Italy isn’t just frescoed ceilings and sunbaked piazzas — slip beyond the olde worlde city walls and an entirely different world opens up. Snow-dusted peaks, emerald-green forests and cliffside paths unfurl across a country that feels, at times, wonderfully untamed. If you’ve ever wondered where to find the best national parks in Italy, the answer isn’t as obvious as you might think — and a few of them might just surprise you.
Cinque Terre National Park
Cinque Terre might be Italy’s smallest national park, but it punches well above its weight as a top UNESCO World Heritage Site. This cliffside stretch of the Ligurian coast is all pastel houses, terraced vineyards and footpaths carved into the rock, with the sea glistening below.
