230 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Italy

Castelvecchio, originally called the castle of San Martino in Aquaro, is a medieval fort located in the historic center of Verona currently used as the seat of the homonymous civic museum; it is the most important military monument of the Scala family. In January 1944 there was a trial against the six members of the Grand Council of Fascism who, in the session of 25 July 1943, had discouraged Benito Mussolini from the office of Prime Minister.

The castle of Agliè is one of the Residences of the royal house of Savoy declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. 1 It has the code 823-019 and is located in Piazza Castello, 2 in Agliè. This ducal castle of Agliè is an elegant and imposing construction. The construction of the central nucleus, of which the traces are still identifiable today, began in the 12th century on behalf of the San Martino family, originally from Canavese.

The Gamba castle, from the historical point of view, is the castle "child" of the three in the municipality of Châtillon, in Valle d'Aosta: what Passerin d'Entrèves and to Ussel is in fact medieval era. The Gamba castle, dating back to the twentieth century, is located on a hillock in the western part of the town, in the locality of Cret-de-Breil, near the regional hotel school, and is completely surrounded by a park open to the public all year round. It is clearly visible from the A5 motorway.

The castle of Bernalda rises in the homonymous locality , in the province of Matera. The castle is located in a dominant position on the Basento valley facing south-west. It was built in 1470 but recent discoveries trace the presence of a fortification back to the Norman era and the shape of its towers suggests that it was even of Angevin origin . The current castle is the one built by Bernardino de Bernaudo, secretary of King Alfonso II of Naples.

The castle in Grinzane Cavour is one of the best examples of the medieval architecture in the Langhe. Its present shape is the result of a complete restoring made in 1961, that has reshaped it in its original features after the many reworkings. dramatic hilltop perch and imposing watchtowers make this 13th-century fortress one of the most remarkable sights in the UNESCO-listed Le Langhe-Roero countryside.

The castle of Saint-Pierre is an Aosta Valley manor, located in the municipality of the same name. Due to its very scenic appearance, it has become, together with the castle of Fénis, one of the symbolic monuments of the region. It houses the Regional Museum of Natural Sciences of the Aosta Valley. It is one of the oldest in the Aosta Valley and its existence is mentioned for the first time in a document dated 1191.

The Sarriod de La Tour castle is a medieval Aosta Valley manor located in the municipality of Saint-Pierre, in the flat area planted with orchards that run along the Dora Baltea and the SS26, on the opposite side of the village from the more famous castle of Saint-Pierre. Looking at it from the top of the Saint-Pierre castle, the Sarriod de La Tour castle appears as an irregular set of buildings surrounded by walls, located in a flat area a little outside the town and close to the Dora Baltea.

The catacombs of St. Callixtus are among the greatest and most important of Rome. They originated about the middle of the second century and are part of a cemeterial complex that occupies an area of 90 acres, with a network of galleries about 12 miles long, in four levels, more than twenty meters deep. In it were buried tens of martyrs, 16 popes, and very many Christians. The area of the catacomb proper is about fifteen hectares, and it goes down for five levels.

This tall structure halfway down Via dei Calzaiuoli looks more like a Gothic warehouse than a church—which is exactly what it was, built as a granary/grain market in 1337. On the ground floor of the square building are the 13th-century arches that originally formed the loggia of the grain market. The second floor was devoted to offices, while the third housed one of the city's municipal grain storehouses, maintained to withstand famine or siege.

The so-called temple of Minerva, of Augustan art, rises in Assisi, in Piazza del Comune, probably dedicated to Hercules and erected in 30 BC. It was transformed into the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in the sixteenth century, with its bell tower, called "Torre del Popolo". It turns out to be among the best-preserved Roman temples of the ancient world. The building belongs to the typology of the Corinthian prostyle temple "in antis", with fluted columns resting on high quadrangular plinths

The Circus Maximus was a chariot racetrack in Rome first constructed in the 6th century BCE. A U-shaped structure with seats on three sides and a low wall running down the middle of the arena around which the chariots raced. It was also used for other public events such as the Roman Games and gladiator fights and was last used for chariot races in the 6th century CE. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. The site is now a public park.

The Teatro Della Concordia in Monte Castello di Vibio, in the province of Perugia, is the smallest Italian theater and one of the smallest historical theaters. It is defined with the slogan "the smallest in the world" as it is the faithful and successful miniature reproduction of the great Italian and European theaters.

D'Albertis Castle is a historical residence in Genoa, north-western Italy. It was the home of sea captain Enrico Alberto d'Albertis and was donated to the city of Genoa on his death in 1932. It currently houses the Museo Delle Culture del Mondo. IT was built in the gothic revival style and The Museum displays furniture, décor, ethnographic, and archaeological finds collected by Enrico and Luigi Maria d'albertis during their trips to Africa, America, New Guinea, and Oceania.

The Palazzo dei Diamanti is one of the most famous monuments of Ferrara and of the Italian Renaissance, located in Corso Ercole I d'Este 21, in the Quadrivio degli Angeli , right in the center of the Addizione Erculea. It was one of the most stunning palaces of Italian Renaissance architecture, is a must-see when you visit this small town rich in history and art about half an hour from Emilia-Romagna’s capital, Bologna.

Domus Aurea, Nero's famed Golden Palace was the major source of information on ancient Roman painting and decoration for Renaissance artists. which was built by Emperor Nero in the heart of ancient Rome. It covered parts of the slopes of the Palatine, Oppian, and Caelian hills, with an artificial lake in the marshy valley. It was one of the iconic locations in this area which is famous among tourists.

The Donnafugata castle is located in the territory of the municipality of Ragusa, about 15 kilometers from the city. The current building, contrary to what the name might suggest, is a sumptuous noble residence of the late 19th century. The residence overlooked what were the possessions of the rich Arezzo De Speeches family. Upon arrival, the castle reveals its sumptuousness: the building covers an area of ​​over 7500 square meters on 3 floors in neo-Gothic style, crowned by two side towers tha

The castle of Corigliano Calabro is a fortress dating back to the 11th century, located in Corigliano Calabro, in the municipality of Corigliano-Rossano, in the province of Cosenza. It has been defined as "one of the most beautiful and best-preserved castles existing in southern Italy". Today the castle is a national monument declared by law in 1927 and is a historical, artistic, and cultural museum of the entire community.

The hermitage of the Carceri is the place where St. Francis of Assisi and his followers retired to pray and meditate. Located 4 kilometers from Assisi, at 791 meters above sea level on the slopes of Mount Subasio, the hermitage of the Carceri rises near some natural caves, frequented by hermits already in the early Christian age.

The hermitage of San Domenico is a small church, located in the territory of the municipality of Villalago, in the Sagittario valley, on the shore of the homonymous Lake of San Domenico. It includes a cave dug into the limestone, in which according to tradition, around the year 1000 the Benedictine monk San Domenico lived.

The Estense Castle, or castle of San Michele, is the most representative monument of the city of Ferrara. It was built in 1385 as a fortress for political and military control and for the defense of the Este family, therefore also thought of as a repressive tool. The first stone was symbolically laid on 29 September, the day of St. Michael, the warrior archangel at the head of the celestial militias as well as the traditional fixed date for removals.