List of World Heritage Sites in Italy

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.

- List of World Heritage Sites in Italy

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World Heritage Site

Landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization .

The World Heritage emblem is used to identify properties protected by the World Heritage Convention and inscribed on the official World Heritage List.

Site No. 252: Taj Mahal, an example of a cultural heritage site

Site No. 156: Serengeti National Park, an example of a natural heritage site

Site No. 274: Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, an example of a mixed heritage site

Site No. 1, the Galápagos Islands, had its boundaries extended in 2001 and 2003, and was included on the danger list from 2007 to 2010

With 58 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites on the list.

Italy

Country that consists of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and several islands surrounding it, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region.

Expansion of the territory called "Italy" from ancient Greece until Diocletian

The Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries a symbol of the Kings of Italy

Marco Polo, explorer of the 13th century, recorded his 24 years-long travels in the Book of the Marvels of the World, introducing Europeans to Central Asia and China.

The Italian states before the beginning of the Italian Wars in 1494

Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential Renaissance man, in a self-portrait (ca. 1512, Royal Library, Turin)

Christopher Columbus leads an expedition to the New World, 1492. His voyages are celebrated as the discovery of the Americas from a European perspective, and they opened a new era in the history of humankind and sustained contact between the two worlds.

Flag of the Cispadane Republic, which was the first Italian tricolour adopted by a sovereign Italian state (1797)

Holographic copy of 1847 of Il Canto degli Italiani, the Italian national anthem since 1946

Animated map of the Italian unification from 1829 to 1871

The Victor Emmanuel II Monument in Rome, a national symbol of Italy celebrating the first king of the unified country, and resting place of the Italian Unknown Soldier since the end of World War I. It was inaugurated in 1911, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy.

The fascist dictator Benito Mussolini titled himself Duce and ruled the country from 1922 to 1943.

Areas controlled by the Italian Empire at its peak

Italian partisans in Milan during the Italian Civil War, April 1945

Alcide De Gasperi, first republican Prime Minister of Italy and one of the Founding Fathers of the European Union

The signing ceremony of the Treaty of Rome on 25 March 1957, creating the European Economic Community, forerunner of the present-day European Union

Funerals of the victims of the Bologna bombing of 2 August 1980, the deadliest attack ever perpetrated in Italy during the Years of Lead

Italian government task force to face the COVID-19 emergency

Dolphins in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Aeolian Islands

Gran Paradiso, established in 1922, is the oldest Italian national park.

The Italian wolf, the national animal of Italy

Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Italy

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of Italy.

An Alfa Romeo 159 vehicle of the Carabinieri corps

Group photo of the G7 leaders at the 43rd G7 summit in Taormina

Heraldic coat of arms of the Italian Armed Forces

A proportional representation of Italy exports, 2019

Milan is the economic capital of Italy, and is a global financial centre and a fashion capital of the world.

The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"), the first motorway built in the world

FS' Frecciarossa 1000 high speed train, with a maximum speed of 400 km/h

Trieste, the main port of the northern Adriatic and starting point of the Transalpine Pipeline

ENI is considered one of the world's oil and gas "Supermajors".

Solar panels in Piombino. Italy is one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy.

Galileo Galilei, the father of modern science, physics and astronomy

Enrico Fermi, creator of the world's first first nuclear reactor

The Amalfi Coast is one of Italy's major tourist destinations.

Map of Italy's population density at the 2011 census

Italy is home to a large population of migrants from Eastern Europe and North Africa.

Linguistic map showing the languages spoken in Italy

Vatican City, the Holy See's sovereign territory

Bologna University, established in AD 1088, is the world's oldest academic institution.

Olive oil and vegetables are central to the Mediterranean diet.

The Last Supper (1494–1499), Leonardo da Vinci, Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Michelangelo's David (1501–1504), Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

The Birth of Venus (1484–1486), Sandro Botticelli, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Dante shown holding a copy of the Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the mount of Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in Michelino's fresco, 1465

Niccolò Machiavelli, founder of modern political science and ethics

Pinocchio is one of the world's most translated books and a canonical piece of children's literature.

Clockwise from top left: Thomas Aquinas, proponent of natural theology and the Father of Thomism; Giordano Bruno, one of the major scientific figures of the Western world; Cesare Beccaria, considered the Father of criminal justice and modern criminal law; and Maria Montessori, credited with the creation of the Montessori education

Statues of Pantalone and Harlequin, two stock characters from the Commedia dell'arte, in the Museo Teatrale alla Scala

Dario Fo, one of the most widely performed playwrights in modern theatre, received international acclaim for his highly improvisational style.

Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot, are among the most frequently worldwide performed in the standard repertoire

Luciano Pavarotti, considered one of the finest tenors of the 20th century and the "King of the High Cs"

Giorgio Moroder, pioneer of Italo disco and electronic dance music, is known as the "Father of disco".

The Azzurri in 2012. Football is the most popular sport in Italy.

Starting in 1909, the Giro d'Italia is the Grands Tours' second oldest.

A Ferrari SF21 by Scuderia Ferrari, the most successful Formula One team

Prada shop at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan

The traditional recipe for spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce

The Frecce Tricolori, with the smoke trails representing the national colours of Italy, during the celebrations of the Festa della Repubblica

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world.

As a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy has the world's largest number of World Heritage Sites (58), and is the fifth-most visited country.

Italian Riviera

Narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines.

La Riviera italienne, travel poster for ENIT, ca. 1920.

A number of streets and palaces in the center of Genoa and the Cinque Terre National Park (which includes Cinque Terre, Portovenere, and the islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto) are two of Italy's 58 World Heritage Sites.

Tourism in Spain

Major contributor to national economic life, contributing to about 11.8% of Spain's GDP .

San Lorenzo de El Escorial, construction started in 1559 – located 28 mi northwest of Madrid.

The Teide National Park, on the island of Tenerife is the most visited national park in Spain.

Puerto Banús, Marbella, Málaga, Costa del Sol.

Night view of Plaza de Cibeles (square) in Madrid (Spain), with Christmas lights.

Puerta del Sol in Madrid is a very popular place for nightlife.

The dehesa landscape typical to some inland parts of Spain

The Picos de Europa National Park in the Green Spain

El Aquelarre, Francisco de Goya. Lázaro Galdiano Museum.

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA).

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC).

Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB).

As of October 2016, Spain has 45 total sites inscribed on the list, third only to Italy (51) and China (50).

Tourism in Italy

One of the economic sectors of the country.

The Colosseum in Rome, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.

The city of Venice, ranked many times as the most beautiful city in the world.

Milan Cathedral is a busy tourist spot in Milan. It is the world's 4th biggest cathedral and took over five centuries to complete.

The Amalfi Coast seen from Villa Cimbrone, in Ravello, Campania, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.

Islands such as Capri became popular in the late 14th century and first decade of the 19th century

The Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the distance. Pompeii is Italy's third and the world's 48th most visited destination, with over 2.5 million tourists a year.

Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome

Ferragosto fireworks display in Padua on 15 August 2010

View of the Parco degli Acquedotti in Rome, where there is a large concentration of Roman aqueducts

Rocca Borromeo di Angera, on the shores of Lake Maggiore

Vesuvius, the only active volcano in Continental Europe.

The Via Francigena in Ariano Irpino, Campania

2006 Turin Winter Olympics opening ceremony

Colonne di San Lorenzo in Milan, Lombardy

The rainbow flag flies in Capocotta, a gay-friendly beach on the Italian Mediterranean Sea

The entrance to Gardaland seen from inside the amusement park

Map of the Italian diaspora in the world

University of Bologna, established in AD 1088, is the world's oldest academic institution.

The Fénis Castle, 13th century (Aosta Valley)

View of Lucca, Tuscany, from the Torre Guinigi

San Francesco di Paola, Naples, in Piazza del Plebiscito.

Piazza della Signoria in Florence with the Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia dei Lanzi

Venice, with the Rialto Bridge in the background.

The Duomo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Mirror Gallery of the Royal Palace of Genoa.

Derby della Madonnina (15 February 2009)

Out of Italy's 58 heritage sites, 53 are cultural and 5 are natural.

Culture of Italy

Considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower.

St. Peter's Basilica, a representation of Renaissance and Baroque architecture

The Sistine Chapel ceiling, with frescos done by Michelangelo

Roman mosaic of Virgil, the most important Latin poet of the Augustan period

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is an Italian art masterpiece worldwide famous.

Florence Cathedral, Arnolfo di Cambio, campanile by Giotto dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi.

the EUR in Rome is a perfect example of modern Italian architecture

Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana Store on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas

Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages. His epic poem The Divine Comedy ranks among the finest works of world literature.

