Italy is one of the world’s most popular travel destinations because of its countless beautiful, historic cities, art, stunning landscapes, passionate people and top-class cuisine. Italy is a breathtaking wonderland from tip to toe. From the glacial lakes and the snowy Alps in the north to warm beaches and impossibly blue waters of the south, Italy has been glorified with all that Mother Nature can bestow on a country. This diversity allows visitors to get a taste of everything that Italy has to offer in terms of enjoyment, from skiing to deep-sea diving.
If you don’t have unlimited time to spend, you may want to consider putting some of the country’s very best on your visit list.
Italy’s hot-blooded capital is one of the world’s most aspiring and romantic cities. Millions of people come from around the world to admire the treasure and masterpiece of Roman art and architecture. The beauty of Rome lies across its landscape and are a compelling blend of the ancient with the Renaissance.
When you enter Rome’s churches, museums, and galleries you will find magnificent paintings and sculptures that cover all the eras and great names of Western art.
Best places to visit in Rome:
- The Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine: the Colosseum is one of Rome’s most classic buildings. The Colosseum was 186 meters long by 156 meters wide, egg-shaped, although it appears to be almost circular.
- Vatican City: The Vatican is the smallest independent state in the world, with an area of less than half a square kilometer and this appressed space offers much for tourists to see, between its museums and the great building itself.
- Lake Como: Italy's most beautiful lake, Como has been the most loved summer retreat.
- The Clinque Tere: A land and culture of Cinque Terre is so unique that it has been protected as a national park and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Best time to visit Rome: April to June, late September to October.
When you are in Venice, it’s very hard to know where to begin and where to end. The best way is simply get lost for a few hours wandering through its enchanting little streets and passageways, strolling beside its canals, and finding its secret corners. At every turn, you will find something exciting and worth remembering.
Best places to visit in Venice:
- St, Mark’s Basilica: Mark's Basilica is one of the best and one of the most easily recognizable churches in Venice.
- Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) and San Polo: Built in 1588, some 150 years after the collapse of a previous wooden bridge, this stone arch support two busy streets and a double set of shops.
- Scuola Grande di San Rocco: This beautiful white marble building was built between 1515 and 1560 to house a charitable society dedicated to San Rocco.
Best time to visit Venice: May to June and November.
Florence is one of the world's finest ensembles of Renaissance art and at times seems like one giant art museum. Florence's museums, palaces, and churches house some of the considerable artistic treasures in the world. The most famous and important sites in Florence include the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Uffizi, and the Accademia.
Best places to visit in Florence:
- Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Piazza Duomo: Piazza Duomo and the group of buildings that construct its cathedral complex assemble some of Italy's artistic treasures into one relatively small area. When you tour the baptistery, the bell tower, the cathedral, and its museum, you'll see some of the popular masterpieces of art.
- Uffizi Palace and Gallery: Uffizi's is among the handful of world's top art museums. Its collections are simply amazing in their diversity and quality.
- Piazza della Signoria and the Loggia dei Lanzi: This broad square has been the center of power in Florence since its 14th-century origins - and perhaps even before.It is the social center as well, a beloved meeting place filled with tourists and locals.
Best time to visit in Florence: April May, June, September, and October.
Tuscan Hill Towns
The wavy landscape of Tuscany is crowned by stone towns. Each sits atop a hill, and many still have the castles and towers that once guarded their commanding positions
- The Towers of San Gimignano: The main demand of San Gimignano is its medieval center, the Centro Storico, bristling with square towers that were both guarded homes and status symbols for the rival families that built them.
- San Gimignano 1300: San Gimignano 1300 is a history museum/exhibition. It is a large scale model of the city as it appeared in 1300.
Best time to visit in Tuscan Hill Towns: April to June, September to October
Siena has a wealth of art and architecture. The main attraction is the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, whose inlaid marble facade and striped bell tower stand dramatically among Siena's mostly red brick buildings.
Best places to visit in Siena:
- Piazza del Campo: The square is a big shell-shaped ‘basin’, and the focal point of the town. Its unity and harmony make it one of Italy's best city squares. Its mysterious architecture and Medieval soul has changed little over the centuries.
- Pinacoteca Nazionale (National Gallery): The gallery offers a beautiful overview of Sienese painting from the 12th to the 16th centuries, with pictures by almost all the painters working in Siena.
Best time to visit Siena: anytime of the year.
Pisa and Lucca
Lucca is one of Italy's most beautiful towns to explore and enjoy, surrounded by wide walls whose top is a tree-lined park. Inside are magnificent Romanesque and Tuscan Gothic churches, tower houses (one of which you can climb to the top), and a Roman arena that has been "fossilized" into an oval piazza.
TheBest place to visit in Pisa and Lucca
- Palazzo dei Cavalieri: Located in Piazza dei Cavalieri, this amazing palazzo was a school for the Knights of the Order of St Stephen and now a part of the university. The facade of the building is a technique of etching a pattern before the surface has dried, called sgraffito.
