70 historic sites
Castles in Italy
From Castel Sant Angelo in Rome to the Norman castles of Sicily, Italy's fortress heritage is without parallel.
italy · Veneto
Doge's Palace
The Doges' Gothic seat of power, where the Bridge of Sighs led from judgment to Venice's darkest cells
italy · Tuscany
Palazzo Pitti
The Medici's private art collection and the most influential garden in Italy, on the quieter side of the Arno
italy · Abruzzo
Rocca Calascio
Italy's highest fortress, alone on an Apennine ridge at 1,460 metres
italy · Campania
Castel dell'Ovo
Naples' oldest castle, rising from the sea on a volcanic island since ancient times
italy · Lazio
Castel Gandolfo
For four centuries the pope's private summer retreat, closed to the world — until Pope Francis opened the gates in 2016 and turned one of the most exclusive addresses in history into a museum anyone can visit
italy · Emilia-Romagna
Castello Estense
A Renaissance power centre rising from its moat in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage city
italy · Emilia-Romagna
Rocchetta Mattei
A self-styled healer's eclectic fantasy of Moorish, Gothic and Romanesque architecture in the Apennine hills
italy · Piedmont
Castello di Manta
An unknown master's International Gothic masterpiece, hidden in the Piedmont foothills
italy · Lombardy
Castello di Vezio
Nine centuries watching over Lake Como, reached by the climb that filters the crowds
italy · Puglia
Norman-Swabian Castle Bari
A Norman fortress rebuilt by a crusader-emperor who negotiated Jerusalem's return without a battle
italy · Piedmont, Turin
Palazzo Madama
Turin's building that contains 2,000 years of architecture in a single structure — Roman gate towers at its core, medieval castle walls around them, and Juvara's Baroque ceremonial facade across the front, all in the middle of Piazza Castello
italy · Piedmont
Turin Royal Palace
The palace where the House of Savoy ruled and Italy was unified — Turin's Royal Palace was the seat of the dynasty that produced both the first and last kings of united Italy, and the state apartments still carry the weight of that pivotal historical role
italy · Campania
Castel Sant'Elmo
A six-pointed Spanish star fortress on the Vomero hill, and the finest panorama in Naples
italy · Emilia-Romagna
Castle of Torrechiara
A 15th-century love letter built in stone — Pier Maria Rossi's castle for Bianca Pellegrini in the Parma foothills
italy · Lazio
Orsini-Odescalchi Castle
A perfectly preserved Renaissance fortress on a volcanic lake, forty minutes from Rome
italy · Marche
Rocca of Gradara
The Malatesta fortress where Dante's Paolo and Francesca are said to have read together — and where the day ended
italy · Piedmont
Castello di Masino
Nine centuries in one family — a fortress refined into a Baroque residence above the Canavese plain
italy · Piedmont
Racconigi Castle
The summer palace of the Savoy kings on the Po plain — a UNESCO royal residence where Italy's monarchs were married and buried, surrounded by 170 hectares of English landscape garden in the Cuneo countryside south of Turin
italy · Piedmont, Lake Maggiore
Castelli di Cannero
The pirate castle of Lake Maggiore — twin island fortresses built in 1403 by brothers who terrorised the lake for a decade, destroyed by the Duke of Milan, rebuilt by the Borromeo family, and reopened to visitors for the first time ever in June 2025
italy · Trentino
Avio Castle
FAI's very first acquisition — a fortress guarding the Adige valley, with rare secular battle frescoes
italy · Valle d'Aosta
Fortress of Bard
Napoleon couldn't take it — so he had it demolished. The Kingdom of Sardinia rebuilt it. Now it holds three museums in the most dramatic Alpine fortress in northwest Italy
italy · Campania
Naples Royal Palace
Four centuries of power on Piazza del Plebiscito — the Royal Palace of Naples served Spanish viceroys, Bourbon kings of the Two Sicilies, and the kings of united Italy, its facade recording each ruling dynasty in stone for those who can read the sequence
italy · Abruzzo
Civitella del Tronto Fortress
The last Bourbon stronghold to fall in Italian unification — Civitella del Tronto's 500-metre Spanish bastioned fortress held out for months after the rest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies had surrendered, making it the Risorgimento's most stubborn last stand
italy · Piedmont
Govone Castle
The hilltop castle where a king came to rest from his kingdom — Carlo Felice of Savoy spent his summers above the Langhe vineyards at Govone; 300 years after it was built, the town's Christmas market fills its UNESCO-inscribed rooms with the lights that Piedmont drives for hours to see
italy · Chianti Classico, Siena Province, Tuscany
Brolio Castle
Italy's oldest continuously family-owned wine estate and the castle where Chianti was invented — the Ricasoli family have held Brolio since 1141, and the Iron Baron codified the Sangiovese-dominant wine formula here in the 1870s that gave Chianti Classico its modern identity
