The most beautiful places in Italy, in pictures

Here are our favourite pictures of Italy – the most beautiful we've seen of its rich and glorious tapestry

2 July 2021

There's no denying that Italy is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Romance, art and history is everywhere – even the most humble hilltop village reveals the most picturesque treasures; its iconic cities leave you breathless at every turn: Rome's crumbling, ancient remains; Palermo's pink Baroque faded grandeur; Florence's honey-hued splendor; heart-stopping Venice, dancing with light reflections. Then there are Italy's natural wonders – the rolling hills of Tuscany; the elegance of the Italian Lakes; the sensational coastlines of the Sorrentine Peninsula, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre. Italy has been capturing hearts and inspiring artists and writers for centuries. And yet still it turns up undiscovered delights like under-the-radar Ponza or raw and gritty Calabria with its wild beaches.

Kerry Wheeler
Lazy days spent on the Ischian coast, a volcanic island in the Gulf of Naples.
Stuart Cantor
'The Jewel' shot by Stuart Cantor in Portofino.
Kerry Wheeler
Val d’Orcia, a hilly region of rural Tuscany.
Oliver Pilcher
A street in Tropea on the east coast of Calabria.

Kerry Wheeler
A busy day at the beach in Polignano a Mare, Puglia.
Francesco Lagnese
View of Fori Imperiali in Rome.
Kerry Wheeler
A beach club in Puglia.
David Loftus
View of the swimming deck at the Parco dei Principi hotel in Sorrento.

Kerry Wheeler
The Saturnia Hot Springs in Tuscany.
Kerry Wheeler
Jumping into the sea at Grotta della Poesia in Puglia.
Oliver Pilcher
A misty day on Lake Como.
Kerry Wheeler
Views of Polignano a Mare's old town in Puglia.

Kerry Wheeler
Cooling off in Ischia.
Oliver Pilcher
Diving into Lake Como from a classic riva.
Kerry Wheeler
The beach club at the pretty Mezzatorre Hotel in Ischia.
Oliver Pilcher
View of Positano from the Il San Pietro di Positano hotel, on the Amalfi Coast.

Kerry Wheeler
A day at the beach in Puglia.
Tabitha Joyce
Near to Amalfi's lemon groves and hidden-away towns, Hotel Santa Caterina has a prime spot on the beautiful coastline.
@sextantio
The bedrooms at Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita in Matera open with a giant metal key and are dimly lit by several cream candles, mimicking Matera’s cityscape at early dusk. Find more of the best hotels in Puglia.
Catherine Mead
Castello Del Nero is a towering 12th-century castle in Tuscany that has had a smart minimalist makeover by the Singapore-based COMO Hotels.

The Mandarin Oriental is one of Lake Como's latest additions – one of our best new hotels in Italy – and has transformed the Como scene's musty image. It occupies the former home of opera singer Giuditta Pasta, and only became a hotel in 2010.
Karel Balas
Il Palazzo Experimental is an impressive hotel in a beautifully restored Renaissance palace overlooking the Giudecca Canal in Venice.
Stefano Scatà
Panoramic view of the Grand Canal from Apartment Wagner at Palazzo Polignac in Venice.
Oliver Pilcher
A view over rooftops in Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

iStock
Colourful buildings surrounding the marina in Vernazza, a village on Italy’s rugged Ligurian coast.
Serena Eller
The neoclassical exterior of Villa Valguarnera in Sicily.
Oliver Pilcher
A view of Villa del Balbianello in Lake Como.
Stefano Scatà
View of La Salute church from Villa F, Venice

Oliver Pilcher
On Lake Como: a Riva, hired from Cantiere Nautico Matteri Erio, with the western shore in the background.
Stefano Scatà
The view from Casa Fontana in Ponza.
Alamy
An elevated view of Sorrento and the Bay of Naples, with smoking Mount Vesuvius in the background.
Bill Phelps
A vintage car in Palermo, Sicily.

Oliver Pilcher
The pontoon at Villa Lario, Lake Como.
Oliver Pilcher
Gardens at the Villa d'Este hotel in Lake Como.
Oliver Pilcher
The terrace and swimming pool at Villa Paola in Calabria.
Grégoire Kalt
A boat chugs along the Grand Canal in Venice.

David Loftus
The terrace at La Conca del Sogno in Massa Lubrense, on the Sorrentine Peninsula.
Oliver Pilcher
A shuttered window in the town of Bellagio in Lake Como.
Ken Kochey
Vibrant Bougainvillea at Borgo Egnazia, Puglia.
Oliver Pilcher
Swimming at Casa Privata hotel in Praiano, Amalfi.

Oliver Pilcher
The swimming pool at Villa Paola in Calabria.
Oliver Pilcher
On the pontoon at Villa Lario, Lake Como.
Alamy
Milan's Piazza del Duomo.
The terrace at Palazzo Margherita, in Bernalda.

Serena Eller
An antique chaise longue in the Zodiac Room at Villa Valguarnera in Sicily.
Matthew Buck
View from Villa San Michele in Capri.
Oliver Pilcher
Santa Maria dell'Isola Monastery in Tropea, Calabria.
Matthew Buck
Houses built into the hills in Modica, Sicily.

Grotto dining at Borgo Santo Pietro in Tuscany.
John Rizzo
Street view of the Duomo in Florence.
On the coast at Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi.
Oliver Pilcher
View of the western shore from the pontoon at Villa Lario.

