Italian architecture

From restless ghosts to tragic love stories and dank dungeons, the most beautiful castles to visit for Halloween in Italy undoubtedly include the Castles of the Duchy between Parma and Piacenza, Montebello Castle with the legend of Azzurrina, the Gradara Fortress of Paolo and Francesca, the Lonato del Garda Fortress, and the San Giorgio Canavese Castle. Some are perfect for children, others are designed for those seeking a spooky experience.

Tucked beside Verona Cathedral, the Biblioteca Capitolare is a quiet counterpoint to the city’s better-trodden sights.

A vast Roman arena built for around 60,000 spectators sits in Campania rather than Rome, with a maze of underground passages beneath its floor.

In the Val di Merse, southwest of Siena, an ancient abbey stands in open countryside with no roof above its Gothic nave.

Italy is dotted with beautiful historic centers almost everywhere: medieval churches, noble palaces, artisan workshops, and squares and piazzas tell the story of the evolution of the urban fabric of cities and of society itself. Yet, beyond the emotion it evokes, the definition of a historic center is far from obvious: it's not simply the "old quarter" of a city, but a concept with very specific cultural, urban planning, and legal roots.

Some people decide to build a house not to live in, but to cut off their neighbour's electricity. Or they move their home brick by brick, rather than give in to pressure from an administration. These aren't movie gimmicks, but true stories, in Italy and around the world. Spite houses—called spite houses in the Anglo-Saxon world—are constructions born from personal conflicts, inheritance disputes, neighbour quarrels, and disputes with institutions. From Sicily to Bergamo and Beirut, some have become tourist attractions; others have entered architectural history books.

Among the more than 1,500 trulli that dot the landscape of Alberobello, there's a complex that reinvents a trulli village as a contemporary residence. Located on Via Cavalerizza, it comprises six independent units and is for sale for €1,400,000 on idealista.

Rome has an old riddle hidden in plain sight.

In Taormina, a terrace overlooking Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea leads to a house where art has coexisted with daily life for over a century. Here, the brushes, notebooks, and gazes of giants like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway have intersected, in a creative laboratory that has shaped the Sicilian imagination. Today, that house, Casa Cuseni, is a living museum that can be visited only by reservation and in small groups, allowing visitors to truly enter the rooms and avoid being left behind a red rope.

Forty years after the death of Jorge Luis Borges and 15 years after its inauguration, the labyrinth dedicated to him by the Giorgio Cini Foundation on Venice’s Island of San Giorgio Maggiore has been renewed. One of the Venetian cultural heritage’s most iconic and poetic spaces has now reopened

Just outside Parma, tucked into the Emilian countryside, there’s a place that quietly claims a world record. The world’s largest bamboo labyrinth is far more than a novelty maze.

Castles have always carried an air of mystery, guarding fascinating stories: hidden secrets, traces of distant eras, and tales of nobles, ladies and knights. Across Italy, from north to south, there are castles, fortresses and strongholds that attract thousands of visitors each year, all keen to uncover their history and soak up the atmosphere as they wander through grand halls and silent courtyards.

Just outside Venice, hidden behind a grand villa and formal gardens, lies one of the most intricate historic mazes in Europe. At first glance, it looks orderly and symmetrical.

Tibetan bridges might sound like something you would only find in far‑off mountain ranges, yet there are dozens scattered across Italy. These suspended footbridges have become a real draw for anyone who enjoys a dose of adrenaline alongside sweeping views. Walking across one of the most beautiful Tibetan bridges in Italy is more than a simple hike. It is a chance to see dramatic gorges, alpine valleys and forested slopes from a completely different angle.

Italy's white cities are much more than postcards: they are the living story of how entire communities have transformed a practical need into a globally recognizable identity. From Ostuni to the three villages of the Itria Valley, to Sperlonga in Lazio, each destination offers a different balance of history, landscape, and flavor.

Grammichele, in the heart of the province of Catania, is well known for its mesmerizing geometric grid from above. The surprise is heightened when you discover it's not a contemporary whim, but the result of a 17th-century reconstruction guided by a rigorous urban planning vision. With just over twelve thousand inhabitants, the town center boasts baroque squares, scenic churches, and a museum that recounts the origins of this urban enterprise. Here, then, are what to see in Grammichele, the hexagonal city.

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome is one of the capital’s most important sporting and cultural venues. It hosts football matches, athletics competitions, concerts and major international ceremonies, and forms part of the Foro Italico complex.

Among the most fascinating and ancient underground funerary complexes in the capital are undoubtedly the Catacombs of Priscilla.

Northern Italy isn’t short of military history. Roman forts, Venetian defences, Austro-Hungarian strongholds.

Italy’s big‑name galleries are brilliant, but once you have done the hits, they can feel crowded and predictable.

If 2026 is your big Italy year, lining up the best museums in Italy to visit makes a huge difference to how the trip feels.

If you love history, libraries and a good student buzz, Bologna is your happy place.

Italy’s most recent UNESCO inscriptions span prehistoric rock-cut tombs, blue‑ceilinged chapels, grand spa culture, ancient roads and delicate gypsum cave systems.

Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage cities in Italy serve up hill towns with frescoed basilicas, elegant medieval centres, grand merchant palaces on marble-lined streets and cave quarters cut into honey-coloured rock.Italy’s most beautiful UNESCO sitesAssisiVerona Ragusa Genoa SienaMateraIt

Italy’s most relaxed culture weekend is around the corner, when Fondo Ambiente Italiano quietly unlocks over 700 places you’d normally walk past. Picture lakeside villas, tucked‑away palazzi and little borghi with volunteers bringing the stories to life.What are FAI Autumn Days 2025?