italy · Sicily
Carini Castle
The Norman castle where Sicily's most celebrated ballad was born — the murder of the Baronessa di Carini
italy · Lombardy
Rocca di Angera
The Borromeo family's medieval fortress above Lake Maggiore — with 14th-century frescoes depicting the Visconti victory that shaped northern Italian politics, and a five-century doll museum that is one of the most unexpected draws of any Italian castle
italy · Lazio
Boniface VIII Palace
Where the Avignon papacy began — the hilltop palace in Anagni where armed men seized Pope Boniface VIII in 1303, held him captive for three days, and set off a crisis that moved the papacy to France for 68 years
italy · Tuscany (Val d'Orcia)
Castello di Velona
A medieval Tuscan castle above the Brunello vineyards, transformed into a thermal spa — the GYG day pass at Castello di Velona gives access to infinity pools and spa facilities with Val d'Orcia views, not a tour of historic rooms
italy · Lazio
Chigi Palace
The Baroque time capsule that Bernini built for the Chigi popes — one of the best-preserved 17th-century palace interiors in Italy, its rooms almost unchanged since the age of Alexander VII
italy · Calabria, Cosenza Province, Pollino-Calabria
Rocca Imperiale Castle
Frederick II's Calabrian castle and the Country of Poetry — the Hohenstaufen emperor's 1225 hilltop fortress on the Ionian coast, above the PGI lemon groves of northern Calabria, hosting one of Italy's most distinctive literary festivals each summer
italy · Piedmont
Tagliolo Monferrato Castle
The Marquis's medieval castle in the heart of UNESCO Monferrato wine country — a private Piedmontese fortress where the noble family still leads the tour and pours the wine, in one of Italy's most underappreciated castle-and-tasting experiences
italy · Marche
Rocca di Albornoz
A Spanish cardinal's Italian fortress at €3 — the Rocca di Albornoz sits atop Sassoferrato's highest point in the Marche, built in the 1360s as part of the Avignon papacy's campaign to retake the Papal States, and reached by an original medieval staircase just 55 centimetres wide
italy · Veneto
San Pelagio Castle
The castle from which D'Annunzio flew over Vienna in 1918 — a medieval moated stronghold in the Veneto countryside that now houses Italy's most distinctive aviation museum, dedicated to the propaganda flight that anticipated modern aerial warfare
italy · Piedmont
Villa della Regina
The hillside Baroque villa that the queens of Savoy kept for themselves — with panoramic views over Turin and the Alps, a historic urban vineyard, and a royal afternoon snack still served at the café stop
italy · Veneto
Zumelle Castle
A medieval castle in the Dolomites foothills with a mountain backdrop that most Italian castles cannot match — Zumelle's restored rooms, feudal history, and Medieval Tavern tasting make it one of the most distinctive heritage experiences in the Veneto
italy · Lazio
Castel Sant'Angelo
From Roman emperor's tomb to papal fortress — nearly 2,000 years of history above the Tiber
italy · Lombardy, Mantua — city centre, overlooking Lago di Mezzo
Ducal Palace of Mantua
Five centuries of Gonzaga rule compressed into 500 rooms — and Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi, the room that changed illusionistic painting forever
italy · Tuscany
Palazzo Vecchio
The heart of the Florentine Republic — a 13th-century civic fortress that became a Medici ducal palace, centre of Piazza della Signoria, with the 94-metre tower that has defined Florence's skyline since 1310
italy · Campania
Royal Palace of Caserta
Italy's Versailles — the largest royal palace in the world by volume
italy · Trentino, Trento
Buonconsiglio Castle
Five centuries of prince-bishop rule, and the Cycle of the Months — one of the great masterpieces of International Gothic painting
italy · Tuscany — Montalcino, Siena Province, Val d'Orcia
Castello Tricerchi
A Templar-founded medieval castle in the heart of Brunello country — vineyard walk, sommelier tasting, and a three-course Tuscan lunch
italy · Marche — Urbino, Province of Pesaro and Urbino, central Italy (on a hillside overlooking the Foglia Valley)
Ducal Palace of Urbino
Federico da Montefeltro's Renaissance masterpiece — home to the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche and the legendary inlaid studiolo
italy · Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste
Miramare Castle
A fairy-tale palace on the Adriatic cliffs, built for a tragic archduke
italy · Lazio — Rome, Rione Trevi, Via delle Quattro Fontane
Palazzo Barberini
A Baroque masterpiece by Bernini, Borromini, and Maderno — home to Caravaggio, Raphael, and the ceiling that glorifies the Barberini family's rise to power
italy · Sicily, Palermo
Palace of the Normans
The oldest royal palace in Europe — home to the world's most beautiful mosaic chapel
italy · Lombardy — Mantua (Mantova), on the island of Te outside the city walls
Palazzo Te
