Italy Archives - Planet Whitley

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, seen from behind the Cathedral.

Pisa travel guide for first time visitors

Pisa isn’t all about the Leaning Tower. Look beyond the thousands of selfie-takers and there’s an engaging Italian city to explore. What is Pisa all about It’s tricky to think of another city so defined in the international consciousness by a single attraction. And, on…

city guides, Italy, Pisa, Tuscany

Siena travel guide for first time visitors

Arguably the most beautiful city in Tuscany, Siena has sensational food and one of the world’s most eccentric festivals. What is Siena all about? It’s hard to rein in the giddiness walking through Siena’s winding hilltop streets. The walls climb high, the decoration leaps out…

city guides, Italy, Siena, Tuscany

View over the rooftops in Trieste, Italy.

Trieste travel guide for first time visitors: Attractions, restaurants & shopping

The Italian city of Trieste doesn’t feel all that Italian – and that’s a major part of the charm. What is Trieste all about? Clear days in Trieste are pretty magical. The water of the Adriatic Sea looks so, so blue, and the mountains rise…

city guides, Italy, Trieste

Orto Botanico, Padua: The world’s oldest Botanic Garden

At Padua’s World Heritage-listed Orto Botanico, the world’s oldest botanic garden throws up some surprises on where our food comes from. Why the Padua’s Orto Botanico is World Heritage-listed Sometimes the new can rudely shoulder-barge the old out of the way without intending to. And…

gardens, Italy, Padua, Veneto

The Crypt of Tibias and Femurs at the Convento dei Cappuccini in Rome.

The Capuchin Crypt – Rome’s most ghoulish attraction

The Capuchin Crypt inside the Convento dei Cappuccini in Rome is not for the easily shocked. Inside are six chambers decorated with human bones, skulls and skeletons. The most macabre attraction in Rome? No-one knows who decorated the Capuchin Crypt in Rome, Italy. There are…

art, dark tourism, Italy, Rome

Why Rome is a brilliant city for solo travellers

Attraction-heavy Rome is an ideal destination for self-indulgent travel without the family. The treat of alone time You only start to realise how great travelling on your own can be when you rarely get to do it any more. It’s a similar vibe to when…

Italy, Rome, solo travel

Cat in the Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome.

How Julius Caesar’s assassination site became a cat sanctuary

Among the ruins of the Largo di Torre Argentina in Rome, a colony of cats has made a happy home. Visiting Largo di Torre Argentina Largo di Torre Argentina in Rome is a very odd place. Roads fairly heavy traffic flank what should be another…

Italy, Rome, wildlife

View from the top of the Torre di Asinelli, Bologna.

Why Bologna is Italy’s most underrated city

Five reasons to consider Bologna as your next Italian city break. When most people think of an Italian city break, they tend to think in terms of the big trio – Rome, Florence and Venice. But there’s one Italian city that flies under the radar…

Bologna, Italy

The Last Supper in Milan: Can I get tickets on the day?

Do not turn up at the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent in Milan expecting to see Leonardo’s The Last Supper on the day. Individual tickets sell out weeks in advance, but you can get in with a tour guide. Where is Leonardo’s The Last Supper?…

art, Italy, Milan, museums

The two things Rome’s piazzas sadly lack

The famous squares of Rome There’s a certain romance to the grand piazzas of Rome. Bernini’s symmetry and classicism makes St Peter’s Square justifiably revered worldwide, the grand fountains of Piazza Navona provide a glorious focal point for the café terraces and elsewhere, restaurants spill…

Italy, parks, Rome