Abbey of San Fruttuoso & Christ of the Abyss

A day trip to the nearby town of San Frattuso offers a chance to discover the Abbey of San Fruttuoso, a medieval fortification built by monks in the 10th century. Situated in a deep inlet on one of the only true beachfronts in Portofino, the abbey was built to protect this small fishing village from intruders, and remains today accessible only by boat or hiking trail. The monestary, cloisters, Chapter House and church can all be visited along with the Doria tombs, which are preserved here. Perhaps one of the most renowned pieces on display here is Christ of the Abyss, an eight-and-a-half foot bronze sculpture of Jesus Christ underwater, with his head and hands reaching up towards the sky. The statue was submerged in the early 1950’s to protect the sea and divers of the area.

Archeological site at Agrigento: Valley of the Temples, Sicily, Italy

Agrigento: Valley of the Temples

This world-renowned archeological site is a must for travelers interested in Greek history. Divided into an eastern and western zone, the 3,000-acre park boasts eight temples, including the stunning Concordia Temple (the model for the UNSECO logo), which has survived largely intact since 430BC. Fascinatingly, the structure was built on a layer of clay, probably purposefully chosen by its Greek builders, which made it resilient to the earthquakes that felled most of the surrounding temples. These were restructured piece by piece and now frame Concordia as glowing examples of Greek architectural and engineering feats.

The setting is spectacular, and, unlike many archeological sites elsewhere in Europe, Agrigento is practically unguarded, allowing visitors free access to roam among the temples. If you bring a picnic, you can have lunch in the lush the beautiful Garden of Kolymbetra. For a more glamorous meal, reserve on the terrace of the Villa Athena with dead-on temple views.

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Alberobello

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Albeobello is known for its trullis (stone houses with conical-shaped roofs).
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Albino Rocca

Albino Rocca is a Barbaresco winery with a modern-style tasting room and a very personal and educational tasting experience and tour.

Allianz Stadium Juventus

Head here for a football match if there is one during your time in the region. Turin’s team is among the best in Italy.

Ara Pacis

Richard Meier has left his mark on Rome with the museum surrounding the Ara Pacis. The first new structure to rise in the city center in seventy years, it is an essay in mediocrity (he had to compromise his plans over the course of the ten-year project). However, the monument it houses—the Emperor Augustus’s first century B.C. altar to peace, with its superb bas-relief carvings—is one of the great wonders of Rome. The contrast between the work of modern man and that of ancient days is remarkable.

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Sea View-Arco Naturale (Natural Arc) , Capri, Italy

Arco Naturale (Natural Arc)

This geological limestone arch, which rises out of the sea on Capri’s southeastern shore, is best seen from a boat. If you do take the scenic walk from town, about twenty to thirty minutes on Via Matermania, be sure to have lunch at Le Grottelle, a restaurant with gorgeous views right by the arch. On the way back, if you’re up for a longer hike, head to Via Pizzolungo. It snakes along the southern shore past spectacular vistas and villas, and you’ll end up on Via Tragara, where the terrace of the Hotel Tragara makes a perfect spot for a sunset cocktail.

Facade view from Street at Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Arezzo

The main medieval square of Arezzo, Piazza Grande, is lined with the remains of the aristocratic palace and the Vasari Loggia.

Esterno cantina at Argiolas, Sardinia, Italy

Argiolas

Sella & Mosca may be Sardinia’s most widely recognized label, but it is not the island’s best. If you have time, pay a visit to Argiolas, in Sardinia’s southern region, not far from Cagliari. Thanks to consultant Giacomo Tachis, it has developed an international reputation for well-priced wine. Make sure to buy up as many bottles of Turriga, their cult red wine, as you can carry. By appointment only.

Armani Silos entrance 1 at Armani/Silos, Milan, Italy - Courtesy Davide Lovatti

Armani/Silos

Opened in the spring of 2015, this ode to all things Armani is one of the best fashion museums in the world. Housed in a minimalist concrete building, the four-floor museum is stocked with 600 items, some of which date all the way back to the brand’s founding in 1975.

