What to See in Italy: 30 Places to Absolutely Visit in 2023

To the question what to see in Italy there is no answer at all. A lifetime would not be enough to see all the wonders of Italy. There is an immense heritage worth discovering.

Alongside the most famous cities, there are villages and towns suspended in time, forests and lakes, enchanted castles, churches and places of art.

And then there are the jealously guarded treasures, the lesser known and underrated ones that are absolutely worth a visit.

We have tried to compile a small and useful list of the most beautiful and lesser-known places worth visiting in Italy.

You will find tips on which cities to visit, the most romantic places and the perfect places for a trip with children. Here is a guide to places worth a visit in the north, centre and south of Italy with cities to visit.

SEE ALSO: CHEAP DESTINATIONS IN ITALY

What to see in Italy

Around Italy there are villages suspended in time, abandoned places that have found new life by reinventing themselves, enchanting castles, art and unspoilt nature.

We have tried to put together a list of some of the most peculiar and lesser-known places you absolutely must visit in Italy. The list is a great starting point for weekend trips.

Vallone dei Mulini

In this valley on the Sorrento peninsula nature has taken over an old abandoned place. The Vallone dei Mulini is what remains of one of the five valleys around Sorrento.

It was closed due to the construction of Piazza Tasso, which completely sealed off access to the site. The almost total closure of this area made the climate so humid that it facilitated the growth of very particular plants.

Bussana Vecchia

A charming artists' village built on the ruins of an abandoned medieval village. Bussana Vecchia, once inhabited by artists from all over the world, remains a magical place, an open-air art workshop. In the narrow streets and alleyways, you can admire workshops and ateliers in the beautiful stone buildings.

Sammezzano Castle

A wonderful Moorish castle hides in Reggello, in the province of Florence. The castle was built in 1605 by the Ximenes d'Aragona family.

Surrounded by a spectacular garden, the castle is semi-abandoned. Unfortunately, visiting it is almost impossible; the last possible visit was by the FAI in 2021.

Etruscan Necropolis of Tarquinina

In Tarquinia there are more than 6,000 tombs carved into the rock and frescoed. The Etruscan frescoes colour an underground city dedicated to the extinct made up of corridors, small squares and streets.

Bomarzo Monster Park

A unique place where myths and mythology, monsters and characters from literature become stone and moss-covered creatures. It is located not far from Viterbo.

It is said that the park was built at the behest of Prince Pier Francesco Orsini in 1500 just 'to vent the heart' after the untimely death of his wife Giulia Farnese.

Sant'Agata de' Goti, Benevento

In the valley Valle Caudina, at the foot of Mount Taburno and on the border with the province of Caserta lies Sant'Agata de' Goti, the medieval town is a jewel box resting on a basalt relief with which it blends.

Curon Venosta, Lake Resia

Emerging from Lake Resia is the church tower of the former village of Curon , which no longer exists. The village of Curon is today submerged and lies beneath the artificial Resia Lake.

Civita di Bagnoregio

It is nicknamed the dying town because, built on and with tuff, its contours are destined for perpetual erosion. The town, now inhabited by only 15 people, can only be accessed via a footbridge.

Lakes of Marinello, Tindari

At Tindari, there is a white and golden beach traversed by saltwater lakes that change shape with the wind. The lakes of Marinello extend below the sanctuary of Tindari, overlooking the sea.

Their presence is linked to a legend about the sanctuary. A devout woman who had lost her son at sea was heard by the Madonna of Tindari who brought him back to shore healthy by making the sea recede. The small lakes remain as evidence of that phenomenon. Here are all the most beautiful beaches in Sicily.

La Scarzuola

Hidden in the hills ofUmbria, there is a place known as La Scarzuola, which in addition to being the residence of St Francis of Assisi is known for a marvellous construction, Tomaso Buzzi's ideal city.

The ideal city consists of seven theatres and seven monuments: Colosseum, Parthenon, Pantheon, Arc de Triomphe, Pyramid, Bell Tower and Temple of Vesta

Unfinished Church of Venosa

Outside Venosa, stands the Holy Trinity Complex, where the political and economic centre of the city once stood. In this monumental complex you will find a wonderful Unfinished Church that stands behind the Old Church.

Hermitage of Vincent

In Guagnano, a sleepy town in Salento, there is a special hermitage that is the refuge of an artist who has created an imaginary city using only recycled materials.

Among the most curious and least known places in the Salento is the bauxite quarry that forms a lake surrounded by red and green rock.

Split Mountain of Gaeta

A split mountain with a legendary history, a chapel on a boulder suspended over the sea, a cave that was once a hermitage and a hand imprinted in the rock, all in one corner of Gaeta.

