UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy

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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.

Prosecco Hills of Italy, a UNESCO World Heritage site
Farra di Soligo, located in Italy’s Prosecco HIlls, is the most recent addition to Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Photo via Consorzio Tutela del Vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG

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 (Lombardy)
  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

Matera, Basilicata
The Sassi of Matera, Basilicata

Campania

  • Amalfi
    Amalfi Coast
  • Inside the Royal Palace at Caserta
  • Pompeii ruins
    Pompeii
  • Paestum Temple
    Greek ruins in Paestum
  • Castel Nuovo in the Historic Center of Naples
  • Santa Sofia, Benevento

Emilia-Romagna

  • Piazza Grande Modena
  • Mosaics in Ravenna
  • Castello Estense in Ferrara
    Castello Estense in Ferrara © Melanie Renzulli

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

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

Lazio

  • Tomb of the Leopard in Tarquinia
    Tomb of the Leopard in Tarquinia
  • View of the Roman Forum and Colosseum
    Rome
  • Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli
    Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli

Liguria

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

Lombardy

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan

Marche

Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, Le Marche
Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, Le Marche

Piemonte

Savoy Palace in Turin / Photo © Melanie Renzulli
  • 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

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

Sardinia

Archeological site of Su Nuraxi di Barumini in Sardinia / Source

Sicily

Christ Pantokrator mosaic in the Monreale Cathedral in Sicily
Mosaics in Monreale, Sicily / Photo © Melanie Renzulli

Trentino-Alto Adige

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

Tuscany

  • Duomo of Florence, view from San Miniato al Monte
    View of Florence from San Miniato
  • Piazza del Campo Siena in winter
    Siena
  • Val D'Orcia, Tuscany
    Val D’Orcia, Tuscany

Umbria

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

Veneto

  • Orto Botanico di Padova
    Orto Botanico in Padua/Padova
  • Prosecco Hills of Italy, a UNESCO World Heritage site
    Farra di Soligo, located in Italy’s Prosecco HIlls, is the most recent addition to Italy’s UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Photo via Consorzio Tutela del Vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
  • Venice Gondola Rialto Bridge
    Venice
  • 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 (Examples from Molise, Puglia, Sicily)
  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 Mediterranean 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