Italy is a country old enough to have mysteries unsolved for centuries, and modern enough to have unsolved cases involving events of the last 50 years. This guide distinguishes between the verified mysteries (documented historical cases with questions still open) and the legends (fascinating stories without a solid documentary basis).
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The unsolved historical and criminal mysteries
The Emanuela Orlandi case (Rome, 1983)
Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican official, vanished on June 22, 1983 at age 15 in Rome, her fate remains unclear after 40 years. The affair has involved the Vatican, the secret services, the Banda della Magliana, and according to some the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. In 2023 the Vatican opened formal investigations and examined some tombs in the Vatican's Teutonic Cemetery (finding them empty). The case is still open and the file has been reopened several times by the Italian judiciary.
The Shroud of Turin: authentic or medieval?
The Shroud of Turin (the burial cloth many believe wrapped the body of Jesus Christ) is kept in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin. The 1988 radiocarbon test (Oxford, Zurich, Tucson) dated the cloth to the 13th-14th century, a result disputed by those who argue the sampled sections came from an area repaired in the Middle Ages. Researchers continue to debate the image (how was it imprinted on the fabric? No known medieval technique explains the three-dimensional quality of the image). The Shroud is rarely exhibited, the next public showing is in 2028 (check at www.sindone.it).
The treasure of Venice: gone after the fall of the Serenissima
When Napoleon occupied Venice in 1797 and ended 1,000 years of the Republic, part of the Serenissima's treasure, documents, jewels, sacred objects, money, disappeared. The escape routes of the Venetian nobles to their mainland properties and to Albania are documented. What they took with them is not. The Venetian archives have significant gaps for the years 1796-1799. The "vanished" heritage has never been found or cataloged, it remains one of the most intriguing archival mysteries in Italian history.
The "mysterious" places in Italy worth visiting
- The Enchanted Forest of Canfaito (MC, Marche): the monumental beech forest with 500-600-year-old trees in the Monti San Vicino, one of the oldest and most "magical" woods in Italy, frequented by porcini hunters who swear they got lost in places they knew perfectly
- The Dragon's Wood (Bomarzo, VT): the Park of the Monsters of Bomarzo (16th century), giant sculptures of monsters, elephants, struggling giants scattered through the wood, commissioned by Prince Orsini in memory of his late wife. The garden's logic and the allegorical meaning of the sculptures have never been fully deciphered
- The stones of the Italian Stonehenge (Pontremoli, MS): the Lunigiana Stelae, human figures in stone from the Bronze and Iron Ages (3,500-800 BC) in the Pontremoli museum (MS) are the oldest known European human sculptures. Their ritual meaning isn't understood
- The crypt of Otranto Cathedral: the 12th-century mosaic on the floor (the Tree of Life, 1163-1165) contains images of Arthur, Alexander the Great, the Tower of Babel, fantastical animals, the iconographic logic of the mosaic is still the subject of conflicting interpretations among historians
Italy mysteries: can you see the Shroud in 2026?
The Shroud of Turin isn't on public display in 2026, the last showing was in 2015 and the next is expected in 2028 (the Jubilee of the Shroud, the year of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea). However, you can admire the case that holds it in the Chapel of the Shroud in Turin Cathedral all year (admission to the Chapel, €8, with an explanation of the cloth's characteristics). The Museum of the Shroud in Turin (www.sindone.org) has full documentation on the history and the scientific research.
Italy mysteries: are the "places of memory" of the Italian massacres of the Years of Lead open to visit?
Yes, many sites of Italy's most traumatic recent history are documented and visitable with the right approach: Bologna Station (the hall where the August 2, 1980 massacre took place, 85 dead, the memorial plaque is on the hall wall, always accessible). Piazza Fontana in Milan (the plaque commemorating the December 12, 1969 massacre, 17 dead, the first massacre of the Italian "strategy of tension"). Via Caetani in Rome (where Aldo Moro's body was found on May 9, 1978), all accessible, all with a palpable historical presence the traditional guides ignore.
Related guides on ItalyPlanner.com
History of Italy Mysterious gardens Secret Rome Ancient traditions Italian architecture Great Italians Hidden Italy Italian filmsThe Italy every traveler deserves to know: practical tips and curiosities
Every trip to Italy accumulates layers of understanding no guide can fully anticipate. But some things you can know before you leave, and they make the difference between a good trip and an extraordinary one. The practical information that follows is what an Italian tour guide would give to friends, not to clients.
