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COUNTRY GUIDE / 50 cities and places

Italy.
A little closer.

105 discovery ideas · 0 sourced stories. Choose a place, explore its details and find an experience to try.

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Cities and places

Agrigento

  1. History

    Tour the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento

    See the Doric temples among almond trees in one of ancient Greece's grandest temple rows — and photograph it.

Alberobello

  1. History

    Tour the cone-roofed trulli houses of Alberobello (UNESCO)

    Wander the fairytale town of thousands of whitewashed trullo houses with conical stone roofs — and photograph it.

Anacapri

  1. Nature · Capri

    See the Blue Grotto and Faraglioni on Capri

    Enter the sea cave glowing neon-blue by small boat; sail between the giant rock stacks of the Faraglioni — and photograph it.

Assisi

  1. History

    See the Basilica of St. Francis and its frescoes in Assisi (UNESCO)

    Tour the hilltop pink-stone pilgrimage town and the basilica covered in Giotto's frescoes of St. Francis's life — and photograph it.

Auronzo

  1. Nature · Tre Cime

    Trek around the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the Dolomites

    See the Alps' most dramatic scenery on the classic loop hike around the three iconic rock towers — and photograph it.

Bari

  1. City discovery

    Burrata with tomatoes

    Try burrata with tomatoes — and photograph it.

Baunei

  1. Nature

    Descend to the turquoise cove of Cala Goloritzé in Sardinia

    Swim in the protected cove reached by a trail, famous for its limestone arch and crystal water — and photograph it.

Bellagio

  1. Nature

    Tour Bellagio and Varenna on Lake Como

    Ferry between the elegant villas and colorful towns on the shore of the Alpine lake; see the lake-view gardens — and photograph it.

Bergamo

  1. Culture & art

    Wander Bergamo's upper town (Città Alta)

    Take the funicular up to the medieval hilltop town encircled by Venetian walls; stand on the square and take in the view — and photograph it.

Bologna

  1. Food

    Eat handmade fresh pasta in Bologna (tagliatelle al ragù)

    Taste tagliatelle with real ragù (not 'bolognese'), tortellini and mortadella in Italy's 'food capital.' — and photograph it.

  2. Food · Italia

    Make fresh pasta at an Italian cooking class

    Learn to roll dough by hand and make fresh pasta with a classic sauce, guided by a nonna or chef — and photograph it.

  3. History

    Walk under Bologna's porticoes (UNESCO)

    Walk under the more than 40 km of historic arcades; climb one of the two leaning towers (Asinelli) — and photograph it.

Braies

  1. Nature

    See the turquoise Lago di Braies in the Dolomites

    Row a wooden boat on the emerald lake framed by jagged peaks; walk the loop around the lake — and photograph it.

Bronte

  1. Nature · Catania

    Climb Mount Etna

    Ride the cable car and jeep up Europe's highest active volcano and walk the lava fields near the craters — and photograph it.

Capaccio

  1. History · Paestum

    See the Greek temples at Paestum

    See three of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples outside Greece, on a broad plain — and photograph it.

Ercolano

  1. History

    Tour the well-preserved ruins of Herculaneum

    Tour the ancient town smaller than Pompeii but better preserved, where even wooden details and upper floors survive — and photograph it.

Floransa

See discoveries (8) →

Genoa

  1. Food · Genova

    Taste real pesto and focaccia in Genoa

    Try trofie pasta with fresh mortar-pounded pesto and morning focaccia in the city where pesto was born — and photograph it.

Lecce

  1. Culture & art

    Wander the baroque streets of Lecce ('the Florence of the South')

    Stroll among the extravagant baroque facades carved from soft local stone; tour the historic center — and photograph it.

Lipari

  1. Nature · Stromboli

    Watch Stromboli volcano erupt in the Aeolian Islands

    Watch the constantly erupting volcano spew red lava in the dark, by boat or on a night climb — and photograph it.

Lucca

  1. History

    Cycle atop the walls of Lucca

    Cycle the Renaissance walls encircling the city, now a tree-lined promenade — and photograph it.

Matera

  1. History · Sassi

    Sleep in the cave dwellings (Sassi) of Matera (UNESCO)

    Stay overnight in a cave hotel carved into the rock in one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlements — and photograph it.

Milano

  1. History

    Walk on the roof of the Duomo

    You can walk on top of this cathedral, out among the flying buttresses and something like three thousand statues, on marble that came down a canal dug specifically to deliver it. Six hundred years of building and the Alps are visible on a clear day. Photograph the spires at eye level.

  2. Culture & art · Navigli

    Aperitivo on the Navigli canals

    The canals were dug in the twelfth century to float the cathedral marble in, and Leonardo later worked on the locks. At six the bars along the water put out a buffet that comes free with the drink, and the whole street eats standing up. Photograph the plate against the canal.

  3. History

    Get your fifteen minutes with the Last Supper

    Leonardo painted it on dry plaster instead of wet, so it started flaking within twenty years and has been under repair ever since. Twenty-five people go in at a time for fifteen minutes and tickets go weeks ahead. No cameras inside, so photograph the refectory door on your way in.

  4. City discovery

    Risotto alla milanese

    Try risotto alla milanese — and photograph it.

Modena

  1. Food

    Real balsamic vinegar and Ferrari in Modena

    Taste traditional balsamic vinegar aged for decades at a farm; tour the Ferrari museum — and photograph it.

Monreale

  1. History

    See the golden mosaics of Monreale Cathedral

    See the cathedral near Palermo whose interior walls are entirely covered in golden Norman-Byzantine mosaics — and photograph it.

Naples

  1. History · Centro Storico

    Tour underground Naples (Napoli Sotterranea)

    Descend by candle through narrow passages into the ancient Greek-Roman cistern-and-tunnel network beneath the city — and photograph it.