- Basilica Romanica di San Piero a Grado: building was built in the 11th century on the ruins of an early 4th-5th-century Christian temple. A clear Romanesque-Pisa style structure, made of stone and white marble access from Roman ruins, the Church of San Piero a Grado is recognized by its double order of apses.
Best time to visit Pisa and Lucca: April to June and September to October.
The island of Sicily is on the seventh place on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, three for its ancient sites, two for natural wonders, and two for architectural treasures. Sicily is the largest of the Italian islands, disunited from the Continent by the Strait of Messina and surrounded by the Ionian, the Tyrrhenian and the Mediterranean Seas.
Best places to visit in Sicily:
- The Cathedral of Monreale: The Catheral of Moneale has achieved a place in the art history of Europe, all the more exceptional because it looks still same as it was built in the 1100s. Its architecture exhibits the move away from Eastern Byzantine forms, but its decoration with dazzling mosaics - considered the church's magnificent highlight -- keep it firmly in the Byzantine traditions.
- Eastern Temples at Selinunte: One of the largest and most powerful of Sicily's ancient sites, Selinunte has eight Greek temples dating as far back as the fifth century BC, plus the nearby Temple of Demeter. The most popular are those known as the Eastern Group, labeled by letter: Temple G for its impressive size and Temple E for its architectural grandeur, considered the highpoint of the Classical period.
Best time to visit Sicily: May to June and September to October.
Turin is the main hub of technology and industry. Turin is relatively small and compact and there is great importance to its architecture and its formal layout, designed by the Savoys to display that they were as regal as any of Europe's royal families.
Best places to visit in Turin:
- Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum): It is Turin’s most visited attraction and you won’t find a better collection of mummies and art anywhere outside of cario. In the Turin Egyptian Museum’s galleries, about 6.500 objects are permanently on display, selected from a collection volume to over 32,000 pieces dating from the 4.000 BC to the 700 AD.
The collection subsists of sculptures, statuettes, architectural elements and decorations, , vases, everyday objects and tools, mummies, votive and religious objects, arms, toys, furniture, clothes and textiles, and papyri.
- Santuario di Santa Maria Consolatrice (La Consolata): This building is one of the oldest places of worship in the city and has remained in some shape since the mid eleventh century.
Best time to visit Turin: June and July.
Sardinia is a mainly mountainous region, without high peaks, with a vast and beautiful, yet bittersweet, natural environment. In fact, the presence of man does not seem to affect this place; great surfaces still conserve their natural composition, luxuriant woods with even millenary trees, small desert areas and marshes inhabited by deer, wild horses, and furious birds.
Best places to visit in Sardinia
- Alghero: Alghero is Sardinia's most beautiful medieval cities. Its animated historic centre is an amazing place to hang out, and with so many excellent restaurants and bars, it makes an ideal base for exploring the beaches and beauty spots of the nearby Riviera del Corallo.
- Tharros: The town was brought to light by Italian mining during the last century, followed by French and English ones. In fact, part of the materials found is currently preserved in the British Museum of London and in the Borely Museum in Marseille.
Best time to visit Sardinia: April to June.
Verona is dazzling, ancient corner of the Veneto region, nestling between the river Adige and Lake Garda, and intimately linked to their waters. For all its rich treasury of architecture and art, Verona's biggest demand to tourist fame is based on pure fiction. It was the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and over the past century, locals have compelled by creating homes, a balcony, and even a tomb for the fictional characters.
Best place to visit in Verona
- Piazza delle Erbe: This place is the heart of Verona and is one that is dazzling and buzzing, and is surrounded with historical monuments. The best part is that there are several market stalls for visitors to pick souvenirs from.
- Arena di Verona (Roman Amphitheater): It is one of the largest and among the best preserved Roman amphitheaters.
Best time to visit Verona: May to October.
Traditional Italy food that you should try while your visit to Italy
- Lasagna : Lasagna is a broad, flat pasta noodle, usually baked in layers in the oven. Like most Italian dishes, its root is hotly contested, but we can at least say that’s its fortress is in the region of Emilia-Romagna.
- Arancini: Arancini is Crisp and golden brown balls generally referred to a dish of stuffed rice balls. The rice balls are fried after being coated in crunchy breadcrumbs. These rice balls are usually filled with ragù, tomato sauce, mozzarella and peas.
- Saltimbocca: The dish contains thin slices of a calf, topped with salty prosciutto and herb leaves. These ingredients are sautéed in a pan until the meat is done. Different varieties of meat, such as chicken and mutton are also used for preparing the saltimbocca depending upon the requirements.
- Torrone: The Torrone is made with ingredients such as honey, egg whites, toasted nuts, and citrus zest.
- Tiramisu: The tiramisu is a well-known dessert popular by locals and travelers alike. Different ingredients like Ladyfingers, coffee, eggs, sugar, and cocoa and mascarpone cheese are required in the preparation of this sweet treat.
10 Best Places to Visit in italy | Gcosmic
Italy is one of the world’s most popular travel destinations because of its countless beautiful, historic cities, art, stunning landscapes, passionate peop