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Auditorium Parco della Musica

Renzo Piano’s design for the city’s auditorium was just as fraught with controversy as Richard Meier’s Ara Pacis, but the final result was more successful. The building was scheduled to open in time for the Jubilee Year of 2000, but due to construction and political delays, the ground breaking finally took place in 2002. (One setback was the discovery of ruins just a few feet below.) The three concert halls seem to float, and have been compared to wood-clad scarabs. Piano said that his hope was to create a “cultural factory” for the city, and with programs that encompass film, theater, music and dance, even literary and science events, it seems to be fulfilling his vision. The curvilinear shapes are visible from afar, and their effect is as much an acoustic success as an aesthetic one. The best way to see it is to attend one of the almost nightly concerts in the three scarab-shaped halls.

Aerial View-Augustus Gardens & Via Krupp,Capri, Italy

Augustus Gardens & Via Krupp

Like many of the world’s memorable sights, the Via Krupp was built to convenience a wealthy man: German steel magnate Friedrich Krupp financed it so that he could have a direct connection between the Marina Piccola and the Quisisana, where he lived on and off in the early 1900s. The resulting zigzagging road, designed by architect Emilio Mayer, is a work of art—a fantastic series of long paths built into a rock face and hairpin turns. The brilliant design is best seen from the nearby peaceful Augustus Gardens, a must visit for nature lovers. After a multimillion-dollar restoration, the Via Krupp reopened in the summer of 2008 (it had been closed since a landslide in the 1976).

two men holding dark purple grapes in a vineyard

Azelia

This Barolo winery is located in Castiglione Falletto and has an excellent tasting experience in a farmhouse with the son of the winemaker.

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Azienda Agricola Giovanni Rosso

This well-known winery in the Serralunga d'Alba area has been run by the Rosso family for generations. Giovanni Rosso is known for its Barolo wines, specifically its single-vineyard Barolo wines such as Vigna Vecchia. At Giovanni Rosso, travelers can visit the barrel room and enjoy a more formal tasting compared to some other wineries in the area. Cooking classes are also available.

Bacaro Lounge

Owned by the Bennetton family, Bacaro sits above the Mondadori bookstore. To Americans this lounge upstairs from the city’s chicest shopping street almost looks like a café in a mall, but to Venetians who live with centuries old palazzos, its contemporary sterile look is considered high-style and hip. The crowd adds the glamour; and food and drinks are surprisingly good.

view from inside contemporary white building with wine bottles on shelf and windows looking to greenery outside

Baglio Occhipinti Winery

This is a special winery of the region that is known for its female winemakers and its natural wines.
Aerial View - Ballooning over Tuscany, Tuscany, Italy

Ballooning over Tuscany

There are a handful of spots on Earth where ballooning is not a gimmick but a must (Cappadoccia, East Africa and Myanmar’s Bagan also figure on this list). Indagare members can contact our Bookings Team for help organizing an early morning flight.

Painting at Bargello National Museum, Florence, Italy - Courtesy Chris Wee

Bargello National Museum

Sculpture fans should definitely make time to see this museum, which has works by Michelangelo and Donatello. Visit midday to enjoy the world’s best sculpture when fewer visitors are present.

very colorful chapel

Barolo Chapel

Located right near the town of La Morra, this colorful chapel overlooking the vineyards was designed by the Ceretto family (of Ceretto Winery) and is the most Instagrammed sight in Piedmont.

Aerial View - Baroque Towns: Noto, Modica, Ragusa , Sicily, Italy

Baroque Towns: Noto, Modica, Ragusa

There are eight late Baroque towns in Sicily’s southeast, but the main ones to visit are Noto, Ragusa and Modica. After an earthquake practically leveled these towns in 1693, they were rebuilt in a style that mimics the late Baroque of mainland Italy and yet mostly features a completely unique expression of Sicilian tastes and sensibilities. Most impressive are the cathedrals at the heart of these cities, built like the rest of the towns with tufa stone, which glows like honey in the afternoon light. The towns can be toured in a day (the drives between each is about 30 minutes).

Noto is a lovely little spot for lunch or a late afternoon passeggiata (don’t miss a coffee, gelato or granite at Caffè Sicilia), while Modica and Ragusa are good places for dinner (Ragusa has an acclaimed two-Michelin star restaurant, while Modica’s restaurants are rustic trattorias).