  2. Food · Centro Storico

    Eat true Neapolitan pizza in its birthplace

    Eat a classic wood-fired Margherita at a historic pizzeria in the city where pizza was born — and photograph it.

  3. City discovery

    Eat Neapolitan pizza at Da Michele

    Queue for a margherita from the wood oven and photograph it.

Orvieto

  1. History

    See Orvieto's striped cathedral and its underground

    See the grand Gothic cathedral with golden mosaics in the town atop volcanic rock; tour the underground cave network — and photograph it.

Ostuni

  1. Culture & art

    Wander the all-white hill town of Ostuni

    Wander until sunset the hilltop town called the 'White City,' with its whitewashed, winding lanes — and photograph it.

Ottaviano

  1. Nature · Vesuvio

    Climb to the crater rim of Mount Vesuvius

    Hike to the crater of the only active volcano on mainland Europe for views over the Bay of Naples — and photograph it.

Palermo

  1. Food

    Street food and markets in Palermo (arancini, pane ca meusa)

    Try arancini, panelle and — for the brave — the spleen sandwich pane ca meusa at the Ballarò and Vucciria markets — and photograph it.

Parma

  1. Food

    Tour a parmigiano and prosciutto producer in Parma

    Watch parmigiano reggiano being made at a dairy; do a prosciutto di Parma tasting — and photograph it.

Pienza

  1. Nature · Val d'Orcia

    Tour the cypress-lined hills of Val d'Orcia (UNESCO)

    Drive the Tuscan landscape famous for its rolling hills and lone cypress rows between Pienza and Montalcino; taste Brunello wine — and photograph it.

Pisa

  1. History

    See and 'hold' the Leaning Tower of Pisa

    See the leaning bell tower, cathedral and baptistery on the Square of Miracles; take the classic 'holding the tower' photo — and photograph it.

Polignano a Mare

  1. Nature

    Swim in the cliff cove of Polignano a Mare

    Swim in the Lama Monachile cove between high cliffs; wander the clifftop town — and photograph it.

Pompei

  1. History

    Walk the ash-preserved ancient city of Pompeii

    Walk among houses, baths and plaster casts of victims in the Roman city frozen by Vesuvius's ash in AD 79 — and photograph it.

Portofino

  1. Nature

    Stop at the luxury fishing harbor of Portofino

    Stop at the small crescent harbor full of pastel houses and luxury yachts; walk up to the hilltop church — and photograph it.

Positano

  1. Nature

    See Positano and Ravello on the Amalfi Coast

    Drive the coast road among pastel towns clinging to sheer cliffs; watch the sea from Ravello's villa gardens — and photograph it.

Ravenna

  1. History

    See the early Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna (UNESCO)

    See the gold-ground, 1,500-year-old shimmering Byzantine mosaics of San Vitale and Galla Placidia — and photograph it.

Realmonte

  1. Nature

    Swim at the white cliffs of Scala dei Turchi

    Swim in the turquoise cove beside the staircase-like white marl cliffs rising from the sea — and photograph it.

Riomaggiore

  1. City discovery

    Visit Cinque Terre coastline

    Five villages clinging to a steep slope with no road between them; you arrive on foot, by train or by boat. The vineyards are terraced behind dry stone walls whose total length is compared to the Great Wall. Photograph the terraces.

Roma

See discoveries (35) →

San Gimignano

  1. History

    See the medieval towers of San Gimignano

    Wander the hilltop town full of stone towers called the 'medieval Manhattan'; taste the world-champion gelato — and photograph it.

Santa Cristina Valgardena

  1. Nature · Val Gardena

    See the tilted grassy ridges and cable car at Seceda

    Ride the cable car up for the view of the dramatic grassy ridges dropping sharply over the Val Gardena — and photograph it.

Siena

  1. History

    Sit on the Piazza del Campo in Siena

    Sit on the fan-shaped medieval square; feel the atmosphere of the Palio horse race held twice a year — and photograph it.

Siracusa

  1. History · Syracuse

    Tour Ortigia and the ancient theatre in Syracuse

    Wander the baroque streets of the seaside Ortigia island; see the ancient Greek theatre and the Ear of Dionysius cave — and photograph it.

Sirmione

  1. Nature

    Sirmione castle and thermal waters on Lake Garda

    Tour the moated castle on the peninsula reaching into the lake; see the ancient Roman villa ruins and thermal water — and photograph it.

Stintino

  1. Nature

    Swim at the Caribbean-like La Pelosa beach in Sardinia

    Swim at one of Italy's most beautiful beaches, with white sand and shallow turquoise water — and photograph it.

Taormina

  1. History

    Watch Etna from the Greek theatre in Taormina

    Stand in the ancient Greek theatre with views of sea and volcano; wander the streets of the clifftop town — and photograph it.

Turin

  1. Food · Torino

    Taste chocolate and a bicerin coffee in Turin

    Try gianduiotto chocolate and the layered coffee-chocolate drink bicerin in Italy's chocolate capital — and photograph it.

  2. History · Torino

    Egyptian Museum and Mole Antonelliana in Turin

    Tour the largest Egyptian collection outside Cairo; ride up the Mole, the city's landmark tower, for Alpine views — and photograph it.

Venedik

See discoveries (7) →

Vernazza

  1. Nature · Cinque Terre

    Connect the five villages of Cinque Terre on foot

    Link the five colorful fishing villages on the sea cliffs by coastal trail and train — and photograph it.

Verona

  1. History

    See the Arena and Romeo-Juliet's balcony in Verona

    Stand in the well-preserved Roman arena; see Juliet's legendary balcony; in summer watch an opera at the Arena — and photograph it.