Exterior of Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

Southern Italy

Italy's peeling, sun-bleached south is the country at its most ancient, soulful and sensual. Down here, the ruins are older, the lunches longer, and the landscapes wilder and more intense.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

  • Water carriers from Herculaneum, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

    Museo Archeologico Nazionale

    Naples

    Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…

  • Piazza Armerina, Enna, Sicily

    Villa Romana del Casale

    Central Sicily

    Villa Romana del Casale is sumptuous, even by decadent Roman standards, and is thought to have been the country retreat of Marcus Aurelius Maximianus,…

  • Agrigento, Sicily, Italy - October 9, 2017: Tourists visiting Park of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.

    Valley of the Temples

    Agrigento

    Sicily's most enthralling archaeological site encompasses the ruined ancient city of Akragas, highlighted by the stunningly well-preserved Tempio della…

  • Royal Palace of Capodimonte, Naples

    Museo di Capodimonte

    Naples

    Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…

  • NAPLES, ITALY - JUNE 11: The Modesty of Antonio Corradini in the Sansevero Chapel during the reopening to the public on June 11, 2020 in Naples, Italy. The Sansevero Chapel Museum can be visited again after the closure imposed by the lockdown for the covid-19 emergency, exactly thirty years after the reopening to the public after the restoration works which in 1990 returned to the fruition the baroque masterpieces of the chapel commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro and the Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino sculpted in 1753, today a symbol of the Neapolitan Baroque. (Photo by Ivan Romano/Getty Images) 1249041534

    Cappella Sansevero

    Naples

    It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil…

  • MONREALE, SICILY, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 28, 2018: Cloister of Roman Catholic Cathedral of Monreale (or Duomo di Monreale, 1267) near Palermo; one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture.; Cattedrale di Monreale Shutterstock ID 1421721263; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Cattedrale di Monreale

    Palermo Region

    Inspired by a vision of the Virgin and determined to outdo his grandfather Roger II, who was responsible for the cathedral in Cefalù and the Cappella…

  • Cappella Palatina in the Palazzo dei Normanni.

    Cappella Palatina

    Palermo

    Designed by Roger II in 1130, this extraordinary chapel is Palermo's top tourist attraction. Located on the middle level of Palazzo dei Normanni's three…

  • Carved head, Casa dei Nettuno e Anfitrite, Herculaneum.

    Ruins of Herculaneum

    Bay of Naples

    Herculaneum harbours a wealth of archaeological finds, from ancient advertisements and stylish mosaics to carbonised furniture and terror-struck skeletons…

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A narrow laneway through the Trulli (limestone dwellings) of Alberobello.

History

Explore the stunning villages and vistas of Southern Italy on this new hiking network

Dec 14, 2020 • 2 min read

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