Tarot Garden

The Tarot Garden is located in Capalbio and is decorated with mirror statues and mosaics by Niki di Saint Phalle. It is a surreal garden park where you will be catapulted into an iconic, fairytale world.

Mezzano

Mezzano is the village of wooden stacks. In this village in the province of Trento, stacking wood is an art form, and the wood creates conscious and unconscious installations throughout the village to be visited one by one.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano, the New York of the Middle Ages, is so called because its skyline was once formed by hundreds of towers. The tallest were those of the most important families. Many of San Gimignano's towers are still standing and define the seductive skyline of the medieval town today as in the past.

Assisi

From the heights of Mount Subasio, Assisi is a small still wonder of time, known for being the place where St Francis was born and lived.

It is well worth a visit to admire its religious sites, first and foremost the Basilica of San Francesco, which houses important works of art by artists such as Giotto and Cimabue. Reach the Eremo delle Carceri, a place of peace and tranquillity.

Canale di Tenno

In the province of Trento there is a village that has remained from the Middle Ages; it is Canale di Tenno and it is one of the wonders you absolutely must visit in Trentino.

The village, on the side of Lake Garda, is characterised by small stone houses, shops and perfectly preserved walls. The village, in which just over 50 people live, is a maze of cobbled lanes and arches.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Galla Placidia is a treasure trove of mosaics in Ravenna that was built around 425 AD. It is located a stone's throw from the Chapel of San Vitale, and is one of the most important early Christian monuments preserved in its structural integrity to date.

Roscigno Vecchia

Roscigno Vecchia is one of Italy's most beautiful ghost towns and is worth a visit for its low stone houses, its rural layout and the remains of the church. It is located in Cilento and was abandoned due to continuous landslides.

Spello

Spello is perched on a spur of Mount Subasio, almost dominating the Umbrian Valley. It is a wonder to be discovered, losing yourself in its scented alleys and cobbled streets that will lead you to the discovery of a colourful historic centre.

Spello is also famous for another reason: the Infiorate that take place every year on the occasion of Corpus Domini and fill the town with marvellous floral carpets.

Lake Tovel

In the heart of the Adamello-Brenta Natural Park, protected by the imposing Dolomites of Trentino, is Lake Tovel, the Caribbean place of Val di Non, one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the world.

It is also known as Bear Lake because there are some brown bears in the valley, and Red Lake because of the phenomenon of the reddening of the water.

Marzamemi

Not too far from Noto, in the province of Syracuse, there is a beautiful village characterised by small yellow stone houses arranged around two natural harbours.

This is Marzamemi, a little gem not to be missed on your journey of discovery in eastern Sicily.

Polignano a mare

Suspended on a rocky outcrop overlooking the azure sea, it is one of the must-see destinations on your trip to Apulia .

The first thing to do before entering the historic centre is to walk the ancient Lama Monachile path, formed by numerous steps carved out of the rock that descends to the sea, where you will find an incredible white pebble beach protected by rock walls. Don't miss a visit to theseaside abbey of San Vito.

Val d'Orcia

A seemingly painted territory in the heart of Tuscany. The Val d'Orcia is a wonderland of sinuous hills, cypresses, chapels surrounded by greenery, castles and villages where time seems to stand still.

Castel San Vincenzo

The Lake of Castel San Vincenzo, a small jewel you can find in the village of the same name in the province of Isernia, almost on the border with Abruzzo.

If you are looking for unknown and fascinating places around Italy, we suggest a stop in this small wonder of Molise.

Craco

Craco stands in what was an important strategic military centre during the Norman period. After a period of splendour, Craco was gradually abandoned by its inhabitants due to a landslide, until it became a ghost town in 1963.

To reach it, you have to climb a path, where the parched nature turns yellow and the landscape suddenly changes.

Monteriggioni

Perched on a hill and completely surrounded by walls, Monteriggioni is a Tuscan village that dates back to the Middle Ages. Monteriggioni was founded as a fortification around the beginning of the 13th century to protect the nearby Colle Val d'Elsa thanks to its wide view of the surrounding hills and the Via Cassia.

San Galgano

In the Val di Merse between Siena and Massa Marittima, there is a mystical place that is really worth a visit: it is San Galgano, where you will find two unique attractions: the ruins of the Abbey of San Galgano and the Hermitage of Montesiepi where, according to legend, San Galgano lived as a hermit in 1170.

Lake Braies

About 97 kilometres from Bolzano, in the municipality of Braies, which lies in the valley of the same name, Lake Braies is a wonder to visit at least once; it is no coincidence that it is known as the Pearl of the Dolomites.

ROMANTIC PLACES TO VISIT IN ITALY

What are the most romantic places to visit in Italy? Grotta Palazzese in Polignano a Mare is a special restaurant housed in a cave by the sea. The village itself is a must-visit place with unmissable romantic views.