The Gonzaga's secret theater of power — a Renaissance pleasure villa designed by Raphael's star pupil, covered floor-to-ceiling in myth and illusion
italy · Emilia-Romagna / Montefeltro
San Leo Fortress
Where the Count of Cagliostro died in prison — Francesco di Giorgio Martini's 1479 fortress on a sheer sandstone pinnacle in the Montefeltro, one of the most dramatically sited fortresses in Italy and the cell of the 18th century's most famous impostor
italy · Lombardy, Province of Brescia
Scaligero Castle of Sirmione
A medieval fortress rising from the waters of Lake Garda
italy · Campania
Aragonese Castle
A volcanic island fortress rising from the Bay of Naples — 2,500 years of history above the sea
italy · Sicily
Castle of Caccamo
Sicily's mightiest Norman castle — a feudal fortress on a limestone spur above the Sicanian Mountains, unchanged in outline since the Chiaramonte lords built it in the 12th century
italy · Puglia
Castel del Monte
The most perfect geometric building of the Middle Ages — Frederick II's mysterious octagonal castle on the Apulian plain
italy · Tuscany, Pisa province — Montecatini Val di Cecina/Bibbona, near Bolgheri, coastal Maremma
Castello Ginori di Querceto
The Ginori-Lisci family's coastal Tuscany wine castle — Volterra's medieval frontier reborn as a 1930s Neo-Medieval estate, with archaeologist-guided tastings in the Bolgheri country
italy · Lombardy
Sforza Castle
Milan's Renaissance fortress — where Leonardo da Vinci painted the ceilings and Michelangelo worked on his final sculpture
italy · Tuscany, Livorno — Venezia Nuova canal district
Fortezza Nuova
Buontalenti's star-fort for Medici prestige — only 40% of it survives, but the canal setting is the finest in Livorno
italy · Calabria, Crotone province — Isola di Capo Rizzuto, on the Ionian Sea coast
Le Castella Fortress
A 2,500-year-old fortified islet on the Ionian Sea — Hannibal's refuge, Barbarossa's target, and one of the most photographed castles in Calabria
italy · Basilicata — Melfi, Potenza Province, near Vulture volcano and Laghi di Monticchio
Melfi Castle
Norman conquerors' capital, Frederick II's legal court — a 10-towered Basilicata fortress housing the finds of three millennia of Vulture civilisation
italy · Piedmont
Moncalieri Castle
Inside the normally-closed Savoy staterooms — a 1-hour guided visit to Moncalieri Castle's royal apartments with chocolate and Piedmontese vermouth tasting (Italian-language only)
italy · Tuscany, Siena
Monteriggioni Walled Town
Dante's tower-crowned crown — the most perfect medieval ring fortress in Tuscany
italy · Tuscany, Siena — historic centre, Via di Città
Palazzo delle Papesse
A Renaissance palace built for the women of Siena's Piccolomini popes — wine on the courtyard loggia, views over the rooftops from the terrace
italy · Emilia-Romagna, Ferrara (UNESCO historic centre)
Palazzo Schifanoia
Italy's greatest secular fresco cycle outside Florence — the 1469–70 Hall of the Months where the Este court placed itself under the governance of gods, planets, and the zodiac
italy · Lazio — Rome, Piazza Venezia, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill
Palazzo Venezia
A 15th-century papal residence that became the seat of Mussolini's fascist government — now home to the Museum of the Risorgimento and panoramic Vittoriano views
italy · Liguria / Savona Province
Priamàr Fortress
The fortress Genoa built on Savona's demolished medieval city — a 16th-century Ligurian military complex that replaced a rival city's old town and now houses the official Savona civic museum, with a guided 1-hour tour of the bastions and prison
italy · Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste
Castle of San Giusto
Trieste's hilltop fortress with sweeping views over the Adriatic
italy · Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol (Alto Adige)
Sigmundskron Castle
Reinhold Messner's mountain museum inside a medieval Tyrolean fortress — 3,000 metres of atmosphere, 10 metres above Bolzano
italy · Lazio — Isola del Liri, Frosinone Province, Ciociaria
Boncompagni Castle
A medieval castle on the rock that splits an urban waterfall — Isola del Liri's 27-metre Cascata Grande falls below the Boncompagni walls
italy · Cardaneto di Foligno, Umbria
Cardaneto Castle
A medieval Umbrian castle where you dine like a 13th-century lord — period costumes, mead, entertainment, and a feast
italy · Lozzo Atestino, Colli Euganei, Veneto
Castello di Valbona
A working medieval castle in the Euganean Hills — grand halls, a patrol path, and a working tavern
italy · Montespertoli, Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany
Castle of Poppiano
A living medieval castle and wine estate in the Chianti hills — Guicciardini family tower, barrels, and Colli Fiorentini tastings
italy · Molise — Campobasso, capital of Molise region
Monforte Castle
The 'Redondone' keep above Campobasso — a Lombard fortress summit with panoramic views across the Molise highlands