839 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Italy - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Italy

Sorrento, Italy

Valle dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills)

An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

The Monsters of Bomarzo

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.

Torre Argentina (Roman Cat Sanctuary)

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.

The Sunken City of Baia

A submerged archeological park still holds the wonders of a Roman Sodom.

Libreria Acqua Alta

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.

Quartiere Coppedè

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

Porta Alchemica

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Italy

Museo Nazionale delle Paste Alimentari

This delightful little museum is dedicated to only one thing: pasta.

BackDoor 43

One of the world’s smallest bars, just 13 square feet, is brimming with speakeasy flair.

Thermopolia of Pompeii

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.

Servian Wall at McDonald's

Inside this Mcdonald's you can dine on your Big Mac and fries next to a 2,500-year-old Roman wall.

See all 21 places to eat in Italy See all 21 places to eat in Italy

Atlas Obscura Trips

Rome Behind Locked Doors: Music, Magic, and Secret Crypts

Join us as we go beneath Rome’s streets and behind its locked doors to explore hidden and overlooked places, witnessing a capital city that most tourists rarely experience—strange, magical, and filled with intrigue.

Community Forums / Southern Europe / Italy

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Stories About Italy

Cervian mayor Luca Coffari, accompanied by salt historian Eros Marzelli, delivers Cervia Salt to Pope Francis in 2017.

Every Year, This Italian Town Hand-Delivers Salt to the Pope

Cervia's prized product is naturally sweet.

by Karen Burshtein

The storm known as Vaia felled millions of trees in the Alpine region of Italy in 2018.

For Italy's Musical Woods, Threats From Without and Within

Val di Fiemme, source of famed "resonance wood" for instruments, faces wind storms, climate change, and beetle infestation.

by Federico Formica

Children at the edge of Lago Ex SNIA, an accidental lake in eastern Rome that resulted from a construction error in the 1990s.

Rome’s Accidental Lake Is an Urban Refuge and Catalyst for Activism

The body of water, which shouldn’t even exist, has a long history as a source of both controversy and comfort.

by Lidija Pisker

In the days before the harvest, the Rosso brothers measured their cherries.

Meet the Italian Brothers Who Grew the World's Biggest Cherry

The winning fruit was as large as an apricot.

by Federico Formica

This anthropomorphic house in Aliano was rebuilt, following the direction of architect Lodovico Alessandri. It now hosts a pizzeria and rooms for tourists.

The Italian Village Where the Houses Have Eyes

An architect has worked to save Aliano's unusual facial features, thought to ward off the "evil eye."

by Federico Formica

The Farmer Trying to Save Italy's Ancient Olive Trees

A fast-spreading bacteria could cause an olive-oil apocalypse.

by Agostino Petroni

Apple blossoms peeking out of the ice.

Why Italian Apple Farmers Are Coating Their Orchards in Ice

Freezing the trees, blossoms and all, may be the only way to save the crop.

by Vittoria Traverso

A 15th-century painting illustrates the miracle of San Frediano diverting the Serchio River in Tuscany in the sixth century, a local legend that endures in the region even today.

Did Climate Change Cause a Flood of Water Miracles by Italian Saints?

Researchers link a wet period in Tuscany's past with a rise in tales of water-related works of amazement.

by Sofia Quaglia

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