23 Best Sights in Italy

A tortuous road leads up to Anacapri, the island's "second city," about 3 km (2 miles) from Capri Town. To get here you can take a bus either from Via Roma in Capri Town or from Marina Grande (both €2), or a taxi (about €30 one-way; agree on the fare before starting out). Crowds are thick down Via Capodimonte leading to Villa San Michele and around Piazza Vittoria, the square where you catch the chairlift to the top of Monte Solaro. Via Finestrale leads to the noted Le Boffe quarter, centered on the Piazza Diaz. Le Boffe owes its name to the distinctive domestic architecture prevalent here, which uses vaults and sculpted groins instead of crossbeams. Elsewhere, Anacapri is quietly appealing. It's a good starting point for walks, such as the 80-minute round-trip journey to the Migliara Belvedere, on the island's southern coast.

Perched under the citadel of the Terra Murata which encompasses Palazzo d'Avolos (a 1500s palace turned prison and now cultural center), the Marina Corricella is Procida's most memorable sight. Singled out for the waterfront scenes in Il Postino (The Postman, the 1995 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film), this fishermen's cove is one of the most eye-popping villages in Campania—a rainbow-hued, horizontal version of Positano, comprising hundreds of traditional Mediterranean-style stone houses threaded by numerous scalatinelle (staircase streets).

On the southern coast, this is a charming village with a narrow path leading to its promontory; the road doesn't reach all the way into town, so it's free of traffic. It's a five-minute boat ride from the beach of Maronti, at the foot of cliffs.

These two gems on the Riviera dei Ciclopi (Cyclops Riviera), the coastline between Acireale and Catania, fill with city dwellers in summer. Heading south from Acireale on the litoranea (coastal) road, you'll first reach Aci Trezza, said to be the land of the one-eyed Cyclops in Homer's Odyssey. Aci Castello has its own fish houses plus the imposing Castello Normanno (Norman Castle), which sits right on the water. The castle was built in the 11th century with volcanic rock from Mt. Etna.

In the hills where flowers are cultivated for export, this self-consciously picturesque former ghost town is a flourishing artists' colony. The town was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1877, when the inhabitants packed up and left en masse. For almost a century the houses, church, and crumbling bell tower were empty shells, overgrown by weeds and wildflowers. Since the 1960s, painters, sculptors, artisans, and bric-a-brac dealers have restored the dwellings as houses and studios. You need a car to visit the town.

On the island of Sant'Antioco, off the southwestern coast of Sardinia, the fishing village and port of Calasetta draws visitors year-round for its beautiful beaches and fresh-seafood dishes. The pristine beaches of Spiaggia Grande and Le Saline, alternating with rocky areas, dunes, and local vegetation, form a rugged paradise. Founded by Ligurian settlers who worked as coral and tuna fishermen, Calasetta is connected daily by ferry boats with the smaller island of San Pietro, which also keeps intact its Ligurian cultural history and dialect.

On arrival at the port, pick up the excellent map of the island at the tourist office. You may have to wait for the funicular railway (€2 one-way) to Capri Town, some 450 feet above the harbor. So this might be the time to splurge on an open-top taxi—it could save you an hour in line and a sweaty ride packed into a tiny, swaying bus. From the upper station, walk out into Piazza Umberto I, better known as the Piazzetta, the island's social hub.

This attractive town, with Venetian-style villas and arcaded streets, lies 23 km (14 miles) north of Treviso in wine-producing country and is known for its sparkling white wine, prosecco. Its other claim to fame is its connection with Gianbattista Cima—called Cima di Conegliano. Along with Giovanni Bellini, Cima is one of the greatest painters of the early Venetian Renaissance, and the town's elegant 14th-century Duomo houses an altarpiece he painted in 1492. The front of the Duomo is formed by the frescoed late-medieval facade and Gothic arcade of the Scuola dei Battuti. If you stop in town, be sure to taste the prosecco, sold in local wine bars and shops. There is regular train service from Treviso.

Stone buildings, narrow lanes, and stairways are strung together amid vineyards high on the cliffs; on a clear day views of the entire coastal strip are excellent. The high perch and lack of harbor make this farming community the most remote of the Cinque Terre.

The far-western and southern coasts of Ischia are more rugged and attractive than other areas. Forio, at the extreme west, has a waterfront church, Chiesa del Soccorso, and is a good spot for lunch or dinner.  Head to the whitewashed Soccorso church to watch a gorgeous sunset—perhaps the best spot on the island to do so.

Perched at about 600 feet in the southwest hills of the island, this authentic Sardinian town 35 km (22 miles) north of Sant'Antioco has two notable medieval churches: the Cattedrale di Santa Chiara and Madonna delle Grazie. The town is famous for its theatrical, Spanish-inflected Easter festivities. A short drive away, on the Costa Verde, you can enjoy unspoiled, uncrowded beaches, including the beautiful Masua cove at Porto Cauli beach.

This is the island's largest town and the usual point of debarkation. It's no workaday port, however, but rather a lively resort with plenty of hotels, the island's best shopping area, and low, flat-roof houses on terraced hillsides overlooking the water. Its narrow streets and villas and gardens are framed by pines.

