Language · 11 published
Country guide
Italy holds 62 World Heritage Sites, more than any other country, spread across 301,340 km2 of land that runs from the Alps down into the middle of the Mediterranean. The distances between its cities are short and the differences between them are not: Venice has no roads, Naples sits under a volcano on a bay, Florence fits inside a walkable Renaissance grid, and Milan keeps its art indoors and works for a living. Rome is the capital and the obvious first trip; the argument is always about what comes second. Nearly 800 islands hang off the coast, and Sicily and Sardinia are each large enough to be a trip of their own.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photograph · Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · Wikibusters · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
226 places match
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Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome, Italy. Its name derives from the poplar trees that once grew in the area, though some sources associate it with the Latin word populus meaning people.
Pirelli HangarBicocca is a non-profit contemporary art foundation in a former locomotive-manufacturing plant in Milan's Bicocca district. The institution opened in 2004 and occupies approximately 15,000 square metres on one ground-level floor.
Basilica di San Pietro
St. Peter's Basilica, locally Basilica di San Pietro, stands as one of Rome's most prominent landmarks within Vatican City. This Renaissance church occupies a site of immense historical and religious significance in Christianity.
Piazza Venezia is a major central square in Rome, Italy, located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill.
Piazza della Rotonda is a public square in the historic centre of Rome, Italy. The square takes its name from the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple with its distinctive circular dome, which dominates the piazza.
Piazza Farnese is a historic square in Rome's Regola district, taking its name from the imposing Palazzo Farnese that dominates its northern flank. The square developed during the Renaissance as an expression of papal power and architectural ambition.
Basilica di Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the Franciscan mother church of Florence and the largest Franciscan church in the world.
Piazza Mattei is a small square in Rome's historic Jewish Ghetto district, situated between Via della Reginella and Via dei Funari. The piazza takes its name from the Mattei family, a prominent Roman noble house.
Terme di Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla, known locally as Terme di Caracalla, constitute one of Rome's most substantial surviving ancient bath complexes.
The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana is a historic library in Venice, Italy, located in the Piazzetta San Marco near the Doge's Palace. Founded in the 16th century, it houses one of Italy's most important collections of classical manuscripts and texts.
Palazzo Ducale
The Doge's Palace, known locally as Palazzo Ducale, stands as a defining landmark of Venice. This Gothic palace served as the residence of the Doge, the elected leader of the former Venetian Republic, and housed the republic's main governing bodies.
Teatro alla Scala
Teatro alla Scala is Milan's opera house, and the block it occupies on Piazza della Scala is two visitable things at once: a working theatre with a season that sells out, and a museum inside the same walls that anyone…
Ponte Milvio is an ancient Roman bridge spanning the Tiber River in northern Rome. The structure carries significant historical weight as the site of the pivotal Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE, where Constantine defeated Maxentius.
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a Dominican convent church in central Milan, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site jointly with Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper housed within its refectory.
Cappella Sistina
The Sistine Chapel, known locally as Cappella Sistina, is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace within Vatican City. It serves as the site of the Papal conclave, where new popes are elected.
Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano
The Basilica of San Clemente is a layered historical church near the Colosseum in Rome. The present structure dates from the twelfth century, built over a fourth-century basilica, which itself covers Roman-era buildings including a mithraeum.
The Altare della Patria, formally known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, is a prominent national monument in central Rome.
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea al Quirinale
Sant'Andrea al Quirinale is a Jesuit church on Rome’s Quirinal Hill, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and completed in the late seventeenth century. Dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle, it is one of Bernini’s most accomplished religious buildings.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele Secondo
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a historic shopping arcade in central Milan, Italy. Named after the first king of unified Italy, it opened in 1877 and represents one of Europe's oldest covered shopping galleries.
Fontana di Trevi
The Trevi Fountain is the terminal display, the mostra, of the Acqua Vergine — the aqueduct brought into Rome in 19 BC and the only one of the ancient aqueducts that has run without interruption to the present day.
Ponte Sant'Angelo is a historic bridge spanning the Tiber River in Rome, connecting the city centre to the Castel Sant'Angelo.
The Domus Aurea, or Golden House, was the vast palace built by Emperor Nero after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD.
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is a Baroque masterpiece designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and completed in 1651. It occupies the center of Piazza Navona, one of Rome's most celebrated public squares.
Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore
The Basilica of San Lorenzo, locally named Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore, stands as one of Milan's most ancient churches.
