Tourism

The country with the most UNESCO sites in the world: art cities, villages, coasts, Alps and volcanoes. State museums free on the first Sunday of the month, tourist tax set by municipalities, high season July-August on the coasts and April-October in the art cities.

Italy

Two UNESCO sites: Su Nuraxi di Barumini and, since 2025, the domus de janas. Coasts among the busiest in Italy with the season concentrated between June and September; beaches with daily caps and booking (La Pelosa at Stintino, Cala Goloritzé and Cala Mariolu at Baunei, Tuerredda, Punta Molentis), ban on removing sand. Asinara and La Maddalena parks. Little-visited interior.

Sardinia

The historic centre is walked between the Rosello Fountain, San Nicola cathedral, piazza Castello and piazza d'Italia; the «G. A. Sanna» Museum documents Sardinian civilisation from prehistory. The Comune groups eleven sites in the Rete Thamus, including the pre-Nuragic altar of Monte d'Accoddi. In summer, Platamona beach; arrival from Alghero airport by ARST bus.

Sassari

The tourism portal lists monuments such as the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Tower of Mariano II, San Francesco and Santa Chiara. The main museum is the Antiquarium Arborense (founded in 1938, at Palazzo Parpaglia since 1992), with its altarpiece room and models of Tharros and the judicial-age town.

Oristano

The Museo della Vita e delle Tradizioni Popolari Sarde (via Antonio Mereu 56) has ten rooms and over 5,000 objects, including 54 traditional costumes and 350 breads; Lollove, a few kilometres away, is the hamlet the municipality presents as a village to visit. The Festa del Redentore takes place in August.

Nuoro

Castello with the Bastione di Saint Remy, the Pisan towers, the Cathedral and the Cittadella dei Musei; the Roman amphitheatre, Botanical Garden, Bonaria sanctuary; the Poetto, the Sella del Diavolo and the Molentargius flamingos. Day trips to Villasimius, Chia and Nora, Su Nuraxi di Barumini (UNESCO). Municipal tourist tax.

Cagliari

Seven UNESCO sites: Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, Villa Romana del Casale, Aeolian Islands, late-baroque towns of the Val di Noto, Syracuse and Pantalica, Etna, Arab-Norman Palermo with Cefalù and Monreale. Season from April to October with an August peak; Taormina and the minor islands very expensive in summer. Municipal tourist tax; regulated access on Etna and in some reserves.

Sicily

The municipal source presents Trapani as a seaside city born around its port, with Phoenician, Arab and Norman traces, and a calendar of patron-saint feasts in August. The municipality takes part in the "Rotte del Corallo" project (six cities, three nations); Birgi airport serves western Sicily.

Trapani

Ortigia with the temples of Apollo and Athena (now the Cathedral); the Neapolis archaeological park with the Greek theatre, Roman amphitheatre and Ear of Dionysius; the Paolo Orsi Museum; Euryalus Castle; the Pantalica necropolis. Classical drama in May and June, Saint Lucy in December, diving in the Plemmirio marine area.

Syracuse

Ragusa's historic centre is part of the UNESCO site Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (2002). The municipality runs infopoints at the Castello di Donnafugata and at Marina di Ragusa, a City Museum at Palazzo Zacco and a visitable Antico Mercato; a Mobility Plan for Ibla is published.

Ragusa

Seven Arab-Norman monuments on the UNESCO list (Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, Cathedral, Zisa, Martorana, San Cataldo, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Admiral's Bridge) with Monreale and Cefalù; Teatro Massimo, Quattro Canti, markets, Capuchin Catacombs. Mondello beach. Municipal tourist tax.

Palermo

The Norman Cathedral with its bell tower and astronomical clock, which brings 54 figures to life at noon; the MuMe with two Caravaggios and Antonello da Messina's Saint Gregory Polyptych; the Capo Peloro reserve with its lagoon. In August, the Vara and the Giants. Nearby: Milazzo for the Aeolian Islands, Tindari, Taormina, the Alcantara Gorges.

Messina

The municipality points to the Castello di Lombardia, the Torre di Federico, the Rocca di Cerere, the Duomo, San Cataldo with its catacombs and the Museo del Mito, presented as the first fully multimedia museum in Italy. The portal has an app, webcams and the AENNA tourism portal.