With its long sandy beach, colorful old quarter, and breathtakingly beautiful hiking paths, Levanto has become a haven not only for sun worshippers but also for divers, surfers, and hikers. The path between Levanto and Monterosso al Mare, about a 2½-mile hike, is freely accessible. This is also an ideal starting point for day trips by train or boat to many interesting places along the Riviera, such as Portovenere, Lerici, Tellaro, and Fiascherino, in the direction of La Spezia; and Portofino, Santa Margherita, Camogli, and Sestri Levante, in the direction of Genoa.

Enchanting pastel houses spill down a steep hill overlooking a spectacular turquoise swimming cove and a bustling harbor. The whole town is built on black rock. Above the town, ancient terraces still protect abundant vineyards and olive trees. This village is the center of the wine and olive oil production of the region, and its streets are lined with shops selling local products.

For a fascinating and delightful day excursion out of Padua, take a drive (or a bus ride) to see several medieval towns. Monselice, 23 km (14 miles) south of Padua, has a castle perched on a hilltop that is everything a 13th-century castle should be, both inside and out. It also has the Villa Duodo, designed by Palladio's disciple and collaborator, Scamozzi. Este, 10 km (6 miles) west of Monselice, is another example of a medieval walled city. Farther west, the walls surrounding the town of Montagnana, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Padua, are some of the best preserved in Italy; they enclose a market square, a 500-year-old cathedral, a Palladian Villa, and a medieval castle.

A tiny hilltop hamlet, about 2 km (1 mile) west of Greve in Chianti, Montefioralle is the ancestral home of Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512), the mapmaker, navigator, and explorer who named America. (His cousin-in-law, Simonetta, may have been the inspiration for Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, painted sometime in the 1480s.)

Nestled into the wide valley that leads to the sea, Monterosso is built above numerous streams, which have been covered to make up the major streets of the village. Via Buranco, the oldest street in Monterosso, leads to the most characteristic piazza of the village, Piazza Matteotti. Locals pass through here daily to shop at the supermarket and butcher. This piazza also contains the oldest and most typical wineshop in the village, Enoteca da Eliseo—stop here between 6 pm and midnight to share tables with fellow tourists and locals over a bottle of Cinque Terre wine. There’s also the Chiesa di San Francesco, built in the 12th century and an excellent example of the Ligurian Gothic style. Its distinctive black stripes and marble rose window make it one of the most photographed sites in the Cinque Terre.

Fegina, the newer side of the village (and site of the train station), has relatively modern homes ranging from the Liberty style (Art Nouveau) to the early 1970s. At the far eastern end of town, you'll run into a private sailing club sheltered by a vast rock carved with an impressive statue of Neptune. From here, you can reach the challenging trail to Levanto (a great 2½-hour hike). This trail has the added bonus of a five-minute detour to the ruins of a 14th-century monastery. The expansive view from this vantage point allowed the monks who were housed here to easily scan the waters for enemy ships that might invade the villages and alert residents to coming danger. Have your camera ready for this Cinerama-like vista.

The local outdoor market is held on Thursday and attracts crowds of tourists and villagers from along the coast to shop for everything from pots, pans, and underwear to fruits, vegetables, and fish. Often a few stands sell local art and crafts, as well as olive oil and wine.

Just 9 km (5½ miles) northeast of Finale Ligure, the ruins of a castle loom benevolently over Noli, a tiny medieval gem. It's hard to imagine that this charming seaside village was—like Genoa, Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi—a prosperous maritime republic in the Middle Ages. Let yourself get lost among its labyrinth of cobblestone streets filled with shops and cafés or enjoy a day in the sun on its lovely stretch of beach. If you don't have a car, get a bus for Noli at Spotorno, where local trains stop.

This village at the eastern end of the Cinque Terre is built into a river gorge (hence the name, which means "river major"). It has a tiny harbor protected by large slabs of alabaster and marble, which serve as tanning beds for sunbathers as well as being the site of several outdoor cafés with fine views. According to legend, the settlement of Riomaggiore dates as far back as the 8th century, when Greek religious refugees came here to escape persecution by the Byzantine emperor.

From Camogli, you can reach these hamlets along the western coast of the peninsula either on foot or by boat. They're more natural and less fashionable than those facing south on the eastern coast. In the small Romanesque church at San Nicolò, sailors who survived dangerous voyages came to offer thanks.

The cape that gives this town its name has a long sandy beach on a promontory overlooking a bay in the Gulf of Castellammare. San Vito Lo Capo is famous for its North African couscous, made with fish instead of meat. In late September it hosts the 10-day Cous Cous Fest ( www.couscousfest.it), a serious international couscous competition and festival with live music and plenty of free tastings. San Vito is also one of the bases for exploring the Riserva dello Zingaro; this nature reserve—one of the few stretches of coastline in Sicily that is not built-up—is at its best in late spring, when both wildflowers and birds are plentiful.

A half-hour walk (or a very twisty drive) from Acireale's center, this picturesque harbor, with lava stone steps leading to the water, is filled with fishermen unloading brightly colored boats. Inexpensive lunches are served in the many restaurants along the harbor; your fresh fish dish is priced by weight.

With narrow streets and small squares, the village that many consider to be the most charming of the five towns has the best access to the sea—a geographic reality that made the village wealthier than its neighbors, as evidenced by the elaborate arcades, loggias, and marble work. The village's pink, slate-roof houses and colorful squares contrast with the remains of the medieval fort and castle, including two towers, in the old town. The Romans first inhabited this rocky spit of land in the 1st century. Today, Vernazza has a fairly lively social scene. It's a great place to refuel with a hearty seafood lunch or linger in a café between links of the seaside hike.