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 Mediterr...
Photograph · Timothy A. Gonsalves · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
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.
Checked 2026-08-25
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.
408 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Museo archeologico nazionale di Venezia
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia is a national archaeological museum housed within the Procuratie Nuove in Piazza San Marco. It holds collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, sculptures, bronzes, gems, and coins.
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, or Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, is a fashion museum in Florence devoted to the work and legacy of shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo.
Villa Necchi Campiglio is a Milan house museum designed by Piero Portaluppi between 1932 and 1935. Built for the Necchi Campiglio family, it preserves a refined example of Milanese rationalist architecture and twentieth-century domestic life.
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.
Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia
The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" is Italy's largest science and technology museum. Housed in a former Olivetan monastery, the institution honors Leonardo da Vinci's legacy as both artist and inventor.
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.
Museo del Vetro
The Murano Glass Museum, known locally as Museo del Vetro, is a museum dedicated to the art and history of glassmaking on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon.
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.
Armani/Silos is a fashion museum in Milan dedicated to the work of Italian designer Giorgio Armani. Opened in 2015, it occupies a former industrial building in the Tortona district that was originally constructed in 1950 as a granary.
Casa di Dante
The House of Dante, or Casa di Dante, stands in Florence as a museum dedicated to the life and work of Dante Alighieri, the medieval poet whose Divine Comedy shaped Italian literature.
The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a historic confraternity building in Venice, founded in 1478 and dedicated to Saint Roch, patron saint of plague victims.
Museo Stibbert is a museum in Florence, Italy. It was founded by Frederick Stibbert, a British-born collector who inherited substantial wealth and dedicated his life to amassing art, armour, and decorative objects from across the world.
Museo del Risorgimento
The Museum of the Risorgimento in Milan documents Italy's unification movement from 1796 to 1870.
The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is a historic art gallery and library in central Milan, founded in the early seventeenth century by Cardinal Federico Borromeo. It houses the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, one of Italy's oldest public libraries, alongside its picture gallery.
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 is an active Dominican basilica at Piazza della Minerva 42, just behind the Pantheon in Rome. Its three-aisled Gothic interior is unusual in a city where many landmark churches are more visibly Renaissance or Baroque.
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.
Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia occupies the historic Fondaco dei Turchi beside the Grand Canal. The building gives the visit an architectural setting as distinctive as the collections inside, with Venetian-Byzantine details and a canal-side position.
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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