How the "shared table" system works in Italian trattorias, and when it's normal to sit with strangers
In some historic Italian trattorias (the most famous example is Trattoria Mario in Florence, Via Rosina 2) the system is shared tables, you don't have a private table but sit wherever there's room, even next to strangers. This isn't rudeness or a shortage of seats, it's the original system of the Italian osterie where people sat where they found room and the wine was shared. In trattorias with the shared-table system: go in, say how many you are, the waiter shows you a spot. Start eating independently of the others at the table (you don't wait for the whole table to be served together). The upside: you often end up talking with the Italian table-mates, who are almost always happy to recommend dishes or tell you about the place. The only mistake to avoid: asking for a private table in a trattoria (informal family-run restaurant) that works only with the shared system, they'll kindly tell you it isn't possible.
Which Italian food chains and supermarkets are best for quality food shopping
For tourists who want to take home quality Italian products at supermarket prices instead of wine-shop prices: Eataly (in the main cities, www.eataly.it, high-quality DOP/IGP products in a curated setting but at high prices). Esselunga (Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, the Italian supermarket with the best food department for value). Conad (a national chain, good food departments in the big cities). LIDL Italia (surprisingly good for regional products at rock-bottom prices, LIDL's "Ital" line includes parmesan, ham, and pasta of acceptable quality). For wine: independent wine shops give personalized advice far better than the big retailers, search "enoteca (wine bar and shop)" + the city name on Google and pick the ones with the most Italian-language reviews.
How to handle payments, currency exchange, and cash transactions in Italy in 2026
Italy is formally cashless-friendly (POS required for all merchants since 2022) but in practice still cash-dependent in many contexts. The practical rule: always keep €50-100 in cash for emergencies (parking, tips, markets, neighborhood bars, minor emergencies). For withdrawals: Italian ATMs of national banks (Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit) don't charge fees on withdrawals with Visa/Mastercard cards, the fees you pay are your issuing bank's. Currency exchange at airport counters and the downtown "Bureau de Change": almost always 3-8% worse than the interbank rate, use bank ATMs instead. Fintech travel cards (Revolut, Wise) give rates closest to the interbank rate with no fixed fees, they're the optimal solution for international travelers visiting Italy for more than a week.
8 Italian facts very few travelers know
- Parmigiano Reggiano is tested by a "battitore" (the specialized cheesemaker who taps the wheel with a small hammer and listens to the sound), wheels that are "hollow" inside (defective) are identified by the dull sound instead of the compact one. Every single wheel is checked this way before receiving the DOP brand.
- Rome is built on seven original hills (the Aventine, Capitoline, Caelian, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, Viminal) but today counts 15 administrative hills, the original seven were those of the Etruscan-Latin settlement of the 9th-8th centuries BC.
- The word "pizza" appears for the first time in a medieval Latin document of 997 AD in Gaeta (LT), 800 years before modern Neapolitan pizza with tomato (the tomato only reached Europe in the 16th century from the Americas).
- Etna is the highest volcano in Europe (3,357 m in 2026, the height varies slightly after each significant eruption that adds or removes material from the summit craters).
- The port of Genoa is Italy's first port by freight traffic (over 60 million tons/year) and the third in the Mediterranean after Marseille and Valencia, Liguria's economy depends on the port much as Rotterdam depends on its own.
- The original Fiat 500 (1957) was the first mass-consumer product of Italy's postwar middle class, the symbol of the Italian "economic miracle" of the 1950s-60s. It was produced continuously until 1975, then revived with the new 500 in 2007.
- Italy has more white roads (unpaved dirt roads) than any other European country of comparable size, about 130,000 km of white "strade vicinali" crossing the rural landscape. The Sienese white roads of the Chianti became famous in world cycling with L'Eroica (the vintage-bike race that runs them every October).
- The Carnival of Venice is historically the longest Carnival in Italy, it ran from December 26 to Shrove Tuesday (47 days) in the Republic of Venice. The mask guaranteed the anonymity that let Venetians cross class barriers and do what they couldn't in ordinary life, it was used even for secret diplomatic negotiations.
Practical questions about Italy every traveler should know
How does the limited-traffic-zone (ZTL) system work in Italian historic cities, and how do you avoid the fines?
