UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy

Italy holds the record for the most UNESCO heritage sites in the world.

There are currently 55 UNESCO sites in Italy — 50 cultural and 5 natural — and many others are under consideration.

In addition to these 55 physical sites, UNESCO recognizes Italy’s intangible cultural heritage. There are 14 traditions, some particular to Italy and some shared with other countries, that are on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

UNESCO’s heritage lists provide context to a country’s history and traditions. Many travelers, including myself, use UNESCO’s lists as a guide to deciding where to go, what to see, or what to read (or write) about.

Following is a list of Italy’s UNESCO sites. Links to coverage of these sites on Italofile are provided where applicable and will be continuously updated.

UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Italy (A to Z)

1. 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex (Campania)
2. Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale (Sicily)
3. Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
4. Archaeological Area of Agrigento (Sicily)
5. Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (Campania)
6. Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites (Umbria et al)
7. Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua (Veneto)
8. Castel del Monte (Puglia)
9. Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena (Emilia-Romagna)
10. Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci (Lombardy)
11. Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula (Campania)
12. City of Verona (Veneto)
13. City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
14. Costiera Amalfitana (Campania)
15. Crespi d’Adda (Lombardy)
16. Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna)
17. Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (Lazio)
18. Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta (Emilia-Romagna)
19. Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli (Liguria)
20. Historic Centre of Florence (Tuscany)
21. Historic Centre of Naples (Campania)
22. Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Lazio)
23. Historic Centre of San Gimignano (Tuscany)
24. Historic Centre of Siena (Tuscany)
25. Historic Centre of the City of Pienza (Tuscany)
26. Historic Centre of Urbino (Le Marche)
27. Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century (Piemonte)
28. Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (Sicily)
29. Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power (568-774 A.D.) (Includes sites in Campania, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Puglia, and Umbria — noted in regional lists below)
30. Mantua and Sabbioneta (Emilia-Romagna)
31. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
32. Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (Tuscany)
33. Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) (Liguria)
34. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Lombardy, Piemonte, Trentino-Alto Adige)
35. Prosecco Hills of Conegliano e Valdobbiadene (Veneto)
36. Residences of the Royal House of Savoy (Piemonte)
37. Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes (Lombardy)
38. Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (Lombardy)
39. Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
40. Su Nuraxi di Barumini (Sardinia)
41. Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (Sicily)
42. The Trulli of Alberobello (Puglia)
43. The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera (Basilicata)
44. Val d’Orcia (Tuscany)
45. Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar (Veneto)
46. Venice and its Lagoon (Veneto)
47. Villa Adriana (Tivoli) (Lazio)
48. Villa d’Este, Tivoli (Lazio)
49. Villa Romana del Casale (Sicily)
50. Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato

UNESCO Natural Heritage Sites

1. Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
2. Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) (Sicily)
3. Monte San Giorgio (Lombardy, shared with Switzerland)
4. Mount Etna (Sicily)
5. The Dolomites (Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia)

UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Italy, By Region with Photos

Basilicata

• The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera

Campania

• 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex
• Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana)
• Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata
• Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula
• Historic Centre of Naples
• Santa Sofia Complex, Benevento (Longobard Site)

Emilia-Romagna

• Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena
• Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna
• Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta
• Mantua (Mantova) and Sabbioneta

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

• Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia
• Cividale del Friuli (Longobard Site)
• The Dolomites (Shared with Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige)

Lazio

• Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
• Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
• Villa Adriana, Tivoli
• Villa d’Este, Tivoli

Liguria

• Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli
• Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)

Lombardy

• Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, Milan
• Crespi d’Adda
• Monte San Giorgio
• Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Shared with Piemonte, Trentino-Alto Adige)
• Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes
• Rock Drawings in Valcamonica
• Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
• San Salvatore-Santa Giulia in Brescia (Longobard Site)
• Santa Maria Foris Portas, which includes the castrum with the Torba Tower and the church outside the walls, Castelseprio (Longobard Site)

Marche

• Historic Centre of Urbino

Piemonte

• Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century
• Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Shared with Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige)
• Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
• Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato

Puglia

• Castel del Monte
• Sanctuary of San Michele (Longobard Site)
• The Trulli of Alberobello

Sardinia

• Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Sicily

• Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale
• Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)
• Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
• Mount Etna
• Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
• Villa Romana del Casale

Trentino-Alto Adige

• The Dolomites (Shared with Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
• Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Shared with Lombardy, Piemonte)

Tuscany

• Historic Centre of Florence
• Historic Centre of San Gimignano
• Historic Centre of Siena
• Historic Centre of the City of Pienza
• Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
• Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
• Val d’Orcia

Umbria

• Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites
• Basilica San Salvatore, Spoleto (Longobard Site)
• Clitunno Tempietto, Campello sul Clitunno (Longobard Site)

Veneto

• Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua (Veneto)
• City of Verona (Veneto)
• City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
• The Dolomites (Shared with Trentino Alto-Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
• Prosecco Hills of Conegliano e Valdobbiadene (Veneto)
• Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar
• Venice and its Lagoon

Italy’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Sites

In addition to sites one can visit, Italy is also recognized by its intangible cultural heritage. These include the following:

1. Opera dei Pupi, Sicilian puppet theatre
2. Canto a tenore, Sardinian pastoral songs
3. Traditional violin craftsmanship in Cremona (Lombardy)
4. Mediterranean diet (shared with other countries)
5. Celebrations of big shoulder-borne processional structures (Example from Molise)
6. Traditional agricultural practice of cultivating the “vite ad alberello” (head-trained bush vines) of the community of Pantelleria (Sicily)
7. Falconry, a living human heritage (shared with other countries)
8. Art of Neapolitan “Pizzaiuolo”
9. Art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques (shared with other countries)
10. Transhumance, the seasonal droving of livestock along migratory routes in the Mediterraenean and in the Alps (shared with Austria and Greece)
11. Celestinian Forgiveness Celebration
12. Alpinism (shared with France and Switzerland)
13. The art of glass beads (shared with France)
14. Musical art of horn players, an instrumental technique linked to singing, breath control, vibrato, resonance of place and conviviality (shared with France, Belgium, Luxembourg)

Source: Italy’s UNESCO sites