PLACES TO VISIT IN NORTHERN ITALY

In Piedmont, there are villages in the Langhe where time seems to stand still. Usseaux is a village with murals that colour the walls and depict situations of peasant life and fairy tales (here are the most beautiful villages in Piedmont).

In Lombardy, in addition to the Most Beautiful Villages of Lombardy, there are unknown places that are worth a visit (here you will find what to see in Lombardy).

PLACES TO VISIT IN CENTRAL ITALY

In Umbria, Lazio, Marche, Abruzzo and Tuscany there are some of the most beautiful villages in Italy. In Abruzzo, visit Rocca Calascio, the ruins of the highest fortress in the Apennines where the film 'Lady Hawke' was shot. The Tuscia viterbese is an area of torrents and canyons, perched villages and Etruscan necropolises: from the best-known ones in Cerveteri and Tarquinia to the one in San Giuliano, in Barbarano Romano, which is definitely worth a visit.

PLACES TO VISIT IN SOUTHERN ITALY

In Calabria, visit Chianalea di Scilla, a little Venice of the South, and in Pizzo Calabro, the Church of Piedigrotta carved into the grotto on the beach in honour of a fascinating legend.

Here you will find a map of alternative art in Sicily, with buildings, castles and statues created by ordinary people who contingencies have made formidable artists.

WHAT TO SEE IN ITALY WITH CHILDREN

The Tarot Garden in Capalbio (Tuscany) is one of the most beautiful places to see in Italy with children. Also in Tuscany is the Pinocchio Park, while Vernante, in Piedmont, is the town of Pinocchio's first illustrator and the whole village is coloured with murals of the fairy tale.

WHAT TO SEE IN ITALY IN TWO AND THREE DAYS

If you want to spend a weekend in Italy, or a long weekend of three days, you can choose to visit the most curious places near a large or small city so that you can also do a little immersion in a city of art. Around Rome there are villages to visit and abandoned villages(abandoned villages in Lazio), trekking routes(trekking near Rome) and beaches(beaches near Rome).

PLACES TO VISIT IN ITALY

There are thousands of reasons to plan an out-of-town trip around Italy, places suitable for trekking, walking or cycling. There are cities of art, villages where you can find tranquillity and hermitages where you can stay in blissful solitude.

Built on a cliff on Monte Baldo, in the province of Verona there is the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Coronasuspended on the rock, which can be reached via a panoramic path. Here you will find all the information you need to visit it.

If you are in Basilicata, there is an ancient path that you must take to reach Castelmezzano starting from Pietrapertosa. It is the path of the seven stones is about 2 kilometres long and draws its inspiration from ancient local legends handed down orally over the centuries.

In Salento, on the other hand, there is a place that seems to belong to the great American parks. It is the bauxite quarry in Otranto where a small emerald-green lake hides among the fiery red rocks. Here you will find useful information for visiting it.

In the heart of the Val d'Orcia there is a still secret place you can visit. It is the free thermal baths of Bagni di San Filippo which are hidden in the green woods at the foot of Monte Amiata and can be reached by crossing a small path.

What to do in Italy in Spring

What to do in Italy in spring? In the most colourful season of the year, you can organise a weekend to discover the most beautiful blossoms in Italy: from the blossoming of tulips to the blossoming of cherry trees, around the boot you will find numerous events linked to the most beautiful blossoms.

But that's not all, spring is also the ideal time to set out on foot and discover less-travelled corners of the country by following ancient sheep-tracks and secondary roads: at this link we have selected the paths to do in spring.

What to see in Italy in Summer

What to see in Italy in summer? You will be spoilt for choice of things to do. In addition to the most beautiful beaches, you can set off to discover the country's most beautiful (less crowded) islands: small paradises in the middle of the sea to be discovered slowly.

If you are not a sea lover, at this link we have selected a list of summer destinations alternative to the sea. Here instead you will find the best mountain destinations for the summer.

Most curious places in Italy

Mines overlooking the sea, places that look like other places in the world, a sword in the rock and a Tibetan door suspended in the void. These are just some of the most curious places in the world, an inexhaustible list of destinations that seem to come straight out of fairy tales.

Often lesser known and off the beaten tourist track, these curious places are authentic hidden gems waiting to be rediscovered and able to give the most enterprising the right reward.

CITIES TO VISIT IN ITALY

• Milan

• Rome

• Bergamo

• Florence

• Bologna

• Turin

• Perugia

• Viterbo

• Naples

• Matera

• Lecce

• Palermo

• Trapani

• Catania

• Cagliari

• Trieste

• Ragusa

Italy Map and Map

Below is a map of the most beautiful sights to see in Italy

FOLLOW THE GALLERY - Curious places in Italy you might not know

• Italy

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