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
Madonna dell'Orto is a Gothic church in Venice's Cannaregio district. Founded in the mid-14th century by the now-defunct Humiliati order, it later became a parish church.
Santa Maria Primerana
Santa Maria Primerana is a historic church in Florence and one of the many sacred buildings that give the city its exceptional concentration of heritage.
Museo d'Arte Antica is a museum in Milan dedicated to ancient and medieval art. It forms part of the Sforza Castle complex, one of the city's most significant historical monuments.
Orto Botanico di Brera is a historic botanical garden in Milan’s Brera district. Founded in 1774 under Maria Theresa of Austria, it was created as an academic setting for cultivating medicinal plants and supporting pharmaceutical education.
Palazzo Bellavite is a historic palace in Venice’s San Marco district. It belongs to the architectural landscape of central Venice, where noble residences, churches, bridges, and narrow streets form a continuous historic setting.
Chiesa del Redentore
Il Redentore, locally known as Chiesa del Redentore, stands as a significant church on the Giudecca island in Venice.
Fondazione Prada is a contemporary art and cultural institution in Milan established by the Prada fashion house. It occupies a former industrial site that was transformed into an architectural complex.
Basilica parrocchiale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is a Catholic church in Rome’s EUR district, dedicated jointly to the two apostles. Its twentieth-century modernist character sets it apart from the Baroque and Renaissance churches concentrated in the historic centre.
M9 Museo 900
M9 Museum, known locally as M9 Museo 900, is a cultural institution in Venice dedicated to twentieth-century Italian history. The museum occupies a significant position within the city's museum landscape, offering visitors an exploration of recent historical narratives.
Studio Museo Francesco Messina
Museo Francesco Messina, also known as Studio Museo Francesco Messina, is a Milan museum devoted to the twentieth-century Italian sculptor Francesco Messina. The museum occupies the artist’s former studio, giving the visit a close connection with his working environment.
Anfiteatro Romano
The Anfiteatro Romano is Milan's ancient Roman amphitheatre, located in the city centre near Piazza dell'Amphiteatro. This archaeological site represents one of the most significant remnants of Mediolanum, the Roman settlement that preceded modern Milan.
Palazzo Corsini al Parione
Palazzo Corsini al Parione is a historic palace in central Florence’s Parione district.
Quartiere Coppedè is an architectural enclave in Rome's Trieste district, conceived by Florentine architect Gino Coppedè between 1913 and 1927. The quarter spans roughly one block and represents a distinctive fusion of Art Nouveau, medieval, Baroque, and ancient Greek influences.
Museo Diocesano
Museo diocesano d'arte sacra Sant'Apollonia is a sacred-art museum near San Marco, housed in the former Benedictine convent of Sant’Apollonia. Its works came from churches within the Venetian diocese and represent centuries of religious painting, sculpture and decorative art.
Museo Ebraico
The Museo Ebraico di Venezia sits in the historic Venetian Ghetto in Cannaregio, a district established in 1516 and among Europe’s oldest segregated Jewish quarters.
Oratorio dei Crociferi is a small Venetian oratory in Cannaregio, associated with the Crociferi religious order. It belongs to the quieter, more intimate layer of Venice’s ecclesiastical heritage, away from the scale of the city’s celebrated basilicas.
Museo della Permanente
The Society for Fine Arts and Permanent Exhibition, known locally as Museo della Permanente, is a Milan cultural institution devoted to visual art.
Museo Casa Rodolfo Siviero
Casa museo Rodolfo Siviero is a house museum in Florence devoted to Rodolfo Siviero, the art historian and secret agent known for recovering Italian artworks looted during World War II.
Casa Giorgio Vasari
Casa Giorgio Vasari is a historic house museum in Florence, the former residence of the Renaissance artist, architect, and writer Giorgio Vasari. Located in the city centre, this property served as both his home and studio.
La Casina delle Civette
The Casina delle Civette, known locally as La Casina delle Civette, is a historic building located within the Villa Torlonia park in Rome.
Cenacolo del Fuligno
The Cenacolo di Fuligno, also known as the Cenacolo del Fuligno, is a religious art site in Florence. It houses a significant Renaissance fresco depicting the Last Supper.
The Gucci Museum presents the history of the Florentine luxury house founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921. Set in the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia near Piazza della Signoria, it connects fashion objects with Florence’s traditions of craftsmanship, commerce, and design.
Museo Marino Marini (Chiesa di San Pancrazio)
The Marino Marini Museum occupies the deconsecrated Chiesa di San Pancrazio in central Florence. It is dedicated to the work of Marino Marini, the twentieth-century Italian sculptor and painter.
Museo di Orsanmichele
The Museum of Orsanmichele occupies a distinctive building in Florence's historic centre, originally constructed as a grain market in the late thirteenth century before conversion to a church.
Cenacolo Andrea del Sarto
The Museum of the Last Supper of Andrea del Sarto, also called Cenacolo Andrea del Sarto, presents Andrea del Sarto’s Last Supper fresco in Florence.
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.
.jpg){kind=link}
