Lucca
Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…
Must-see attractions in Italy
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…
Orvieto
Nothing can prepare you for the visual feast that is Orvieto's soul-stirring Gothic cathedral. Dating from 1290, it sports a black-and-white banded…
Arezzo
This chapel, in the apse of 14th-century Basilica di San Francesco, safeguards one of Italian art's greatest works: Piero della Francesca's fresco cycle…
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…
Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro
Venice
One of the most beautiful buildings on the Grand Canal, with a lacy Gothic facade, 15th-century Ca’ d’Oro is resplendent even without the original gold…
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…
Complesso Museale di Santa Maria della Scala
Siena
Built as a hospice for pilgrims travelling the Via Francigena, this huge complex opposite the duomo dates from the 13th century. Its highlight is the…
Gallerie Nazionali: Palazzo Barberini
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Commissioned to celebrate the Barberini family’s rise to papal power, this sumptuous baroque palace impresses even before you view its breathtaking art…
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…
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,…
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…
Milan
Located upstairs from one of Italy’s most prestigious art schools, this gallery houses Milan’s collection of Old Masters, much of it ‘lifted’ from Venice…
Venice
Basilica di San Marco's 99m-tall bell tower has been rebuilt twice since its initial construction in AD 888. Galileo Galilei tested his telescope here in…
Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola
Centro Storico
Flanking a delightful rococo piazza, this important Jesuit church boasts some celebrated artworks.
Oltrarno
The facade of this Brunelleschi church, smart on Florence's most shabby-chic piazza, makes a striking backdrop to open-air concerts in summer. Inside, the…
Valle d’Itria
These spectacular limestone caves, 40km southeast of Bari, are Italy's longest natural subterranean network. The interlinked galleries, first discovered…
Venice
Fortuna, the weathervane atop Punta della Dogana, swung Venice’s way in 2005, when bureaucratic hassles in Paris convinced art collector François Pinault…
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…
Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta
Friuli Venezia Giulia
The entire floor of the Latin cross-shaped basilica, rebuilt after an earthquake in 1348, is covered with one of the largest and most spectacular Roman…
Turin
Opened in 1824 and housed in the austere Palazzo dell'Accademia delle Scienze, this Turin institution houses the most important collection of Egyptian…
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli
Venice
This magnificent church was built between 1481 and 1489 to house Nicolò di Pietro's Madonna icon after the painting began to miraculously weep in its…
Lazio
This spectacularly sited hilltop monastery is carved into the rock over the cave where St Benedict supposedly spent three years meditating. As well as its…
