Italy is home to many natural wonders. Browse our list of five of the best to find your next destination…
1. Mount Etna, Sicily
This brooding volcano in Sicily is one of Italy’s most majestic sights. Virgil himself witnessed an eruption in Roman times, an account of which was recorded in the Aeneid.
Because of its high level of activity, it is one of the UN-designated Decade Volcanoes – a watchlist of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes.
In 1992, the programme successfully diverted a flow of lava away from the town of Zafferana Etnea, which it was en route to destroy.
2. The Dolomites, South Tyrol
This unique Alpine range in northeastern Italy draws thousands of visitors every year to its ritzy resorts and magnificent scenery, summer and winter.
The dramatic, jagged peaks, like canine teeth, are a sight to savour.
3. Grotte di Toirano, Liguria
This network of 70 caves was inhabited in prehistoric times by both cavemen and bears, the skeletal remains of which are displayed in the caves.
Among the most impressive is the Grotta della Basura, with stalagmites and stalactites of all shapes and sizes.
4. Grotta Azzurra, Capri
One of Capri’s many attractions is its Blue Grotto, accessible via a partially submerged entrance.
Inside the water is bright blue, as though lit from beneath.
The light is a reflection from a fully submerged entrance bouncing off the limestone on the cave floor.
5. Terme di Saturnia, Tuscany
Water temperatures reach 37°C as they gush from natural springs outside Saturnia at a rate of 800 litres a second, filling up the pools below.
Wellness seekers head here to bathe in the thermal pools, renowned for their healing properties.
Get more holiday inspiration in our Italian travel archives