Italy's Shrines and Wonders

Shelly Henley Kelly reviews Teresa Tomeo's new guidebook to the beautiful holy places in Italy.

Italy's Shrines and Wonders: Discovering Sacred Spaces, Fascinating Places, and Destinations off the Beaten Path

by Teresa Tomeo
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press/EWTN

Your attention please: Do not plan a trip to Italy without reading this first!  

In her newest book, Italy's Shrines and Wonders: Discovering Sacred Spaces, Fascinating Places, and Destinations off the Beaten Path, Teresa Tomeo offers a unique guide to Italy that you’ll never put away on a shelf. Instead, this book will linger on the coffee table or the bedside table or perhaps even your kitchen counter. There will be handwritten notes fluttered throughout the pages with notations screaming, “This place next!” or “Must See!” You’ll strategically leave this book out for your spouse or a bestie to inquisitively pick up, browse the pages, then ask, “So, when are we going to Italy?” 

However, this is much more than just another travel guide. As a full-blooded Italian American who maintains a second home in Italy, Tomeo strives to answer the question, “What is it about this place?”  By exploring heritage, food, and faith, Italy's Shrines and Wonders offers readers an opportunity to truly savor their time planning and traveling the country.  

Italy by Region 

Beautifully designed with stunning images, each part highlights a different region (or two or three) of the country. These regional sections consistently include a brief introduction to the area, a beloved locally venerated saint, and “T’s Ultimate Must-Sees and Must-Dos.” In addition to her recommended “Fascinating Places,” no pilgrimage to Italy would be complete without a list of regional Sacred Spaces where faith meets culture.

Here Tomeo draws our attention to a variety of majestic cathedrals and churches, angel apparitions, Eucharistic miracles, and various homes of beloved Saints. Some of these spaces are familiar, yet many more are unfamiliar. Woven throughout is a wafting sense of additional culture, art, and history just waiting to be explored.  

Something Special 

Tomeo closes each regional part with a little something special: a local celebration, a mouth-watering recipe for a local signature dish, and a Pilgrim’s Perspective related by John Hale. The pilgrim stories remind us that to travel means to surrender, to step out of our comfort zone and accept risk to find adventure.

Traveling Italy with this book as a guide invites you to consider every trip, whether for business or pleasure, a pilgrimage where you open yourself to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to encounter God.  

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Shelly Henley Kelly
Images: Canva