Alessandro Manzoni, one of Italy's greatest 19th-century writers.

Federico Fellini, considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century.

The Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the "Big Three" alongside Cannes and Berlin

Antonio Vivaldi, in 1723. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons

Giuseppe Verdi, one of Italy's greatest opera composers. Portrait by Giovanni Boldini.

Galileo Galilei, the founder of modern experimental science.

iCub robot at the Genoa Science Festival, Italy, in 2009

David, by Michelangelo (Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence, Italy) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.

the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Commedia dell'arte troupe Gelosi in a late 16th-century Flemish painting.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, possibly one of the most famous and iconic examples of Italian art

The Creation of Adam is one of the scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, painted by Michelangelo sometime between 1508 and 1512.

Brunello di Montalcino is one of Italy's finest red wines, made around the town of Montalcino from a Sangiovese variant known locally as Brunello.

The espresso comes from the Italian esprimere, which means "to express," and refers to the process by which hot water is forced under pressure through ground coffee.

Chiostro of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Palazzo della Carovana, the current seat of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.

The Colosseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire.

Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1486). Tempera on canvas. 172.5 cm × 278.9 cm (67.9 in × 109.6 in). Uffizi, Florence

St. Peter's Basilica is the world's largest Christian church. It is the second church to stand above the crypt (tomb) believed to hold the body of Saint Peter, the first pope.

The discovery of the New World by Christoper Columbus.

Italy has been a home for innovation in science in the centuries since Galileo formulated his theories of planetary movement.

The Roman Empire provided an inspiration for the medieval European. Although the Holy Roman Empire rarely acquired a serious geopolitical reality, it possessed great symbolic significance.

William Shakespeare is an example of an Italophile of the 16th century.

The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., reflects the president's admiration for classical Roman aesthetics.

Pinocchio Disney film is based on The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.

Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest painters and most versatile geniuses in history.

Andrea Palladio is often described as the most influential architect in the Western world.

Antonio Meucci, c.1880, inventor of the first telephone

Marchese Guglielmo Marconi was the inventor of radio.

The historic seat of the Corriere della Sera in via Solferino in Milan.

Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, since 3 February 2015.

Milan Cathedral is the fourth-largest church in the world.

The celebration of the Azzurri for the first victory (of four) in the 1934 World football championship

A Ferrari SF70H by Scuderia Ferrari, the oldest surviving and most successful Formula One team.

Italy is home to the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (58) to date, and according to one estimate the country is home to half the world's great art treasures.

Sassi di Matera

The Sassi di Matera are two districts (Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano) of the Italian city of Matera, Basilicata, well-known for their ancient cave dwellings inhabited since the Paleolithic period.

Along with the park of the Rupestrian Churches, it was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

Lists of World Heritage Sites

List of the lists of World Heritage Sites.

List of World Heritage Sites in Italy

Dugout (shelter)

Shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground.

Dugout home near Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940

An Indigenous Australian dugout near Cunnamulla, Queensland around 1910

A "plaggenhut" in the Netherlands in Themepark de Spitkeet, Harkema

A reconstruction shows the pit dug below ground, four supporting posts, roof structure as a layers of wood and mud, and entry through the roof; Step House ruins at Mesa Verde National Park.

Zonnebeke church dugout constructed by 171st Tunnelling Company in 1918 (model)

Steps leading down to a German deep dugout at Bernafay Wood, near Montauban, used in the Battle of the Somme, 1916

Zemlyanka used by partisans near Nýrov, Czech Republic, preserved as a WWII memorial

Matera has gained international fame for its ancient town, the "Sassi di Matera" (meaning "stones of Matera"), which is UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

Underground living

Underground living refers to living below the ground's surface, whether in natural or manmade caves or structures.

An underground house in the Sassi di Matera, Italy

An underground jewellery shop in Coober Pedy

An example of an excavated house in Brhlovce, Slovakia

Caves (Constructed)/Dugouts are a common structure for underground living. Although the tunnelling techniques required to make them have been well developed by the mining industry, they can be considerably more costly and dangerous to make than some of the alternatives. On the plus side, they can be quite deep. Some examples would be the Sassi di Matera in Italy, declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site, and the town of Coober Pedy in Australia, built underground to avoid the blistering heat of the Outback. One of the traditional house types in China is the Yaodong, a cave house. Also, see the Nok and Mamproug Cave Dwellings in Togo, Africa.