It’s nicknamed the Eternal City for a reason. In Rome, you can drink from a street fountain fed by an ancient aqueduct. Or see the same profile on a statue in the Capitoline Museum and the guy making your cappuccino. (Which, of course, you know never to order after 11 am.) Rome is also a city of contrasts—what other place on earth could be home to both the Vatican and La Dolce Vita?

A wonderful mix of remnants from its Roman and medieval pasts, Spoleto’s history actually goes back further to Bronze Age Umbria. Today, it’s best known for its annual summer Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds or Spoleto Festival), honoring music, opera, theater and dance. Among the city’s many excellent historic sights are its first-century Roman amphitheatre, the 12th-century Duomo, 13th-century Ponte delle Torri aqueduct and the 14th-century hilltop fortress, Rocca Albornoziana.

Visitors have flocked to Abano Terme to soak in its thermal waters for more than 2,000 years. Situated on the outskirts of Padua, on the edge of the verdant Euganean Hills, the spa town is still popular among wellness seekers today.