Enna

Piazza Duomo with the Liotru, Via Etnea, Castello Ursino, the Roman theatre with the Odeon, the Benedictine Monastery and the Pescheria in the centre; Etna, a UNESCO site, within reach for excursions, also by train on the Circumetnea. In February, the feast of Saint Agatha.

Catania

The municipality points to the Abbey of Santo Spirito, the Cathedral of Santa Maria La Nova, the Arab quarter of San Domenico, the Cimitero dei Carusi, the "S. Mottura" Museum and the Lago Sfondato and Monte Capodarso nature reserves as places to visit.

Caltanissetta

The Valley of the Temples has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1997 (an area of 934 hectares) and is open every day, with evening opening in summer. In town the municipality lists the Civic Museum, the Santo Spirito museum complex and the Mandorlo in Fiore; according to the Chamber of Commerce tourist presences grew by 26.74% between 2019 and 2025, excluding short-term rentals.

Agrigento

No UNESCO town, but the ancient beech forests of the Pollino and Aspromonte are in the transnational site and the Codex Purpureus of Rossano is on the Memory of the World register. Three national parks (Pollino, Sila, Aspromonte), Tropea and the Costa degli Dei, the Riace Bronzes in Reggio, Gerace, Stilo, Scilla. Season concentrated in August; municipal tourist tax.

Calabria

The municipality points to the Norman-Swabian castle with the "Vito Capialbi" Archaeological Museum, the Baroque Cathedral, the walls of Hipponion, the Museum of Sacred Art and the port of Vibo Marina with links to the Aeolian Islands; the portal has a PDF tourist guide.

Vibo Valentia

The National Archaeological Museum, devoted to Magna Graecia, displays the Riace Bronzes, Greek statues of the fifth century BC found in 1972. The Lungomare Falcomatà faces Sicily and Etna; then the Aragonese Castle, the Eremo of the Consolazione, the village of Pentedattilo and Gambarie, in Aspromonte, with ski lifts.

Reggio Calabria

A historic centre with the cathedral, the San Giovanni complex, the Bisantis Bridge and the Villa Trieste belvedere; the MARCA museum and the Mediterranean Biodiversity Park; the promenade and beach of Catanzaro Lido. Day trips to the Sila, Copanello and Caminia, Soverato, Squillace and Le Castella. Municipal tourist tax.

Catanzaro

According to the Comune, the Castello di Carlo V, at piazza Castello 33, is one of the largest fortresses in Italy, with over 14,000 sq m and a square plan. The Visit Crotone portal offers historical-archaeological, cultural, natural and marine routes; the tourist tax is paid on PayTourist.

Crotone

The municipality presents the civic Museo dei Brettii e degli Enotri, in the 16th-century Sant'Agostino monumental complex (salita S. Agostino), with an archaeological collection from prehistory to Roman times, and the Alfonso Rendano municipal theatre, with its historic curtain and foyer hall.

Cosenza

Sassi of Matera (UNESCO since 1993), Pollino National Park with its ancient beech forests, Via Appia. Lucanian Dolomites with the Volo dell'Angelo, Maratea, Metaponto and Policoro, Craco, Venosa and the Vulture. Matera draws visitors all year; the coasts only in July–August. Tourist tax in Matera and a few other municipalities.

Basilicata

Not a tourist city but a good base: Via Pretoria, the Cathedral of San Gerardo, Torre Guevara, the National Archaeological Museum and the Musmeci Bridge. Day trips to Matera (UNESCO), the Lucanian Dolomites with the Volo dell'Angelo, the Vulture with Melfi and Venosa, Maratea on the Tyrrhenian. Late May for Saint Gerard.

Potenza

Visitors see the Sassi (Barisano, Caveoso and Civita), inscribed by UNESCO in 1993, rupestrian churches such as Madonna delle Vergini (Santa Maria Masulo) and Mater Domini, the cave house in vico Solitario and the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna della Basilicata at Palazzo Lanfranchi. The portal offers a Matera Welcome Card.

Matera

Four UNESCO sites (Castel del Monte, trulli of Alberobello, sanctuary of St Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo, Foresta Umbra) plus the Via Appia. Salento, Gargano, Valle d'Itria, Bari and Lecce. Beach season concentrated in July and August with heavy pressure on the Salento; municipal tourist tax.

