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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 59 UNESCO sites in Italyโ€”53 cultural and 6 naturalโ€”and many others are under consideration. The newest UNESCO site in Italy is a natural one, the Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines. It was inscribed in 2023.

In addition to these 59 physical sites, UNESCO recognizes Italyโ€™s intangible cultural heritage. There are 14 traditionsโ€”some particular to Italy and some shared with other countriesโ€”that are on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

UNESCOโ€™s heritage lists provide context to a countryโ€™s history and traditions. Many travelers, including myself, use UNESCOโ€™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 Italyโ€™s UNESCO sites. Links to coverage of these sites on Italofile are provided where applicable and will be continuously updated.

Scrovegni Chapel, Padua
The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua is among eight sites inducted as Padova Urbs Picta in 2021

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 Cefalรบ 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 โ€œThe Last Supperโ€ 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 dโ€™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)
  30. Mantua and Sabbioneta (Lombardy)
  31. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
  32. Montecatini Terme, one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe (Tuscany)
  33. Padova Urbs Picta (Veneto)
  34. Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (Tuscany)
  35. Porticoes of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna)
  36. Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) (Liguria)
  37. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Lombardy, Piemonte, Trentino-Alto Adige)
  38. Prosecco Hills of Conegliano e Valdobbiadene (Veneto)
  39. Residences of the Royal House of Savoy (Piemonte)
  40. Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes (Lombardy)
  41. Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (Lombardy)
  42. Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
  43. Su Nuraxi di Barumini (Sardinia)
  44. Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (Sicily)
  45. The Trulli of Alberobello (Puglia)
  46. The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera (Basilicata)
  47. Val dโ€™Orcia (Tuscany)
  48. Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra โ€“ Western Stato da Mar (Veneto)
  49. Venice and its Lagoon (Veneto)
  50. Villa Adriana (Tivoli) (Lazio)
  51. Villa dโ€™Este, Tivoli (Lazio)
  52. Villa Romana del Casale (Sicily)
  53. 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 (includes forests in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Puglia)
  2. Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines (Emilia-Romagna)
  3. Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) (Sicily)
  4. Monte San Giorgio (Lombardy, shared with Switzerland)
  5. Mount Etna (Sicily)
  6. The Dolomites (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto-Adige, Veneto)

UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Italy, By Region with Photos

Abruzzo

โ€œDeep in the Woodsโ€ of the Val Cervara in Abruzzo | Jessica Caselli, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Val Cervara, Selva Moricento, Corpo del Morto, Corpo del Principe, and Val Fondillo, all Abruzzese forests within the Parco Nazionale dโ€™Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise. This natural UNESCO site is included under the collective listing of theย Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, an honor that Italy shares with 17 other countries.

Basilicata

Matera, Basilicata
The Sassi of Matera, Basilicata
  1. Cozzo Ferriero, part of the Parco Nazionale del Pollino (shared with Calabria)โ€”a natural UNESCO site included under the collective listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  2. The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera | **tours**

Calabria

Via Parco Nazionale del Pollino
  1. Cozzo Ferriero, part of the Parco Nazionale del Pollino (shared with Basilicata)โ€”a natural UNESCO site included under the collective listing of theย Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.

Campania

  • Amalfi
  • Pompeii ruins
  • Paestum Temple
  1. 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex | **tours**
  2. Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana)
  3. Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata
  4. Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula
  5. Historic Centre of Naples
  6. Santa Sofia Complex, Benevento (Longobard Site)

Emilia-Romagna

  • Castello Estense in Ferrara
  1. Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena
  2. Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna
  3. Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines
  4. Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta
  5. Porticoes of Bologna
  6. Sasso Fratino, part of the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campignaโ€”a natural UNESCO site included under the collective listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

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

Lazio

  1. Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
  2. Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
  3. Monte Cimino and Monte Raschioโ€”natural UNESCO sites included under the collective listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  4. Villa Adriana, Tivoli
  5. Villa dโ€™Este, Tivoli

Liguria

Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre / Photo by Mike Swigunski
  1. Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli
  2. 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
  1. Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with โ€œThe Last Supperโ€ by Leonardo da Vinci, Milan
  2. Crespi dโ€™Adda
  3. Mantua (Mantova) and Sabbioneta
  4. Monte San Giorgio
  5. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Shared with Piemonte, Trentino-Alto Adige)
  6. Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes
  7. Rock Drawings in Valcamonica
  8. Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
  9. San Salvatore-Santa Giulia in Brescia (Longobard Site)
  10. Santa Maria Foris Portas, which includes the castrum with the Torba Tower and the church outside the walls, Castelseprio (Longobard Site)

Marche

Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, Le Marche
Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, Le Marche
  1. Historic Centre of Urbino

Piemonte

Savoy Palace in Turin / Photo ยฉ Melanie Renzulli
  1. Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century
  2. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Shared with Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige)
  3. Residences of the Royal House of Savoy
  4. Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
  5. Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato

Puglia

Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo
  1. Castel del Monte
  2. Foresta Umbra, part of the Parco Nazionale del Garganoโ€”a natural UNESCO site included under the collective listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  3. Sanctuary of San Michele (Longobard Site)
  4. The Trulli of Alberobello

Sardinia

Archeological site of Su Nuraxi di Barumini in Sardinia / Source
  1. Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Sicily

Christ Pantokrator mosaic in the Monreale Cathedral in Sicily
Mosaics in Monreale, Sicily / Photo ยฉ Melanie Renzulli
  1. Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalรบ and Monreale
  2. Archaeological Area of Agrigento
  3. Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)
  4. Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto
  5. Mount Etna
  6. Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
  7. Villa Romana del Casale

Trentino-Alto Adige

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

Tuscany

  1. Historic Centre of Florence
  2. Historic Centre of San Gimignano
  3. Historic Centre of Siena
  4. Historic Centre of the City of Pienza
  5. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
  6. Montecatini Terme, one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe (shared with 10 other towns in 6 other countries)
  7. Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
  8. Val dโ€™Orcia

Umbria

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

Veneto

  1. Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua
  2. City of Verona
  3. City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
  4. The Dolomites (Shared with Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto-Adige)
  5. Padova Urbs Picta (collection of fresco cycles in Padua, including Giottoโ€™s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel)
  6. Prosecco Hills of Conegliano e Valdobbiadene
  7. Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra โ€“ Western Stato da Mar
  8. Venice and its Lagoon

Italyโ€™s Intangible Cultural Heritage

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 โ€œvite ad alberelloโ€ (head-trained bush vines) of the community of Pantelleria (Sicily)
  7. Falconry, a living human heritage (shared with other countries)
  8. Art of Neapolitan โ€œPizzaiuoloโ€
  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: Italyโ€™s UNESCO sites, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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