588 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.

Libreria Acqua Alta

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

The Sunken City of Baia

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

Quartiere Coppedè

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

Porta Alchemica

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

See All 588 Things to Do in Italy See All 588 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Italy

Strawberry Tree Fruit

The lychee-looking fruit appears in everything from jam and liqueur to the Aeneid and Madrid's flag.

Threads of God

To eat the world's rarest pasta, you must first complete a 20-mile pilgrimage.

Sfogliatella

This layered pastry from Italy's Amalfi Coast may have origins in a 17th-century convent.

Saint Agatha's Breasts

This ricotta and marzipan pastry honors the Sicilian saint's most noteworthy body part.

See all 62 things to eat in Italy See all 62 things to eat in Italy

Atlas Obscura Trips

Barolo to Truffles in the Shadow of the Alps

Taste your way through Italy’s northwest region of Piedmont, sampling sweets, sipping local wine, and foraging for truffles.

Marina Spironetti

Community Forums / Southern Europe / Italy

Top Discussions in the Italy Travel Forum

Post	Replies	Views	Activity
Where is your favorite place to eat and see something unusual in Rome?	1 July 23, 2019	1154	July 23, 2019
Porta Alchemica	1 July 15, 2019	1365	July 15, 2019
Poor Clares Convent Cemetery	4 November 2, 2019	2639	November 2, 2019
Perpetual Calendar Hidden in an Italian Chapel Is a Mathematical Marvel	2 February 25, 2019	428	February 25, 2019
Uffizi Gallery Trip	3 July 30, 2019	728	July 30, 2019

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Stories
About Italy

Shell game: Neanderthals likely found these cutting tools beneath the waves.

Some Neanderthals Wintered in Italy, Diving for Clams

In the absence of stone tools, bivalves would have to do.

by Isaac Schultz

January 16, 2020

An employee prepares French dragée candies, which fit into a lineage of wedding and confetti edibles.

The Edible History of Confetti

Before the paper variety, nuts, hops, and dates rained down—and put out the occasional eye.

by Christa Weil Menegas

December 30, 2019

A traditional Sardinian cantu a tenòre quartet.

The Many Pleasures of Sardinian Throat Singing

A fiercely unusual musical style from a fiercely independent island.

by Dan Nosowitz

October 8, 2019

A smattering of autobiographical materials at the Archivio Diaristico Nazionale, aka the National Diary Archive.

Welcome to Pieve Santo Stefano, Italy's 'City of Diaries'

Everyday memories—and national history—live on in this tiny Tuscan town.

The village of Colonnata, as seen from the white marble hills.

The Tuscan Town Famous for Anarchists, Marble, and Lard

Now gourmet, lardo di Colonnata once fed miners in Michelangelo's favorite quarries.

by Reina Gattuso

The torchlight turns the village of Novacella into a storybook scene.

Italian Vineyards Are Glowing From the Light of Hundreds of Torches

It's a beautiful, if imperfect, antidote to crop-damaging cold.

by Matthew Taub

Olive groves in the Puglia countryside.

Italian Olive Oil Is Facing a Perfect Storm of Climate and Pests

It may not be long before the country has to import some of its supply.

by Noor Al-Samarrai

Massimo Rapella keeps chickens in a two-acre chestnut forest in Valtellina, north of Milan.

The Italian Farmer Returning Chickens to the Wild

His chestnut forest is home to thousands of hens.

by Vittoria Traverso

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