An Architect’s Scoop on Italy’s Hidden Gems
By Nicholas Shorter, who studied abroad in Rome, Italy in Spring 2025
Many people know about the ancient marvels of Italy like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and Pompeii, but if you’re studying there for a whole semester like I did, you’ll surely have time to discover more. As part of an architecture program, we visited many lesser-known locations that otherwise I would have never seen: here’s the 4-1-1 on five of my personal favorites.
Located near Tivoli, Villa Adriana is a beautiful ruin that once served as Emperor Hadrian’s base of operations. The layout of the villa was meant to simultaneously seduce and disorient visitors, optimized for both business and security. It contains unique second-century architecture that many Renaissance designers were unaware of, as Vitruvius’ De Architectura, the most popular classical reference, was written in the first century.
While it has gained some notoriety after inspiring the setting of the Pixar movie Luca, the five villages of Cinque Terre are certainly lesser-known than cities like Milan or Venice. All five villages are built into the vineyard-covered cliffs of Tuscany, right outside of Carrara, where Italy’s finest marble is quarried. While most tourists took the train between the five villages, I think hiking affords the best experience of the area. The views on the trails are unforgettable, and the rest in each city feels far more rewarding after working to get there.
The Tarot Garden is a sculpture garden designed and built by Niki de Saint Phalle, a French-American female artist. Based on the esoteric tarot, these mosaic sculptures offer an incredibly unique viewing experience. Some of the sculptures are even inhabitable, pushing the boundaries of what architecture can be: the artist notably lived in the Empress sculpture during construction. This place also has a special connection to Charlotte; Uptown’s ‘Firebird Statue’ is a replica of ‘The Sun’ card’s sculpture in the garden.
Located in the hills of Tuscany, this winery is architecturally innovative, blending with the undulating landscape. The integration of the building into the ground of the vineyard is done expertly, and the winery houses one of the coolest monumental stairs I’ve seen. They also offer vineyard and cellar tours, and this is a great stop to pick up a high-quality gift for friends or family.
Just a half-hour train ride from Rome’s city center will take you to one of the most delightful spots I had the pleasure of visiting. The park has a lovely shaded area under a canopy of trees, and a plain with ruins of the aqueducts that transported water to ancient Rome. In my opinion the best time to visit is the late afternoon; the sun was beautiful on the landscape, the shaded part of the park was lively with people, but the plains with the ruins remained serene. With such a romantic atmosphere available so accessible from the city, this park made me incredibly jealous of Rome’s locals.