All Italy

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Italy

930 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Italy

Updated March 9, 2023

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Cities

Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Albano Laziale
  2. Anagni
  3. Ascoli Piceno
  4. Asiago
  5. Bacoli
  6. Bassano Del Grappa
  7. Bergamo
  8. Bologna
  9. Bolzano
  10. Bordighera
  11. Borgo A Mozzano
  12. Caprarola
  13. Capri
  14. Castel Sant'elia
  15. Cefalù
  16. Chiusdino
  17. Collodi
  18. Como
  19. Coreglia Antelminelli
  20. Cori
  21. Ercolano
  22. Florence
  23. Genoa
  24. Gubbio
  25. Iglesias
  26. Imola
  27. Lampedusa E Linosa
  28. L'aquila
  29. Lecce
  30. Lido
  31. Livorno
  32. Lucca
  33. Mantua
  34. Matera
  35. Messina
  36. Milan
  37. Modena
  38. Naples
  39. Noasca
  40. Orvieto
  41. Osimo
  42. Padua
  43. Palermo
  44. Palestrina
  45. Pantelleria
  46. Parma
  47. Pavia
  48. Pisa
  49. Pompeii
  50. Ponza
  51. Portici
  52. Possagno
  53. Pozzuoli
  54. Raiano
  55. Ravenna
  56. Rieti
  57. Rimini
  58. Rivodutri
  59. Rome
  60. Rovereto
  61. Rovigo
  62. San Gimignano
  63. Sanremo
  64. Santa Maria Capua Vetere
  65. Segni
  66. Siena
  67. Sirmione
  68. Soriano Nel Cimino
  69. Sperlonga
  70. Stromboli
  71. Syracuse
  72. Torre Annunziata
  73. Trapani
  74. Treviso
  75. Trieste
  76. Turin
  77. Venice
  78. Ventotene
  79. Vernazza
  80. Verona
  81. Vicenza
  82. Viterbo
  83. Volterra

Unusual Attractions in Italy

See All 930 Things To Do in Italy

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Italy

See all 10 Places to Eat in Italy
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Trips

Culinary Naples: Producers, Purveyors, and Pizzaioli

From street food to lavish feasts, piping-hot coffee to smooth aperitivos, folk songs to opera, hilltop farms to urban wilds, immerse yourself in the greatest culinary and cultural experiences of Naples, meeting lively local Neapolitani for whom this is the only way to live.

Learn More

Explore Italy

Sacred Spaces 141
History & Culture 117
Churches 116
Ruins 102
Roman 99
Medieval 77
Ancient 76
Art 72

Italy Leaderboard

Recent Italy Activity

Stories About Italy

The 'Archaeology' of Plastics Is an Exercise in Nostalgia and Dread

An Italian naturalist and guide has turned beach trash and memory into a commentary on our age.
by Alessio Perrone

Podcast: Galileo’s Middle Finger

Investigating a renowned scientist's iconic digit.
by The Podcast Team

The Sauce That Survived Italy's War on Pasta

The Futurists tried to abolish pasta and all they got was this delicious dish.
by Sam Lin-Sommer

Meet Caterina Sforza and Other Warrior Queens History Forgot

From Italy’s fortress-seizing countess to Angola’s battle-hardened Queen Njinga, these women didn’t back down from a fight.
by Sarah Durn

Were These Giant Carved Stones Used to Make Ancient Italian Wine?

Rocky artifacts may offer insight into an Etruscan industry.
by Vittoria Traverso

In This Seaside Town, the New Year Brings a Battle With the ‘Witches of the Sea’

The local Epiphany celebration of Grado, Italy, is inspired by a mysterious band of 16th-century pirates.
by Vittoria Traverso

Rediscovering Calabria's Mystical White Olives

An archeologist is mapping out the last remaining trees.
by Elena Valeriote

The Quest to Make Jellyfish Delicious

Italian chefs are teaming up with scientists to fry, sauté, and pickle the creatures into the food of the future.
by Agostino Petroni

Lists Featuring Italy

The crostata, with the storefront in the background.

7 Extraordinary Jewish Restaurants Around the World

A global map of diverse delights.

7

Including Passticeria il Boccione, Gottlieb's Restaurant, and Nahoum and Sons

Ponte di Cecco

10 Italian Sites Shrouded in Mystery and Legend

The places that inspire one of our top contributors to want to learn more.

10

Including Gaiola Island, Ponte di Cecco, and Church of San Giacomo di Rialto

Madaba Mosaic Map
The gallery of maps, showing the ceiling
Great Polish Map of Scotland

13 Marvelous Maps That Go Way Beyond Paper

Charting the world's most intriguing out-of-the-box cartography.

13

Including Madaba Mosaic Map, Gallery of Maps - Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, and Mapparium

They were built in 1979.
The Howe Street stair corridor is the longest in Seattle.
Seward Street Slides

When Stairs and Slides Are Hiding in Plain Sight

Play real-life Chutes and Ladders at these obscure thruways.

9

Including Secret Tiled Staircase, Winfield Street Slides , and Howe Street Stairs

(Flickr/andreakw)
The bathroom
Some of the decorations include broken crockery that have been priced back together

11 Homes Transformed Into Amazing Mosaics

If you own your property, why not bedazzle it?

11

Including Wyckoff Street Mosaic, La Maison Picassiette, and House of Mirrors

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