The Pantheon stands on Piazza della Rotonda in the middle of old Rome, and it is two things at once: a Roman temple and a working Catholic church.
Terme di Diocleziano
The Baths of Diocletian, known locally as Terme di Diocleziano, constitute one of ancient Rome's most massive bath complexes. Constructed between 298 and 306 CE, these public baths were commissioned by Emperor Maximian and named after his co-emperor Diocletian.
Arsenale di Venezia
The Venetian Arsenal is a vast former shipyard complex in Venice's Castello district. Established in the twelfth century, it became one of Europe's largest industrial centres before the modern era, producing merchant and naval vessels using innovative assembly-line techniques.
Palazzo Medici Riccardi is a Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici and designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo in the fifteenth century.
Villa medicea di Castello
Villa Castello, or Villa medicea di Castello, is a Medici villa on the outskirts of Florence. The property combines Renaissance architecture with a formally designed garden and belongs to the network of rural residences created for the Medici family.
Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral of Florence and the church the whole of Piazza del Duomo is arranged around.
The Loggia dei Lanzi is an open-air sculpture gallery located on the southeast corner of Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Built between 1376 and 1382, this Gothic-style loggia was originally designed to host public ceremonies of the Florentine Republic.
Basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito
Santo Spirito is a major basilica in Florence's Oltrarno district, formally named Basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito. The church stands as one of the most significant Renaissance religious structures in the city, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope.
Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine
Santa Maria del Carmine is a Carmelite church in Florence's Oltrarno district. The basilica dates to the thirteenth century and was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1771 destroyed much of its interior.
Basilica della Santissima Annunziata
The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is a major Renaissance church in Florence and the centre of the piazza that bears its name.
Villa dei Quintili
The Villa dei Quintili is a large Roman aristocratic estate on the Via Appia southeast of Rome. The Quintilii brothers, wealthy consuls in 151 CE, owned the residence before Emperor Commodus seized it and had them executed.
Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura
The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of Rome’s four major papal basilicas.
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major, or Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, is one of Rome’s four major basilicas and the city’s largest Marian church.
Torre dell'orologio
St Mark's Clocktower, or Torre dell'Orologio, is a Renaissance landmark on the north side of Piazza San Marco. Its astronomical clock displays the hours, moon phases and zodiac signs, while two bronze figures strike the bell above.
Palazzo Colonna is a historic palace in Rome, Italy, belonging to the Colonna family, one of the oldest and most prominent noble families in the city.
Ponte di Rialto
The Ponte di Rialto is the oldest of the four bridges that cross the Grand Canal inside Venice, and until the Accademia bridge was built in 1854 it was the only one.
Ponte dei Sospiri
The Bridge of Sighs, or Ponte dei Sospiri, is an enclosed limestone bridge in Venice’s San Marco district. It crosses the Rio di Palazzo and links the Doge’s Palace with the New Prison.
Circo Massimo
Circus Maximus, known locally as Circo Massimo, is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills in Rome.
Piazza San Marco is the principal public square of Venice, and to Venetians it is simply la Piazza.
Ostia Antica
Ostia Antica is a large archaeological site located near Rome, preserving the remains of the ancient port city of Ostia.
Santa Maria della Salute
Santa Maria della Salute is a votive church standing at the mouth of the Grand Canal, raised by the Venetian Republic as a prayer and a thanksgiving for the city's deliverance from the plague of the seventeenth century.
Battistero di San Giovanni
The Baptistery of San Giovanni stands free in Piazza San Giovanni, directly in front of the cathedral facade, and it is the older of the two buildings by several centuries.
Piazza Navona is a long oval-ended square in the historic centre of Rome, and its shape is not a design decision of the Baroque period but the footprint of a Roman building.
Chiesa del Gesù
The Church of the Gesù, or Chiesa del Gesù, is the mother church of the Society of Jesus in Rome. The church is a major Baroque landmark and an architectural model for Jesuit churches around the world.
Catacombe di San Sebastiano
The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are an ancient underground cemetery complex beside the Appian Way. The site takes its name from Saint Sebastian, the Christian martyr traditionally associated with burial here.
Cimitero Monumentale
Cimitero Monumentale is Milan’s monumental cemetery and an open-air collection of sculpture, architecture and memorial art. Founded in 1866, it remains an active burial ground while welcoming visitors interested in Italian artistic heritage.
Santa Maria della Vittoria is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. The church was begun in 1608 and completed in 1620.
Ara Pacis Augustae
The Ara Pacis Augustae is an ancient Roman altar dedicated to Pax, the goddess of peace.
Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti
The Spanish Steps are the staircase that carries Piazza di Spagna up the slope of the Pincio hill to the church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti standing above it.
Mausoleo di Augusto
The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large circular tomb built as the final resting place of Emperor Augustus, the first Roman emperor.
Piazza di Spagna is a prominent public square in Rome's historic centre, named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See.
Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi
San Luigi dei Francesi is Rome’s national church of France, located between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona in the historic centre.
Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere
Santa Maria in Trastevere is a basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the heart of Rome’s Trastevere district.
Villa Doria Pamphilj
Villa Doria Pamphili is a historic villa and extensive public park in Rome, Italy. It is among the largest landscaped public parks in the city, situated on the Gianicolo hill.
Palazzo Farnese is a monumental High Renaissance palace on Piazza Farnese in Rome’s historic centre. The Farnese family commissioned the building, and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger began its design before Michelangelo contributed important later elements.
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is the Franciscan church of San Polo, and Venetians shorten its name to the Frari.
Abbazia di Chiaravalle
Chiaravalle Abbey, known locally as Abbazia di Chiaravalle, is a Cistercian monastery located in the southern periphery of Milan. Founded in 1135, it represents an important example of Lombard Gothic and Romanesque architecture.
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Passione
Santa Maria della Passione is a historic Catholic church in central Milan, also known locally as Chiesa di Santa Maria della Passione. It belongs to the city’s rich ecclesiastical landscape and offers a quieter alternative to Milan’s busiest monumental churches.
Teatro di Marcello
The Theatre of Marcellus is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy. Its local name is Teatro di Marcello. Construction began under Julius Caesar and was completed by Augustus in 13 BC, dedicated to his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus.
Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore is a Benedictine basilica standing alone on its own island in the lagoon, directly across the water from the Piazzetta di San Marco.
Palazzo Belgioioso
Palazzo Belgioioso stands as a distinguished neoclassical palace in central Milan, constructed in the late eighteenth century to designs by Giuseppe Piermarini. The building exemplifies the refined architectural transition from Baroque grandeur to Enlightenment restraint.
Palazzo della Ragione is a medieval civic building in Piazza dei Mercanti, immediately beside Milan’s cathedral district. Dating from the thirteenth century, it served as Milan’s broletto, a center for courts, public administration, and communal government.
Villa Reale
The Royal Villa of Milan, known locally as Villa Reale, stands as a significant historic estate in Milan. This distinguished property reflects aristocratic heritage and architectural importance within the city's cultural landscape.
Chiesa di San Fedele
San Fedele Church, or Chiesa di San Fedele, is a sixteenth-century church in central Milan beside Piazza San Fedele. The church is an active parish and a significant example of Counter-Reformation architecture.
Chiesa di San Pietro in Gessate
San Pietro in Gessate is a fifteenth-century Renaissance church in Milan’s Porta Vittoria area.
Basilica dei santi Giovanni e Paolo
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo is one of Venice’s major Gothic churches, standing in the large Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Castello. Venetians also call the basilica San Zanipolo.
Forte di Belvedere
Forte di Belvedere is a Renaissance fortress on the Boboli hill above Florence. Built under Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici and designed by Bernardo Buontalenti, it served military and residential purposes.
Basilica di Sant'Agostino
The Basilica of Saint Augustine, or Basilica di Sant'Agostino, is a Roman Catholic church near Piazza Navona in Rome's historic centre. Dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo, it sits within the Campo Marzio district's dense collection of historic religious buildings.
Basilica di Santa Prassede
Santa Prassede, known locally as Basilica di Santa Prassede, is a basilica church in Rome. It stands as a historic religious building within the urban fabric of the city.
Mercati di Traiano
Trajan's Market, known locally as Mercati di Traiano, constitutes an extensive complex of ruins in Rome traditionally associated with commercial and administrative functions. The structure forms part of the broader Forum of Trajan archaeological zone.
Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli
San Pietro in Vincoli is a basilica in Rome, officially named Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli. The church stands on the Oppian Hill near the Colosseum.
Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio is a historic church in Milan and one of the most ancient in the city. Founded by Saint Ambrose in 379 AD, it was rebuilt in the Romanesque style during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Cattedrale di San Romolo
Fiesole Cathedral, known locally as Cattedrale di San Romolo, stands in the hill town of Fiesole overlooking Florence. This historic cathedral serves as the seat of the Diocese of Fiesole and represents a significant religious landmark in the Tuscany region.
