For your next holidays in Italy, allow yourself to dream big.
With summer just around the corner, the desire to travel increases.
Discover the Italian places that have nothing to envy to the rest of the world: from Sicily to Lombardy, here are 7 unique places that recall famous destinations around the world.
For an unforgettable experience, follow our travel tips and stay comfortably in the iH Hotels most suited to your travel style.
The flamingos of the Molentargius Park as in Aruba
In the province of Cagliari there is a place that resembles some beaches on the island of Aruba! We are talking about the Molentargius Regional Natural Park and its salt pans that boast very special inhabitants: the famous pink flamingos, one of the natural wonders of Cagliari. Here, in the Bellarosa pond, at the beginning of the 90s they found their natural habitat, settling perfectly in the unspoiled nature of Sardinia.
The Valley of the Temples of Agrigento like Greece
Where to find a bit of Greece in Italy? Simple, in Sicily!
A wonderful walk through history in the splendid Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, a vast archaeological area which with its 1300 hectares is considered the largest of its kind in the world. Visiting the archaeological park of Agrigento is equivalent to flying to Hellenic land but staying in Italy. Here an extraordinary monumental and landscape heritage of the classical age is preserved.
Matera like Israel
What about the city of the Sassi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: with dwellings, houses and shops carved into the rock, they seem to accompany visitors on a journey through time, far from contemporary modernity, and in space, towards Israel. Staying in Italy this summer is a unique opportunity to visit the Sassi of Matera and walk through the history of its ancient rock environments. In addition, for those who do not know, the city was the location of the famous film "The Passion of the Christ", directed and starring Mel Gibson.
Sammezzano Castle: Iran or Tuscany?
Italy is a country that can continually leave us speechless, a lifetime would not be enough to be able to visit all its villas, gardens, mountains, seas, hills and castles. Our beautiful country is full of castles from different historical periods, but the Sammezzano Castle in Florence is truly one of a kind: the outside looks elegant but the inside is the real surprise! The building is built in an eclectic style that strongly recalls an oriental origin. The halls with the faces, the kaleidoscopic geometric patterns, the stuccoes, the tiles and the countless decorations make you feel immediately in Iran. It is a splendid example of the cultural current called "Orientalism" that has characterized many European buildings since the early nineteenth century.
(photo from the web)
Rocchetta Mattei, a small Alhambra near Bologna
At Grizzina Morandi, not too far from Bologna, on a hill 407 meters high, there is a surreal castle halfway between a Disney castle and the Alhambra in Granada, the palace of a Thousand and One Nights. For a journey through fragrant gardens and magnificent fountains, just choose to spend your holidays in Italy in Emilia Romagna, in the province of Bologna, and discover truly unique and special places. Built on the remains of an old fortress, it is a labyrinth of spiral staircases, mosaics and decorated rooms. Curiosity> Rocchetta Mattei was created by an eccentric man who wanted to cure the world: Count Cesare Mattei, father of electro-homeopathy.
(photo from web)
The Navigli of Milan: a small Amsterdam
As in the canals of Amsterdam, even in the capital of fashion and design, you can get lost in the beauty of the canals. Walking along the canals of Milan you will feel like you are in Amsterdam, among colorful houses overlooking the water and green corners to be discovered! In particular, along the Naviglio Martesana - in the north-eastern area of the Lombard capital - local, cycle and pedestrian paths allow you to get away from the city vortex and enjoy a well-deserved break.
A neighborhood in Rome like London's Notting Hill
IThe Flaminio district of Rome hides a special place called “Little London”. A private street that represents a sort of Notting Hill but of the Capital: with its colorful houses, iron gates and buildings with elements treated in every detail, typical of the London area, it will really seem to be in England! Suddenly, between the high-rise buildings of Viale del Vignola and those of Via Flaminia, a pedestrian alley paved with cobblestones appears on which houses rise with colored facades that recall the London neighborhoods such as Chelsea: it is one of those surprises that hides the city of Etna and which makes it even more beautiful and unique!