Italy is an open-air museum, wherever you look, you always find something to observe, know and visit. Italy is a territory where art and culture are found everywhere, even where less is expected. Just walking through the streets or discovering every corner more hidden, you can find typical Italian wonders.
It is, in fact, the country in the world with the highest number of World Heritage sites, as many as 58 sites present throughout the country. A heritage which represents the legacy of the past from which we all benefit today and which we must pass on to future generations.
The definition of “World Heritage” was born in 1972, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a convention to safeguard sites of “exceptional universal value.”
Every place in Italian territory is rich in both cultural and natural heritage. Some of the sites you can visit while discovering Italy are historic centers, cultural landscapes, volcanoes, mountain systems, villas and historic houses, but there is much more.
The ranking of the 58 Italian sites is very rich, starting from the first places we find Rome, with its magnificent historical city center. Among the places not to be missed in this city, there is the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and St. Peter’s Church.
To follow, Milan, in particular Santa Maria Delle Grazie Church and L’Ultima Cena (The Last Supper), the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
And again, Florence, with its city center full of architecture known all over the world, including the Duomo, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery, as well as the immense Uffizi Museum. In this city, you can immerse yourself in the typical Italian Renaissance atmosphere.
Venice, a city envied worldwide for its fascinating system of canals that crosses it completely and makes it even more characteristic. The main points of interest in this city are St. Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace. There are also famous bridges that connect the streets of the city through the canals and crossing them allows you to fully breathe in the city life.
And other sites not to be forgotten are the villages such as Siena, Ferrara and Mantua. The Italian villages are small towns that retain all their personality and where you can fully discover the culture, typical dishes and traditions of the place. Each village differs from the other and this makes them unique.
The last site that has joined the long Italian ranking is Bologna and its arcades. The city, in fact, is a young and dynamic city, populated by students, but also a city that maintains its historicity and classicism. This is a place where walking under the ancient arcades is a tradition.
But there are also archaeological sites, of which Italy is rich, among these is the site of Agrigento, also called the Valley of the Temples. In the same way the archaeological area of Pompeii and Herculaneum is famous too.
The sea, then, represents another element of value to our Italian heritage. In the ranking we find the Amalfi Coast, with the beaches of Positano and Amalfi among the most beautiful in the area.
And finally, the territory also knows how to satisfy mountain lovers with the magical places that make up the Dolomites, a mountain group that welcomes many natural parks where you can walk in the middle of nature.
Whether it is cities or villages, sea or mountains, it is not difficult to find heritage sites to admire in Italy; the country is brimming with them, and the discovery of this country never ends.
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