29 Places in Italy: Cities, Lakes, Mountains, Coasts and Volcanoes

From the peaks of the Dolomites to the volcanoes of Sicily, Italy packs an extraordinary variety into one long peninsula. These 29 places, a mix of cities, single landmarks, islands and whole landscapes, are grouped by region so you can turn them into a real route.

Northern Italy: cities, lakes and the Alps

The north mixes great cities with Italy's lakes and its highest mountains. Trains link Milan, Verona and Venice quickly; the lakes and passes are best with a car.

1. Genoa. Liguria's capital and once a great maritime republic, Genoa has one of the largest medieval old towns in Europe. Its Strade Nuove, lined with Renaissance and Baroque palaces, joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006.

2. Mole Antonelliana, Turin. Turin's landmark was begun in 1863 as a synagogue, designed by Alessandro Antonelli and finished in 1889 at 167.5 metres. Since 2000 it has housed the National Museum of Cinema.

3. Milan. Italy's capital of fashion and finance is home to the Gothic Duomo and Leonardo's Last Supper, which must be booked well ahead. For modern architecture, see the tree-covered towers of the Bosco Verticale.

4. Lake Como. Shaped like an upside-down Y, Lake Como is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. Bellagio sits at the fork, and ferries link the lakeside villages.

5. Lake Garda. Italy's largest lake stretches from the olive groves of Sirmione in the south to Riva del Garda beneath the mountains in the north.

6. Verona. Verona's Roman Arena, built in the 1st century AD, still hosts a summer opera festival. The city, forever linked with Romeo and Juliet, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

7. Grand Canal, Venice. Venice's main waterway curves through the city in a great S, lined with palaces and crossed by only four bridges, the most famous being the Rialto. Our Grand Canal guide covers it in detail.

8. Burano. This island in the Venetian lagoon is famous for its brightly painted fishermen's houses and its centuries-old tradition of lacemaking. It is an easy half-day trip by vaporetto from Venice.

9. The Dolomites. These pale limestone mountains in the north-east, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009, rise to 3,343 metres at the Marmolada. They are superb for hiking in summer and skiing in winter.

10. Gran Paradiso National Park. Italy's oldest national park was created in 1922 from a royal hunting reserve and protects the Alpine ibex. Its summit, the Gran Paradiso, reaches 4,061 metres.

11. Stelvio Pass. At 2,757 metres, the Stelvio is one of the highest paved passes in the Alps. Built by the Austrian Empire in 1820–25, it climbs from Stelvio to Bormio with 48 hairpins on its northern side. It is usually open from May to November.

12. Ponte Gobbo, Bobbio. The 'hunchback bridge' over the Trebbia at Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, probably dates back to Roman times. Local legend calls it the Devil's Bridge.

Tuscany, Umbria and Rome

Central Italy is the classic Italian journey: Renaissance Florence, the Tuscan hills, Umbria's hill towns and the Eternal City. Florence to Rome takes about an hour and a half by high-speed train.

13. Florence. The cradle of the Renaissance, crowned by Brunelleschi's dome over the cathedral. Its historic centre, with the Uffizi and Ponte Vecchio, has been a UNESCO site since 1982.

14. Valleys of Tuscany. Rolling hills, cypress-lined roads and hilltop towns: valleys such as the Val d'Orcia, itself a World Heritage Site, are the classic Tuscan countryside.

15. Villa La Foce, Tuscany. In the Val d'Orcia near Montepulciano and Chianciano Terme, this estate was bought in 1924 by the writer Iris Origo and her husband Antonio. Its gardens, by the English architect Cecil Pinsent, are among the finest in Tuscany.

16. Saturnia hot springs. Near Manciano in the province of Grosseto, sulphurous water at about 37°C pours over a waterfall into natural travertine pools. Legend says Saturn created the spring with a thunderbolt to calm warring humankind.

17. Valleys of Umbria. Italy's green heart, landlocked Umbria, is a land of medieval hill towns such as Assisi and Spello.

18. The Janiculum, Rome. Rome's second-tallest hill rises above Trastevere and gives one of the best views over the city's domes. A cannon fires from here every day at noon, a time signal kept since 1904 at this spot.

19. Trevi Fountain, Rome. Nicola Salvi's Baroque masterpiece was completed in 1762. Tradition says a coin tossed over the shoulder means you will return to Rome.

20. Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome. Built as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century, it later became a papal fortress and is now a museum overlooking the Tiber.

Naples, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily

The south is warmer, wilder and full of volcanoes, from Vesuvius above Naples to Etna in Sicily.

21. Naples. Lively, chaotic and full of history, Naples has a historic centre listed by UNESCO and is the home of pizza. It is also the natural base for Pompeii and Vesuvius.

22. Pompeii. Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, Pompeii is the most complete Roman city we have, a World Heritage Site since 1997. Allow most of a day.

23. Amalfi. Once a powerful maritime republic, Amalfi gave its name to the whole coast. Its cathedral of St Andrew stands at the top of a grand stairway. Read more in our Amalfi guide.

24. Positano. Pastel houses tumble down a steep slope to the beach. Expect plenty of steps.

25. Atrani. Just east of Amalfi, Atrani covers only 0.12 square kilometres, making it the smallest municipality in Italy by area. See our Atrani guide.

26. Pizzo, Calabria. This Calabrian town in the province of Vibo Valentia is known for its 15th-century Aragonese castle, where Joachim Murat, the former king of Naples, was executed in 1815, for the 17th-century cave church of Piedigrotta and for tartufo, a ball of ice cream with a molten chocolate heart.

27. Sicily. The largest island in the Mediterranean holds some of the finest Greek temples anywhere, at Agrigento, Segesta and Selinunte, reminders that Syracuse and much of the island were once part of the Greek world of Magna Graecia.

28. Mount Etna, Sicily. Europe's highest active volcano rises over 3,300 metres above Catania and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2013. Check the current activity before heading up.

29. Favignana. The largest of the Egadi Islands lies about 18 kilometres off western Sicily, reached by hydrofoil from Trapani. Its butterfly shape, tufa quarries and the old Florio tuna cannery, now a museum, make it a lovely island escape.

Planning an Italy itinerary

Pick two or three bases and give each one time. A northern lakes and Dolomites trip, a Tuscan towns and gardens route and a week in Sicily are each a full holiday. Spring and autumn are the best times for cities and the coast; the high Alpine roads such as the Stelvio open only in summer. The official Italian tourism site covers every region.

For more of the Ligurian coast, visit Riomaggiore, and compare seaside towns in our Italian coastal-escape comparison.

Related reading

• Matera’s Sassi: Cave Homes, Layered Streets and a Living City
• The Roman Forum: Reading the Remains of Rome’s Public Life
• Atrani: A Small Amalfi Coast Town with a Distinctive Historic Centre
• Amalfi Town: Cathedral, Paper Making and the Coast Behind the Postcard
• Grotta Palazzese: Dining Inside a Sea Cave in Polignano a Mare
• Venice’s Grand Canal: Palaces, Working Waterways and Views from the Bridges
• Lake Garda: Towns, Islands and Landscapes from Sirmione to Riva
• Ten Italian Coastal Settings: Islands, Towns and Different Rhythms
• Milan’s Bosco Verticale: How Trees Became Part of the Buildings
• Riomaggiore: Harbour, Hillside Vineyards and the Cinque Terre
• Lago del Predil: A Julian Alps Lake with a Story

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