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UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy

Melanie Renzulli Updated September 26, 2024
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Italy holds the record for the most UNESCO heritage sites in the world.

As of 2024, there are 60 UNESCO sites in Italy—54 cultural and 6 natural—and many others are under consideration. The newest UNESCO site in Italy is the Via Appia.

In addition to these 60 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.

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. Appia Antica (Lazio)
  3. Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale (Sicily)
  4. Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
  5. Archaeological Area of Agrigento (Sicily)
  6. Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (Campania)
  7. Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites (Umbria et al)
  8. Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua (Veneto)
  9. Castel del Monte (Puglia)
  10. Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena (Emilia-Romagna)
  11. Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci (Lombardy)
  12. Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula (Campania)
  13. City of Verona (Veneto)
  14. City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
  15. Costiera Amalfitana (Campania)
  16. Crespi d’Adda (Lombardy)
  17. Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna)
  18. Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (Lazio)
  19. Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta (Emilia-Romagna)
  20. Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the Palazzi dei Rolli (Liguria)
  21. Historic Centre of Florence (Tuscany)
  22. Historic Centre of Naples (Campania)
  23. Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Lazio)
  24. Historic Centre of San Gimignano (Tuscany)
  25. Historic Centre of Siena (Tuscany)
  26. Historic Centre of the City of Pienza (Tuscany)
  27. Historic Centre of Urbino (Le Marche)
  28. Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century (Piemonte)
  29. Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (Sicily)
  30. Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power (568-774 A.D.) (Includes sites in Campania, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Puglia, and Umbria)
  31. Mantua and Sabbioneta (Lombardy)
  32. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
  33. Montecatini Terme, one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe (Tuscany)
  34. Padova Urbs Picta (Veneto)
  35. Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (Tuscany)
  36. Porticoes of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna)
  37. Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) (Liguria)
  38. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Lombardy, Piemonte, Trentino-Alto Adige)
  39. Prosecco Hills of Conegliano e Valdobbiadene (Veneto)
  40. Residences of the Royal House of Savoy (Piemonte)
  41. Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes (Lombardy)
  42. Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (Lombardy)
  43. Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
  44. Su Nuraxi di Barumini (Sardinia)
  45. Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (Sicily)
  46. The Trulli of Alberobello (Puglia)
  47. The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera (Basilicata)
  48. Val d’Orcia (Tuscany)
  49. Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th Centuries: Stato da Terra – Western Stato da Mar (Veneto)
  50. Venice and its Lagoon (Veneto)
  51. Villa Adriana (Tivoli) (Lazio)
  52. Villa d’Este, Tivoli (Lazio)
  53. Villa Romana del Casale (Sicily)
  54. 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

“Deep in the Woods” 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 d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise. This natural UNESCO site is included under the collective listing of the 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
  • Cozzo Ferriero, part of the Parco Nazionale del Pollino (shared with Calabria)—a natural UNESCO site included under the collective listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  • The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera

See top-rated tours in Matera >

Calabria

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

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
  1. 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex
  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)

Take a day trip from Naples to the Royal Palace at Caserta >>

Emilia-Romagna

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

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
  1. Appia Antica
  2. Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
  3. Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
  4. Monte Cimino and Monte Raschio—natural UNESCO sites included under the collective listing of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  5. Villa Adriana, Tivoli
  6. Villa d’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 “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, Milan
  2. Crespi d’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 © 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 Gargano—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 © Melanie Renzulli
  1. Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú 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

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
  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 d’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

Scrovegni Chapel, Padua
Scrovegni Chapel, Padua
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
Orto Botanico di Padova
Orto Botanico in Padua/Padova
  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 Giotto’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 – Western Stato da Mar
  8. Venice and its Lagoon

Italy’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 “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, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

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Table of Contents
  • UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Italy (A to Z)
  • UNESCO Natural Heritage Sites
  • UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites in Italy, By Region with Photos
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Piemonte
    • Puglia
    • Sardinia
    • Sicily
    • Trentino-Alto Adige
    • Tuscany
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • Italy's Intangible Cultural Heritage

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