Driving Times

  • Noto — Modica: 45 minutes
  • Modica — Ragusa: 25 minutes
  • Ragusa — Noto: 1 hour
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Exterior View-Sant’Agostino ,Rome, Italy

Basilica di Sant’Agostino

Not far from the Piazza Navona, this is one of the first Roman Renaissance churches. While its exterior is simple—architect Giacomo di Pietrasanta built the façade with marble taken from the Coliseum church contains the Madonna di Loreto (“Madonna of the Pilgrims”), one of Caravaggio’s most important and influential canvases as well as work from other Renaissance artists.

Baths of Caracalla

Located a short distance from the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, which were built in the early 3rd century AD, were among the Empire’s largest public bathing complexes. The surviving brick walls, some measuring 90 feet in height, were clad in marble, granite and frescoes—fitting surfaces for an opulent public project. The baths were a social destination for Romans of all classes and featured hot, lukewarm and cold rooms, each visited in a ritual order to guarantee hygiene and maximum relaxation. Abandoned in the 6th century AD, the baths fell into ruin and were looted over successive centuries, a fact that does not diminish their grandeur. Today, their hulking walls form the backdrop for the Rome Opera’s summer season.

Aerial View - La Fontelina, Capri, Italy

Beaches

Those who love expansive sand beaches will be disappointed on Capri, which has a rocky coastline. There is a small stretch of beach right by J.K. Place, the only hotel on the island with direct beach access. There are also a few private lidos, where visitors can rent umbrellas and chaises to while the day away. The most popular ones are at La Fontelina, near the Faraglioni rocks, which also has a recommended restaurant, and Lido del Faro, at the foot of the lighthouse in Anacapri. The beaches at the Marina Grande and Piccola are usually overrun in summer (if you must choose between the two, go for Piccola). Of course, your best bet for dipping into the azure of the Bay of Naples is from the deck of a private yacht.

Beaches at Best Beaches , Sardinia, Italy - Courtesy Contini

Best Beaches

Sardinia has many different and wonderful beaches. The trick, of course, is getting them to yourself, and the best way to do that is by taking a boat to one of the outer islands.

Among the best ones on the mainland are: Cappricioli, Piccolo Pevero, Spiagga del Principe, Liscia Ruia, Phi Beach, Porto Pollo, Romazzino and Capo Testa. If you do have a boat, head toward Corsica and the Maddelena archipelago or to Tavolara, which has one beach café on its sandy side.

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Outside view - Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy  - credit Stefan Bauer

Boboli Gardens

These mid-sixteenth-century terraced gardens, behind the Palazzo Pitti, are a nice escape from the crowds in the centro storico. The gardens contain lots of sculptures, fountains and grand allées, making them a fun place to take kids. (Make a list of sights including the Neptune fountain, Egyptian obelisk and sculpture of the court dwarf Pietro Barbino and then make a game out of finding them together.) A fantastic café with a terrace is housed in a lime-green building originally constructed in 1775 for Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Hapsburg-Lorraine, hence its Germanic name: Kaffeehaus. Its hours vary, but it’s worth a stroll to the eastern edge of the gardens (near the exit to the Belvedere fort) to find out if it’s open.

Room Veiw at Bottega del Tintoretto  , Venice, Italy

Bottega del Tintoretto

In a building right next to Tintoretto’s former house in the Cannaregio district, a collective of artists has opened its print shop to offer workspace and classes. The cavernous studio features antique presses and artists at work. Puppets hang from the ceiling, and shelves display artists’ prints for sale. In summer, classes include week-long seminars on drawing, intaglio printmaking and watercolors inspired by Venice.

Lounge at  Brancacci Chapel, Florence, Italy

Brancacci Chapel

This chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Oltrarno, is sometimes called the Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance. Its magnificent fresco cycle was painted in stages by Masolino, Masaccio and Filippino Lippi, but it is the powerfully moving contributions of the young Masaccio (who died at just 27 in Rome) that stand out, especially his Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, depicting a howling Eve and a mortified Adam being driven from paradise by a red-clad angel brandishing a sword, which will stay with you long after your visit. Closed Tuesdays.

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