ZTLs (Limited Traffic Zones) are the most effective mechanism for generating automatic fines for tourists with rental cars, the OCR cameras read the plates and send the notice to the rental company, which passes it to the customer. The main ZTLs to know: Florence (the historic center is almost entirely ZTL 24/7, NEVER drive into central Florence). Rome (a ZTL in the center with variable hours, some 24/7, hotels often have a temporary authorization for guests). Siena (the historic center is ZTL, park outside the walls). Bologna (the complex T-Days system, check www.iperbole.bologna.it/ztl). To check: search "ZTL + city name" + "mappa" on Google for the current official maps. The Waze app flags the ZTLs in real time better than Google Maps. Prevention is worth infinitely more than appeal: a ZTL fine is nearly impossible for a foreign tourist to contest successfully, and it lands in your mailbox or on your credit card 2-3 months after you've gone home.
What to do if your Italian hotel doesn't match the online description: your rights as a consumer
The Italian legal framework is clear: the hotel service must match what was described and sold (the Consumer Code, Legislative Decree 206/2005, and EU Regulation 1286/2013 for online bookings). In practice, if the hotel doesn't match the description: (1) document everything with photos and video at check-in; (2) speak immediately with the property manager, many problems are solved on the spot with an upgrade or a price reduction; (3) if the problem isn't solved: contact the booking platform (Booking.com, Airbnb), which has specific refund or rebooking procedures; (4) for flights with a hotel included (vacation packages): the Tourism Code (Legislative Decree 79/2011) gives you the right to equivalent alternative lodging at the organizer's expense. ENAC (for flights) and the Giudice di Pace (for hotel services) are the formal complaint bodies, rarely needed if the online booking platform is involved.
How to get around Italy with small children (under 5): transport, admissions, services
EU children under 18 enter Italian state museums free, show the passport or the European health card. Children under 6 travel free on Trenitalia trains (without booking a seat for them, they sit on your lap. If you want a reserved seat, it costs €5). Strollers on high-speed trains: allowed (there are spaces in the carriage near the door). On the station stairs not served by elevators it's a problem, the main stations (Roma Termini, Milano Centrale, Firenze SMN) have elevators. Many secondary stations don't. Museums with nursing facilities: the Vatican Museums and the Uffizi have dedicated nurseries inside. Venice with a stroller: not advisable (354 bridges = 354 sets of steps), use a baby carrier or an ultralight folding stroller you can lift yourself.
How to find quality lodging in Italy during peak-season weeks when everything looks sold out
The strategies that work when Booking.com and Airbnb show everything sold out: (1) Search the towns/villages 30-40 km from the main destination, Fiesole for Florence, Tivoli for Rome, Mestre for Venice, Sorrento for the Amalfi Coast; (2) Look for small B&Bs (1-5 rooms) directly on Google Maps filtering for "B&B + city name", many never register on the big platforms; (3) Email hotels directly in Italian (use Google Translate), some hold rooms for direct bookings the OTAs show as sold out; (4) Check vacation homes on Airbnb instead of hotels, peak-season availability for private homes is often higher than hotel availability; (5) Agriturismo.it has a network of farm-stays with rooms the big platforms often ignore, in the Ferragosto weeks (August 10-20) it can be the only reasonably priced option in rural areas.
Italy in surprising numbers
- Italy has 58 UNESCO World Heritage sites (2025), more than any other country in the world. China is second with 57, France third with 53.
- 78% of Italian municipalities have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, Italy's municipal fragmentation (over 7,900 municipalities) is the highest in Europe for a country of this size.
- The Italian agri-food sector is worth €600 billion/year, 15% of the national GDP. Italy exports €7.7 billion/year of wine (the world's top exporter), €2.2 billion of olive oil, €4.4 billion of cheese.
- Rome has more public fountains (2,500+) than any other European capital, the network of Roman aqueducts still partly feeds the urban water system today through channels built in the 1st-2nd centuries AD.
- Ferrari deliberately produces fewer cars than it could sell, the average waiting list for a Ferrari is 3-4 years. Every Ferrari is assembled by hand in Maranello (MO) in about 90 working days.
- The Italian healthcare system is ranked 2nd in the world by the WHO (behind France) for quality, Italian ERs treat all emergency patients regardless of nationality or insurance coverage.
- The Po (682 km) is the longest river in Italy and runs through the Po Plain, which produces 40% of the national GDP on a territory that is 15% of the country, the Po Plain is Italy's most important agricultural and industrial area.
- Sicily has the highest concentration in Europe of Magna Graecia sites (Greek colonies of the 7th-5th centuries BC), Agrigento, Syracuse, Selinunte, Segesta, Eraclea Minoa, Morgantina, Gela were all Greek cities larger and richer than many cities of mainland Greece.
