Mantua
For more than 300 years the enormous Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Gonzaga – a family of wealthy horse breeders who rose to power in the 14th century…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Naples
Built for a Spanish merchant in the 17th century and reconfigured in belle-époque style by architect Luigi Platania in the early 20th century, Palazzo…
Centro Storico
Hidden behind the grimy grey exterior of Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, this wonderful gallery boasts one of Rome’s richest private art collections, with works…
San Lorenzo & San Marco
Shortly after its founding in 1421, Brunelleschi designed the loggia for Florence's Ospedale degli Innocenti, a foundling hospital and Europe's first…
Venice
Napoleon pulled down an ancient church to build his royal digs over Piazza San Marco, and then filled them with the riches of the doges while taking some…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Everyone wanted the commission to paint this building dedicated to St Roch, patron saint of the plague-stricken, so Tintoretto cheated: instead of…
Turin
Some 21km west of Turin, the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art is a giant of modern art in Piedmont. Its ambition and reach, not to mention…
Alghero
Alghero's golden sea walls, built around the centro storico by the Aragonese in the 16th century, are a highlight of the town's historic cityscape…
Tempietto di Bramante & Chiesa di San Pietro in Montorio
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Bramante’s sublime tempietto (Little Temple) is a perfect surprise in the courtyard of the Chiesa di San Pietro in Montorio.
Naples
Envisaged as a 16th-century monument to Spanish glory (Naples was under Spanish rule at the time), the magnificent Palazzo Reale is home to the Museo del…
Lucca
Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…
Eastern Tuscany
This remote Franciscan monastic complex is where St Francis of Assisi is said to have received the stigmata and is a major pilgrimage destination. The…
Parco Archeologico di Baratti e Populonia
Central Coast & Elba
The Etruscan sites on display here are some of Tuscany's finest. Four marked walking trails lead through a vast green park, revealing a ruined town and…
Western Sicily
The Acropolis, the heart of Selinunte's political and social life, occupies a slanted plateau overlooking the now-silted-up Gorgo di Cottone. Huddled in…
Salerno
One of Campania's strangely under-the-radar sights, Salerno’s impressive cathedral is considered by aficionados to be the most beautiful medieval church…
Puglia
You'll see Castel del Monte, an inhumanly exact geometric shape on a hilltop, from miles away. Mysterious and perfectly octagonal, it's one of southern…
Turin
OK, it may not enjoy the weighty publicity of its French counterpart, but this is one of the largest royal residences in the world, rescued from ruin by a…
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Life choices are presented in no uncertain terms in the dazzling mosaics of the Assumption Basilica. Look ahead to a golden afterlife amid saints and a…
Oltrarno
Fire in the 18th century practically destroyed 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine, but it spared its magnificent chapel frescoes – a…
Naples
The 1st-floor gallery of this octagonal, 17th-century church delivers a satisfying, digestible collection of Renaissance and baroque art, including works…
Cagliari
Cagliari’s graceful 13th-century cathedral stands proudly on Piazza Palazzo. Except for the square-based bell tower, little remains of the original Gothic…
Basilica di Sant’Agnese Fuori le Mura & Mausoleo di Santa Costanza
Rome
Although a bit of a hike, it’s well worth searching out this intriguing medieval church complex. Set over the catacombs where St Agnes was buried, it…
Ravello
To the south of Ravello’s cathedral, a 14th-century tower marks the entrance to this villa, famed for its beautiful cascading gardens. Created by a…
Ferrara
Complete with moat and drawbridge, Ferrara's towering castle was commissioned by Nicolò II d'Este in 1385. Initially it was intended to protect him and…
Bologna
The 15th-century Palazzo Casa Fontana poi Gamberini – the fascinating, pricier-than-the-Colosseum home of eccentric Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla …
Otranto
Mosaics, skulls, crypts and biblical-meets-tropical imagery: Otranto's cathedral is like no other in Italy. It was built by the Normans in the 11th…
Bologna
Bologna's most unique religious site is this atmospheric labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of…
Lake Garda West Bank
Poet, soldier, hypochondriac and proto-Fascist, Gabriele d'Annunzio (1863–1938) defies easy definition, and so does his estate. Bombastic, extravagant and…
Venice
Commenced in 1333 but not finished until the 1430s, this vast church is similar in style and scope to the Franciscan Frari in San Polo, which was being…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
The remains of the emperor Caracalla’s vast baths complex are among Rome’s most awe-inspiring ruins. Inaugurated in AD 212, the original 10-hectare site,…
Duomo & San Babila
Overlooking Piazza del Duomo, with fabulous views of the cathedral, is Mussolini's Arengario, from where he would harangue huge crowds in his heyday. Now…
Bologna
Bologna's hulking Gothic basilica is Europe's sixth-largest church, measuring 132m by 66m by 47m. Work began on it in 1390, but it was never finished, and…
Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola
Centro Storico
Flanking a delightful rococo piazza, this important Jesuit church boasts some celebrated artworks.
Valle d’Itria
These spectacular limestone caves, 40km southeast of Bari, are Italy's longest natural subterranean network. The interlinked galleries, first discovered…
Northwestern Sardinia
Named after its resident asini bianchi (albino donkeys), the Isola dell'Asinara encompasses 51 sq km of macchia (Mediterranean scrub), rocky coastline and…
Galleria Regionale della Sicilia
Palermo
Housed in the stately 15th-century Palazzo Abatellis, this art museum – widely regarded as Palermo's best – showcases works by Sicilian artists dating…
Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna
Bologna
This mouthful of a museum inside Palazzo Sanguinetti – the former home of Napoleon's Italian minister – chronicles six centuries of European musical…
Venice
Once its dominion over the high seas ended, Venice discovered the power of the high Cs, opening La Fenice in 1792. Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini staged…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
Nowhere better illustrates the various stages of Rome's turbulent past than this fascinating multilayered church. The ground-level 12th-century basilica…
Ragusa
Ragusa Ibla is a joy to wander, its labyrinthine lanes weaving through rock-grey palazzi to open onto beautiful, sun-drenched piazzas. It's easy to get…