Apulia

Sights in Trani: the Cathedral with its crypt and the hypogeum of San Leucio, the Swabian Castle with its museum, the old port, the Giudecca with its synagogues, Palazzo Caccetta and four museums listed by the Comune.

Trani

The MArTA on Via Cavour, with the Gold of Taranto and the Athlete's Tomb; the old town with the Doric temple, the Aragonese Castle and the cathedral of San Cataldo; the seafront facing the Cheradi islands. In summer, boats to the Isola di San Pietro and the Tour Due Mari. At Easter, the Holy Week rites.

Taranto

Visitors see piazza del Duomo with its cathedral and bell tower, piazza Sant'Oronzo with the Roman amphitheatre (a national monument since 1906), the basilica of Santa Croce, Charles V's castle with the Papier-mâché Museum and the city gates. From 1 January 2027 the tourist tax moves to the PayTourist platform.

Lecce

In the city, the 12th-century cathedral with its Romanesque façades and the network of underground spaces, starting with the San Domenico hypogeum. About 12 km away, the Bosco dell'Incoronata regional nature park with the sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Incoronata. By Ferrovie del Gargano train you reach Lucera and the Gargano.

Foggia

The tourism portal linked to the municipality offers 35 itineraries; the 11-stop historic route covers the Scalinata Virgilio, the Roman columns, the Ribezzo Museum and Palazzo Granafei-Nervegna. Sights include the Swabian Castle, the Alfonsino Castle on Sant'Andrea island, Porta Mesagne and Porta Lecce.

Brindisi

Sights in Barletta: the Colossus, the Castle with its Museo Civico, the Duomo, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, the Cantina della Sfida, the city walls and the Canne della Battaglia site.

Barletta

An old town with the Basilica of San Nicola, the Cathedral and the Swabian Castle; the Murat centre with the Petruzzelli theatre and the seafront. Urban beaches at Pane e Pomodoro and Torre Quetta. Day trips: Polignano, Alberobello, Castel del Monte, Trani and Matera. Tourist tax for up to four nights.

Bari

Sights in Andria: Castel del Monte (UNESCO since 1996), the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, five museums including the Sugared Almond Museum and the Antique Toy Museum, and the Murgia countryside with masserie and trulli.

Andria

Seven UNESCO sites: historic centre of Naples, Pompeii-Herculaneum-Oplontis, Royal Palace of Caserta, Amalfi coast, Cilento with Paestum, Velia and the Certosa di Padula, Santa Sofia in Benevento and, since 2024, the Via Appia. Peak from Easter to October on the coasts and islands; Naples and Pompeii all year. Tourist tax and landing fees set by municipalities.

Campania

The medieval historic centre is visited on foot: the cathedral with Saint Matthew's crypt, via dei Mercanti with the Virtual Museum of the Medical School, the Minerva Garden. Above the city, Arechi Castle with its archaeological museum. In winter, the Luci d'Artista. Overnight visitors pay the tourist tax; from the Costa d'Amalfi airport the Salerno Airlink bus reaches the city.

Salerno

The old centre is visited on foot: decumani, churches, Cappella Sansevero, underground Naples. The main museums are the MANN and Capodimonte. Pompeii and Herculaneum are reached by the Circumvesuviana and have named tickets with a daily entry cap. Trips: Vesuvius, Procida, Ischia, Capri, the coast, the Royal Palace of Caserta. High season from Easter to June and in September–October.

Naples

The site of Liternum, a Roman maritime colony founded in 194 BC on the shore of Lake Patria and linked to Scipio Africanus, is part of the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park: the Forum with the Capitolium, Basilica and theatre, the amphitheatre and a necropolis remain. Opening hours are not clearly published: contact the Park before going.

Giugliano in Campania

The Reggia (Royal Palace, Park, Carolino Aqueduct, San Leucio) has been a UNESCO site since 1997. Visitors see the Royal Apartments, Palatine Chapel, Court Theatre and a park of over 123 hectares with the Water Way and the English Garden; normally closed on Tuesdays.

Caserta

Visitors see the Santa Sofia complex, part of the UNESCO site of the Longobards in Italy (2011), the Museo del Sannio in its cloister, with the Egyptian sculptures of the Temple of Isis, and the Arch of Trajan, open Tuesday to Sunday without booking.

Benevento