Visit Pisa

Climb 251 spiralling steps up the world's most famous architectural mistake — tilting since 1173

A whole town of trulli — conical drystone houses found nowhere else, white and strange in the Puglian sun

Strike the classic 'holding up the tower' pose at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the iconic 56-meter bell tower in Italy's Piazza dei Miracoli. The tower's famous 3.9-degree lean is the result of an unstable foundation that began sinking during construction in 1173. Besides the tower, explore the adjacent Pisa Cathedral and Baptistery, both masterpieces of Romanesque architecture.

The "Florence of the South" — honey-coloured Baroque churches carved from soft Lecce stone

A city built on water with no cars — gondolas, Byzantine mosaics, and getting happily lost in the back canals

The Renaissance in one walkable city: Michelangelo's David, Brunelleschi's dome, and the Uffizi

A walled medieval upper town above modern Bergamo — Venetian ramparts, funiculars and Lombard charm

The world's smallest state holds its biggest art: St Peter's, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine ceiling