Ten Overlooked Sights In Italy

When the monthly magazine L'Espresso took a poll to ask Italians what it means to be Italian, people throughout the country overwhelmingly replied their art and history.  The sights in Italy are infinite.  Every kilometer of the country burgeons with historical gems.  While most tourists flock to popular places such as the Vatican, St. Mark's in Venice, or Michelangelo's David in Florence, many more pearls lie hidden in full view.  These places have fewer tourists, yet their historical depth tend to intrigue visitors.  

Here are my top ten picks of overlooked sights in Italy:


10) The Greek Philosophers City in Velia -- The Greek philosophers Parmenides and Zeno lived and lectured among these ruins in the 5th century B.C. The vast complex has a trail that winds up to a hilltop castle built during medieval times.  There's also a Roman theater, a Forum, and a Roman villa tucked behind brush.  Velia is located in the Cilento National Park where you can camp, hike, and enjoy the beaches.

9)  The Abbey and Cemetery of Montecassino -- One of the few remaining territorial abbeys, this monastery is important to scholars because it holds many original codices from the medieval ages.  Built over a Temple of Apollo in the sixth century A.D., the Nazis tried to take over the region in 1944, but a battalion of Polish forces routed them out.  A moving tribute to their heroism can be found at the bottom of the abbey in the form of a large cemetery and memorial.

8)  The Arberesh in Civita, Calabria -- The Albanians are the largest minority in Italy and have been here since the 16th century when they escaped the Ottoman onslaught across the Adriatic.  Today, hotels are named after Skanderbeg and monuments to Albanian heroes are everywhere in this area. The Arberesh have retained an ancient form of Albanian and linguists flock here to study their unique tongue. At Civita, in particular, you can visit the ethnographic museum and walk across a devil's bridge.

7)  The Etruscan Tour -- These mysterious ancients left bulbous tombs in Certeveteri, vibrant fresco tombs in Tarquinia, and a 180-meter deep well on the hilltop of Orvieto. Start at the National Etruscan Museum in Rome and then drive through the countryside to each of these impressive towns.

6) The Paper Makers of Amalfi -- The Valley of the Mills is a hiking trail going past the ruins of Amalfi's famous paper mills, which began their production in the 13th century. At the end of the trail, you can picnic next to a beautiful waterfall.  Thereafter, you can buy some limoncello in Sorrento, enjoy a concert at Ravello, buy ceramics in Vietri sul Mare, or check out the abundance of things to do in this region at one of my all-time favorite blogs:  Ciao Amalfi.

5)  The Villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga -- Emperor Tiberius had a summer home in Sperlonga while he still ruled Rome.  These ruins now contain a mammoth cave and an impressive museum of items that were found inside the villa.  A public beach is right next door.  Sperlonga is also near Gaeta, where you can visit Split Rock, Cicero's Tomb, or follow signs 80 km into the mountains to see the Grotto di Pastena.

4) Medieval Physicians of Salerno -- The oldest medical school on the continent also had the largest number of women physicians. They wrote prescriptions for things like wandering uteruses and worms in the ears. Walking toward the medical school means stopping at the macabre Duomo full of anguished scenes of saints as well as their unburied bones. On the way out of the city, you can follow signs to a hilltop Argonese Castle.

3)  Sailing with Odysseus across Scylla and Charybdis -- Sailing from the Italian mainland to Sicily, a ferry takes you across the Strait of Messina, considered to be the original Scylla and Charbybdis where Ulysses passed. From here, my top picks for travel in Sicily are the ancient ruins of Agrigento and the ancient philosopher-city of Siracusa.

Strait of Messina

2)  Archeological Park of Baia -- Three enormous terraces have baffled archeologists for centuries.  Nobody knows definitively what purpose these ruins served.  Located in the Phlegraean Fields or Fields of Fire, visitors can wander through what looks like baths, steep stairwells, open gymnasium spaces, and three temples, including the Temple of Echoes.

Temple of Echoes

1)  The Sassi Caves of Matera -- These caves date back 7,000 years, but people inhabited them until the 1970's when the government deemed them dangerous and had the caves evacuated.  The picaresque city of Matera cuts into a mountain and you can stay in cave hotels.  Mel Gibson filmed The Passion of Christ here.

Ten Overlooked Sights of Naples

Here are my top ten sights of Naples.  I call them overlooked because they seldom make it into the travel guides and tend to have fewer tourists, but these gems also won't disappoint.  They leave visitors dreaming of mythical lands and legendary heroes.  

10)  Pizzofalcone -- Mythically said to be where the Siren, Parthenope, was born, the rock is located right beside the Military Academy.  Walking around this area feels like a seedy adventure.  The streets behind Piazza del Plebiscito become small and you must ask the locals directions at every block.  Once you reach the rock itself, there's a fine view of Naples.

9)  Entrance to Hades -- Meet Carlo Santillo who will guide you with candles and oil lamps through a Roman military tunnel.  He'll also show you the River Styx and the cave where the Sybil uttered her oracles.

8)  Temple of Apollo Celebrations -- Come before sundown at the summer or winter solstice as well as the vernal and spring equinoxes and a group of nature-minded Italians will be holding a ceremony to bring together all religions and all cultures.  They beat drums and give offerings to nature.  The event is free and hosted by Centro Nuova Era.

7)  The Papyrus Scrolls at the National Library -- Come nose-to-nose with 2,000 year old papyrus scrolls written in Greek and found during the 18th century at the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum.  If you make an appointment, the librarians take you through the backdoors of one of the most prominent and oldest libraries in Europe until you reach this secluded exhibition.

6)  The Macabre Dominicans -- Part of the Naples parallel city, the San Guadioso catacombs hide underneath the Santa Maria della Sanita Church.  Tours show you the tomb of the African San Guadioso, a stunning fresco of Saint Catherine, and the artwork of Dominicans who painted their wealthy patrons using skulls and skeletons.

Burial Niches

5)  Santa Chiara Cloister -- Search for an assassination mystery.  Somewhere on the grounds, Queen Joanna I's remains were dumped.  Still today no marker bears witness to where the excommunicated Queen rests.  Some say they are located up a flight of stairs behind an always locked door.  The Cloister itself is decorated with breathtaking Spanish tiles.

The hallway beyond which Queen Joanna's bones might lie

4)  Purgatory -- The Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco Church has an underground more macabre than the Dominicans.  Since the 17th and 18th centuries, innumerable bones of the deceased have been left unburied here.  In particular, people leave flowers and cards alongside the bones of Santa Lucia, a girl stricken by tubercolosis a few days before she was to wed a Marquis.

Underground Chapel

3)  Santuaria Sacra -- Religious shops along the two famed streets of Decumano Maggiore and Via Tribunali sell items necessary for the more than 200 churches located in downtown Naples.  Priest garbs, Eucharist holders, and knick-knacks are everywhere.  One of the most charming are the silver body parts.  Buy one of these and head down to Gesu Nuovo Church where you can leave your healed or in-need-of-healing body part in the side chapel of San Giuseppe Moscati, a physician saint.

2)  University of Naples Museums -- Winding up a labrynth of stairs, passing students and faculty, several science museums display dinosaur fossils, insects, and artifacts from Troy.

1)  Riccardo Dalisi's Workshops -- Architect, tinsmith artist, and maker of the Alessi version of the Napoletana, walking along Rua Catalana you can enjoy Dalisi's art between buildings and on street corners.  Two workshops are also open, inspired by Dalisi's works.

Inside a Dalisi inspired workshop

Buon Divertimento!