Renato D'Agostin
Montferrat in Piedmont, northern Italy.
Lucas Allen
A view of the Isola Bella, on Lake Maggiore.
Lisa Limer
A view of Marettimo, one of the Aegadian Islands in western Sicily.
Michael Paul
Wisteria on a balcony in Modica, Sicily.

Stefano Scatà
Ca' delle Vele, Dorsoduro, Venice.
Guillaume Bonn
The Palio di Siena horse race in Tuscany.
Stefano Scatà
A view of the Grand Canal from Palazzo Alvera Altana, San Marco, Venice.
Alamy
A birds-eye view of an Amalfi Coast beach.

Oliver Pilcher
Vecchio Granaio in Tropea, Calabria.
Oliver Pilcher
Villa Paola in Calabria.
Oliver Pilcher
Tropea in southern Italy.
Rex
Shady canals in Venice.

Stefano Scatà
The harbour at Lacco Ameno in Ischia.
Bill Phelps
Back streets in Palermo, Sicily.
Renato D'Agostin
At the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d'Este classic and vintage car competition, on Lake Como.
Bill Phelps
A rainy street Palermo, Sicily.

Michael Paul
A door in Noto, Sicily.
Exterior of Villa Feltrinelli, Lake Garda.
Stefano Scatà
Exterior of Calle delle Erbe in Giudecca, Venice.
Lucas Allen
Poolside at Grand Hotel A Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda.

Michael Paul
A grand town hall in Sicily.
Stefano Scatà
Palazzo Contarini Polignac, Dorsoduro in Venice.
Alamy
The view from the belltower of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.
Michael Paul
San Giorgio Cathedral in Modica, Sicily.

Michael Paul
A rug drying on a balcony in Modica.
The Napoleone Suite at Residenza Napoleone III in Rome.
Patricia Parinejad
View from the lakeside restaurant terrace at Il Sereno Hotel, Lake Como.
Stefano Scatà
Interior of Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Dorsoduro, Venice.

Serena Eller
The Apollo Room at Villa Valguarnera in Sicily.
Oliver Pilcher
The coastal road to Ravello on the Amalfi Coast.
Michael Paul
A backstreet in Modica.
Matt Buck
Bathers in the sea at Mondello Beach in Palermo, Sicily.
The 10 best beaches in Italy

David Loftus
View of the swimming deck, with Mount Vesuvius in the background, from La Minervetta hotel in Sorrento.
Matthew Buck
On the beach at Marina Grande, Capri.
Oliver Pilcher
Quattro Scogli beach in Calabria.
David Loftus
Twisty streets in Sorrento.

Stefano Scatà
Lunch at La Marina Casa Feola in Ponza.
Serena Eller
The Casino Room at Villa Valguarnera, Sicily.
Stefano Scatà
Salon entrance of Villa F in Giudecca, Venice.
The sun-dappled restaurant terrace at the Monteverdi hotel in Tuscany.

The terrace of Tenuta Borgia Estate in Pantelleria, Sicily.
Stefano Scatà
The living room of Apartment Wagner at Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Dorsoduro, Venice.
A view over the garden suites at Borgo Santo Pietro in Tuscany.
Francesco Lagnese
Views from Giardino degli Aranci in Rome.

Ken Kochey
At Don Ferrante - a former fortress turned boutique hotel in Monopoli, Puglia.
Matt Buck
The Monaci delle Terre Nere hotel and surrounding country estate in the foothills of Mount Etna in Sicily.
View of Castello di Vicarello, near Grossetto in Tuscany.
The estate of Castello di Casole in Tuscany.

View of Monaci delle Terre Nere country hotel in Sicily.
Oliver Pilcher
In the gardens at Lake Como's Villa d'Este hotel.
Stefano Scatà
Fonte Avellana Abbey in Le Marche.
Matthew Buck
View from the terrace at JK Place hotel in Capri.

Stefano Scatà
View of Lido Bosco Verde in Savelletri, Puglia.
Johanna Huber/SIME/4Corners
Cala Coticcio in Caprera on the Maddalena archipelago.
Michael Paul
Shutters in Scicli, Sicily.
Michael Paul
Corso Umberto Emanuele, the main street in Noto.

Michael Paul
Palazzo roofs in Noto.
Matthew Buck
Busy streets in Palermo.
Sophie Delauw
La Ménagére in Florence, Italy.
Paolo Giocoso/SIME/4Corners
Cala Soraya in the La Maddalena archipelago.

Michael Paul
Noto's baroque theatre.
Alamy
Alzaia Naviglio Grande in Milan.
Delfino Sisto Legnani & Marco Cappelletti
The view from T Fondaco dei Tedeschi.
Furore, a town dangling over the coast.

Lucas Allen
View of the pool and beyond at Villa e Palazzo Aminta, Lake Maggiore.
Stefano Scatà
A cemetery in Ponza.
Stefano Scatà
Ceramic paints in Ponza.
Lisa Linder
Street in Testaccio, Rome.

Maurizio Camagna
Roscioli restaurant, Rome.
Getty
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.
Oliver Pilcher
Rooftop view from Monastero Santa Rosa in Amalfi.
Oliver Pilcher
The view from a sea plane over Lake Como.

The Champagne bar at Le Sirenuse in Positano.
Outdoor pool and surrounding countryside at Castello di Reschio in Umbria.

TopicsPhotography Art & Culture Style & Culture Italy Europe