes and now owns the villa. A separate and more modest…
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Villa Foscari
The Villa Foscari is also known as La Malcontenta (the Malcontent), supposedly because a female family member was exiled here for fooling around with people other than hubby. Its interior is remarkable only for the frescoes with which it is covered. They mostly depict scenes from classical literature.
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Villa Barchessa Valmarana
Across the Brenta from Villa Widmann Foscari is the Villa Barchessa Valmarana, which is noteworthy mainly for its frescoes.
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Trinci Palace
Glimpse Foligno's Renaissance in the Palazzo Trinci. In fact, travel right through the city's history - thanks to an earthquake, a neoclassical 19th-century facade conceals early-15th-century frescoes. To complete the time-tour, trip through the palace's art gallery, archaeological museum and multimedia exhibit of tournaments and jousts.
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Saint Lawrence Church
The spire of this 15th-century church thrusts into the sky of this otherwise architecturally modest town. Inside you'll find frescoes from the era of its construction, wooden altars from the 17th century and some 20th-century mural additions by local artist Trevini. Relatively recent renovations have only enhanced this quietly impressive church.
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Roveresca Fortress
Hard to miss, the fortress (Rocca Roveresca) hulks above the beach. Renaissance military architecture wasn't as delicate as its civic and religious counterparts and this typical 15th-century example is a bruiser. Between its four stout towers find a plush interior plus underground tunnels and Roman ruins.
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Rocca Malatestiana
The well-preserved hilltop fortress of the Malatesta family offers views to the Adriatic coast, the Apennine hills, and a peek into Cesena's feuding history. Regular exhibitions and concerts during summer bring these castle walls to life.
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Rione Terra
Rione Terra is Pozzuoli's oldest quarter and its ancient acropolis. Beneath the current cluster of 17th-century buildings lies an archaeological treasure trove of roads, shops and even a brothel dating back to the days when Pozzuoli was the ancient port of Puteoli. More often closed than open, call the Pozzuoli tourist office for updates.
If you are lucky enough to explore the ruins, you'll find yourself walking down the decumanus maximus – check out ancient taverns, peer into millers' shops (complete with intact grindstones) and decipher graffiti written by the poet Catallus in a dingy slaves' cell. Archaeologists made the startling find after volcanic activity in the…
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Piazza del Popolo
Cesena's buzzing market square is known to locals simply as 'piazza'. The Wednesday and Saturday markets here are the biggest in Romagna and the square erupts for the annual Feast of St John in June. Look out for the historic town hall and 16th century Masini Fountain.
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Oratory of the Nunziatella
Two frescoes by Perugino (the other artist of Sistine Chapel fame) are the main drawcard of this fine Renaissance church (Oratorio della Nunziatella). But don't miss the oratory's little museum on the history of printing in Foligno - a trade kicked off in the city by a pupil of the 15th-century Mainz master, Gutenberg.
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Musinf
The prosaic translation, Town Museum of Information, does no favours for the Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna e dell'Informazione - or Musinf for short. But don't miss its absorbing collection of photography and graphic art. In Italy it's easy to be overwhelmed by the art-laden past; this museum is a chance to explore the country's less-hyped modern era.
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