885 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.

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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.

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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

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	1632	July 23, 2019
Uffizi Gallery Trip	3 July 30, 2019	1023	July 30, 2019
Stumbling Stones of Rome	3 July 24, 2019	1530	July 24, 2019
Drive Through Lazio Countryside	7 May 1, 2020	850	May 1, 2020
Montebore	3 December 3, 2019	1405	December 3, 2019

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Stories About Italy

An <em>Opera dei Pupi</em> heroic knight puppet.

Palermo's Unique, Centuries-Old Puppet Tradition Enters a New Era

The Sicilian city's puppeteers are finding novel ways to keep the art form alive.

by Anna Staropoli

December 10, 2021

The Morettino's coffee plants in Palermo, Italy.

Climate Change and the Dream of Growing Coffee in Sicily

As temperatures rise, one family hopes to establish the world’s northernmost coffee plantation.

by Lorenzo Tondo

October 25, 2021

Podcast: Magical Summer Memories, Vol. 2 – Via Francigena

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

September 16, 2021

On the Italian island of Linosa, locals who once hunted for seabird eggs now see the animals in a new light.

On a Remote Island, Locals Protect Seabird Eggs They Once Hunted

A century-plus tradition on the Italian island of Linosa evolves from sustenance to conservation science.

September 3, 2021

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

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