Man-Made Landmarks of Italy
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Latest page update: 20 January 2025
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By: Dion Protani
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In the following guide to man-made landmarks of Italy you'll see the country has a collection of landmarks envied across the world.
With such a rich tapestry of history from the Greeks through to the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Etruscans and countless nations that have stamped their mark on Italy, the result is an incredibly wide range of monuments from castles to cathedrals, piazzas to palazzos and gardens whose beauty stop you in your tracks. Each of the seven categories below details the very best of that genre. The monuments and landmarks come from every corner of Italy from its major cities to smaller provincial towns. |
The Colosseum, Rome
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Castles of Italy
The medieval Castello Aragonese in Ischia Ponte sits on its own man made island connected to Ischia by an ancient stone bridge. Although this is one of many castles in Italy it's not to be missed.
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Of the hundreds of castles of Italy, I've narrowed down the list to just 20 of the best which I think deserve the most attention. That's not to say any castle that doesn't make this list isn't worth visiting, quite the contrary in fact. The idea was to just provide a concise list of some of the best.
Puglia's Castel del Monte, Rome's Castel Sant'Angelo and the castle dell'Ovo in Naples all make the list which includes castles from different historic time periods and different styles. Absolutely unmissable are the likes of Castello Estense in Ferrara city centre while I've also included the quirky fortresses such as Rocca Calascio in Abruzzo and Donnafugata Castle in Sicily. |
Castello Aragonese, Ischia
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Beautiful Italian Piazzas
With so much of Italy constructed during medieval times it has a wonderful collection of historic piazzas. One of the largest and most beautiful is Prato della Valle in the city of Padua in Veneto.
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The collection of beautiful Italian piazzas is quite extraordinary: almost every city and town in the country has at least one with many of them dating back hundreds of years.
At the centre of life of these historic cities the piazzas are the focal point of daily life and have evolved over time. Now, when we go to visit them as a tourist we're open-mouthed with wonder at the audacity of some of the designs like the remarkable Piazza del Campo in Siena created in the shape of a shell, or the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro in Lucca which was built on top of a Roman amphitheatre. To choose just ten of these piazzas was a difficult task but those chosen ones are worth every moment of discovery. |
Prato della Valle, Padua
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Roman Monuments in Italy
The historic footprint of the Romans is visible throughout Italy, not just in Rome itself. In this section I've collated some of the most interesting from across the country, including those in the capital.
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When you conjure up images of Italy in your head one of the first tings that will appear is the Colosseum in Rome. The incredible Ancient structure at the heart of a modern European city is just the tip of the iceberg of a massive legacy of Roman monuments in Italy that you can visit in modern times.
In Rome alone there are 10 of the most important Roman archaeological sites detailed but the list stretches to every corner of the Italian peninsula with sites as far apart as the Roman Theatre of Valle d'Aosta and the Roman Amphitheatre of Syracuse way down in Sicily. The list consists of triumphal arches, Ancient baths, places of worship and even a pyramid! |
The Forum, Rome
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Towers of Italy
Everyone has heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa but there are several other towers in the country that lean just as much, while others are simply beautiful or great vantage points to climb.
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This is a significant section of some of the most extraordinary architectural feats that span Italy's vast history.
Among the most famous towers of Italy we find different historical periods represented with many dating back to medieval times, still standing although sometimes a little bit wonky! There are beautiful Renaissance towers such as Giotto's Bell Tower in Florence, towers with trees growing over the top of them like the Torre Guinigi in Lucca and even towers springing up from a lake such as the Curon Bell Tower in South Tyrol. In modern times we find the Bosco Verticale, one of the most beguiling sights in Milan. |
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tuscany
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Bridges of Italy
With so many Italian cities built around rivers it follows that the country should have a large collection of bridges and one of my favourites is the beautiful Ponte della Maddalena in Tuscany.
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The famous bridges of Italy include household names across the world such as for example two of the many in Venice.
Almost everyone has heard of the Bridge of Sighs, a tiny bridge between two buildings which got its name from the disappointed sighs that prisoners would emit as they spotted Venice for the last time through the bridge's little windows. The same city can boast the magnificent Rialto Bridge which many have tried to copy. Another world-famous bridge is the Ponte Vecchio in Florence which simply translating to 'Old Bridge', means it shares its name with many others including the one in Bassano del Grappa, Veneto. |
Ponte della Maddalena, Tuscany
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Modern Landmarks of Italy
The word "modern" means different things to different people but in this section of modern landmarks of Italy you'll find famous Italian buildings and monuments dating from the medieval period right up to those built within recent times.
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So much of Italy's fascination comes from its historic towns and monuments that date back to Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman or medieval times. That does though leave a period of 500 years of culture and construction that's taken place on the Peninsula with some incredible artistic and architectural creations to discover.
Just about everyone knows something about the Trevi Fountain in Rome or the Statue of David in Florence but there's so much more besides these two icons. Milan for example can boast two extraordinary monuments from the last 500 years with the imposing Arco della Pace and the elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II: the stunning pre-cursor to the modern malls. |
Trevi Fountain, Rome
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Monuments of Magna Graecia
Before the Romans conquered Italy, the southern regions of the peninsula were populated by Greeks and later known collectively as Magna Graecia. See the existing monuments in this section.
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Each of the monuments of Magna Graecia listed in this section are for the southern Italian regions of Basilicata, Campania, Calabria and Sicily, the very domains of the Italo-Greek civilisation.
The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is perhaps the most famous of those mentioned in this collection as it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. Agrigento is one of the main towns in Sicily which features heavily in this list with the Ancient Greek Theatre of Taormina and the Greek Theatre of Syracuse along with the Tyndaris archaeological site. Further north in Calabria are the incredible Riace Bronzes. |
Greek Theatre of Syracuse, Sicily
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