Southern Tuscany
Enlarged by the ruling Orsinis in the 16th century, this 13th-century castle later became the residence of the local bishop and is now a museum. Its rooms…
Must-see attractions in Italy
Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
This little-known museum behind the church of Santa Croce stands on the site of the former home of St Helena. It’s undeservedly but refreshingly deserted,…
Venice
Richard Wagner survived the 20-year effort of composing his stormy Ring cycle only to expire in this gracious palazzo, now the casino, in 1883. His suite …
Lake Garda
The five towers of the privately owned Rocca Scaligera rise to the south of the harbour – look out for the huge hole in the north wall of its main tower,…
Viterbo
Next door to the cathedral, this museum displays a small collection of archaeological artefacts and religious art. Highlights include the Madonna della…
Museo della Cultura e delle Arti Figurative Bizantine e Normanne
Tyrrhenian Coast
Next to the 16th-century Chiesa di San Teodoro, in a restored 16th-century Benedictine monastery, is a lovely space showing fresco fragments from the town…
Catania
Located at Le Ciminiere – a converted sulphur refinery – the Museo del Cinema explores the evolution of movie making. Exhibition translations are poor,…
Udine
A small but engrossing museum of daily life, with various exhibitions devoted to the Friulian hearth, unusual spiritual practices, folk medicine,…
Orta San Giulio
A short walk uphill from the Piazza Mario Motta on the waterfront, this church dates back to the 15th century, though it was rebuilt in the 1700s. It has…
Siena
Built by order of Cosimo de' Medici in 1563, this fortified brick castle was decommissioned as a military barracks in the late 18th century and converted…
Elba
Just south of Poggio, the SP37 winds to a well-signed picnic site at the foot of Monte Perone (630m). To the left (east) you can wander up the mountain to…
Museo Civico e Diocesano d'Arte Sacra
Montalcino
Occupying the former convent of the neighbouring Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, this collection of religious art from the town and surrounding region includes a…
Genoa
The reconstruction here is not the only house claiming to be the birthplace of the navigator Christopher Columbus (Calvi in Corsica is another contender),…
Verona
Walk through the archway at the far end of Piazza dei Signori to these ornate Gothic funerary monuments, the elaborate tombs of the Della Scala family, in…
Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore
Abruzzo
In Guardiagrele's compact centro storico (historic centre), this striking church features a 14th-century arched portico and an austere Romanesque facade…
Venice
Housed in a former Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sant’Apollonia, this museum has a fairly predictable collection of religious art and the occasional…
Cappella di San Nicola di Bari
Ischia
The little church near the top of Monte Epomeo is the 15th-century Cappella di San Nicola di Bari, which features a pretty majolica floor. The adjoining…
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
Lake Como
Much overlooked in all the excitement about Varenna's villas are the lovely 14th-century frescoes, somewhat damaged but nevertheless full of colour,…
Livorno
Built for the Medicis between 1590 and 1604, this hulk of a red-brick fort in Piccola Venezia is a pale shade of its 17th-century magnificent self…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Giuseppe Garibaldi defended Rome against French troops sent to restore papal rule in 1849, and this towering commemorative statue was raised to the hero…
Oltrarno
It was on the ground floor of 15th-century Palazzo Guidi, across from Palazzo Pitti, that Robert and Elizabeth Browning rented an apartment in 1847, a…
Genoa
Genoa's fountain-embellished main piazza is ringed by magnificent buildings that include the art nouveau Palazzo della Borsa, which was once the country's…
Bergamo
This octagonal baptistry was built in 1340 but moved to its present spot and was given a few neo-Gothic flourishes in 1898. Inside, you'll find bas…
Museo della Comunità di Montalcino e del Brunello
Val d'Orcia
Located 4km southeast of Montalcino on the Fattoria dei Barbi wine estate (one of the oldest in the region), this Brunello-focused museum has exhibits…
Rome
A landmark in the Coppedè neighbourhood, the Fontana delle Rane is a modern take on the better known Fontana delle Tartarughe in the Jewish Ghetto. It,…
Chiesa di Santa Lucia in Selci
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
The small Chiesa di Santa Lucia in Selci is a convent church devoted to the 4th-century martyr St Lucy. It dates to some time before the 8th century, but…
Centro Comunale d’Arte e Cultura Il Ghetto
Cagliari
This small cultural centre, housed in a former military barracks, hosts temporary exhibitions, many with a Sardinian slant. The name 'Il Ghetto' is a…
Civico Museo di Storia ed Arte ed Orto Lapidario
Trieste
This creaky old museum houses Roman antiquities unearthed in and around Trieste and Aquileia, including the impressive iron hoard of the Necropolis of…
Golfo di Orosei
Just off Orosei's main square (Piazza del Popolo), the baroque ochre-hued Chiesa del Rosario, with its trio of wooden crosses, wouldn’t look out of place…
Olbia
Considered to be Gallura’s most important medieval monument, this Romanesque granite church was built in the late 11th and early 12th centuries on what…
Modena
A nostalgic journey back in time for any kid who ever owned a Panini football sticker collection, this geeky museum is tucked away upstairs in the Palazzo…
Rapallo
Rapallo's scenic seafront promenade hosts a daily parade of locals and visitors. This is also the setting for the Mercato del Giovedì (Thursday market).
Lecce
This 18th-century seminary, designed by famous Leccese architect and sculptor Giuseppe Cino, today houses a library of old books and a museum dedicated to…
Friuli Venezia Giulia
Head along Borgo Udine to uncover local history and weaponry from the Venetian and Napoleonic eras in the Civico Museo Storico, inside Palazzo Trevisan…
Eastern Sardinia
The main reason to make a stop in the grey, sleepy village of Orani is the Museo Nivola. This museum celebrates the original sculpture and sand-casting…
Pantelleria
This tiny free museum near the Punta Spadillo lighthouse has a fascinating collection of displays in Italian and English, covering everything from…
Siena
Water first bubbled forth from the Fonte Gaia in the upper part of the Campo in 1346. The fountain's panels are reproductions; the severely weathered…
Lecce
The main city gate, Porta Napoli, was erected in 1548 in anticipation of a state visit from Charles V. It's a typically bombastic effort by Gian dell…
Western Sicily
Occupying the hill of Manuzza, to the north of the acropolis, the Ancient City, where most of Selinunte's inhabitants lived, is the least excavated of all…
Friuli Venezia Giulia
This house museum in Rupingrande re-creates life in the pre-modern Slovenian-speaking Carso. It also organises the plateau's most important folk festival,…
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