Portico d'Ottavia
The Porticus Octaviae, known locally as Portico d'Ottavia, is an ancient Roman portico in the heart of Rome's Jewish Ghetto.
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese is a large public park in central Rome, Italy. It covers substantial ground on the Pincian Hill and surrounding area, making it one of the city's most significant green spaces.
Basilica di Santa Maria Novella
The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella is a major Dominican church in Florence, situated opposite the city's main railway station, which shares its name.
Catacombe di San Callisto
The Catacomb of Callixtus, locally known as Catacombe di San Callisto, constitutes one of Rome's most significant early Christian burial complexes.
Ghetto di Venezia
The Venetian Ghetto is Venice’s historic Jewish quarter in Cannaregio, established in 1516 on the site of an iron foundry.
Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva, also called Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, is a Dominican basilica near the Pantheon in Rome’s historic centre. Its Gothic structure stands out in a city known for Renaissance and Baroque buildings.
Basilica di San Pietro di Castello
The Basilica di San Pietro di Castello is a historic church in Venice, located on the eastern end of the main island group in the Castello sestiere.
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, known in English as Saint Charles at the Four Fountains, is a Baroque church in Rome designed by Francesco Borromini.
Piazza del Campidoglio is a public square atop the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. Designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century, it represents one of the most significant examples of Renaissance urban planning.
Teatro La Fenice is Venice's principal opera house and among Italy's most renowned theatres. The name La Fenice, meaning The Phoenix, references the theatre's history of rising from devastating fires.
Largo di Torre Argentina
Largo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome that contains the remains of four Republican-era temples and the Theatre of Pompey. The ruins were uncovered during demolition work in the 1920s.
Basilica di San Marco
The Basilica of St. Mark, or Basilica di San Marco, is a historic religious building in Florence. It is distinct from St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, although both are dedicated to the same patron saint.
Altino
Altinum, also called Altino, is an ancient Roman settlement on the Venetian mainland near Venice. It was once a significant port city whose commercial and strategic importance connected it with Adriatic trade.
Piazzale Michelangiolo
Piazzale Michelangelo is a panoramic square overlooking Florence from the south bank of the Arno River. It was designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1869 as part of Florence's brief period as capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
The Bocca della Verità is a large ancient marble mask set into the wall of the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.
Palazzo dell'Ambrosiana
Palazzo dell'Ambrosiana is a historic palace in Milan, Italy, associated with the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, one of Europe's oldest and most significant cultural institutions.
The Crypta Balbi is a museum and archaeological complex in Rome, Italy. It stands on the site of the ancient Theatre of Balbus, built by Lucius Cornelius Balbus in 13 BCE.
Fontana Dell'Acqua Paola
Fontana dell'Acqua Paola is a monumental Baroque fountain located on the Janiculum Hill in Rome. Commissioned by Pope Paul V and completed in the early seventeenth century, it was built to mark the restoration of the ancient Trajan aqueduct.
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is a historic Venetian palace in the San Marco district, distinguished by its external spiral staircase, the Scala Contarini del Bovolo.
Basilica di Santa Trinita
Basilica di Santa Trinita is a Roman Catholic church in central Florence, near the Arno River and Ponte Santa Trinita. The basilica belongs to the Vallumbrosan Order and combines an important religious function with Gothic architecture and major Florentine art.
Fontana del Nettuno
The Fountain of Neptune is a monumental fountain located in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence's central civic square.
Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro
The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known locally as Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, stands as an iconic monument of Rome's EUR district.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Ten to fourteen days can combine Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome by high-speed train. Give Venice more than a transfer night and Rome several separate sightseeing days; rural Tuscany needs different transport planning from the rail-linked cities.
Italy is in the Schengen Area, but visa and passport requirements vary by nationality and route. Use Italy's official visa portal to confirm the applicable rule before travel rather than relying on another Schengen trip.
High-speed trains connect Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome, with regional rail and coaches serving smaller places. Drivers must check ZTL restrictions before entering historic centres because access controls are local and can generate fines.
April to June and September to October broadly suit the north-to-Rome rail route. Lagoon conditions in Venice, summer heat in Rome, and seasonal rural services in Tuscany should be checked independently.
Italy uses the euro (EUR). Carry a modest cash reserve for small purchases while using cards where accepted, and verify the euro amount at the terminal instead of accepting an unexamined conversion.
Italy routes emergency calls through 112. Travellers encounter a 230 V supply and Type C, F, or L receptacles. No tap-water assessment is recorded for Italy; obtain current local advice at the destination.
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