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Italian Things to Draw

One real thing from Italy with the detail to get right: a place, a dish, a craft or an animal.

Italian Things to Draw

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  1. The Leaning Tower of Pisa beside its cathedralThe bell tower began to lean while it was being built. Today the tilt is just under four degrees.

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Places 15

  • A gondola on a canal A flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, made for the lagoon. Long, low and curved like a banana.
  • The arches of the Colosseum An elliptical amphitheater in the center of Rome, completed in AD 80. Rows of arches, one tier on the next.
  • Castel del Monte seen from above A 13th-century castle built as an octagon, with an octagonal tower at each of its eight corners.
  • The dome of Florence Cathedral An octagonal dome, finished by 1436. Eight curved segments rise and meet at the top.
  • Inside the dome of the Pantheon A coffered concrete dome in Rome with a round opening to the sky, the oculus.
  • The Leaning Tower of Pisa beside its cathedral The bell tower began to lean while it was being built. Today the tilt is just under four degrees.
  • Manarola on its cliff One of the five villages of the Cinque Terre. Most of its houses are bright and colorful.
  • Mount Etna with a plume An active volcano on the east coast of Sicily. A wide cone and a plume that leans with the wind.
  • Mount Vesuvius across the Gulf of Naples An active volcano. Its eruption in AD 79 destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii.
  • The Ponte Vecchio The Old Bridge, a medieval stone bridge over the Arno in Florence, noted for the shops built along it.
  • The Rialto Bridge with a boat passing under The oldest of the four bridges over the Grand Canal in Venice: one stone arch with rows of shops on its ramps.
  • The towers of San Gimignano A walled hill town in Tuscany that has kept about a dozen of its medieval tower houses.
  • The Tre Cime di Lavaredo The Three Peaks stand side by side in the Dolomites. Three blunt teeth of rock, the middle one tallest.
  • The Trevi Fountain The largest Baroque fountain in the world, finished in Rome in 1762. Block in the big shapes before any figure.
  • The trulli of Alberobello Traditional dry-stone huts of Apulia, each with a conical roof. Draw three in a row.

Food 15

  • A Caprese salad From the island of Capri: mozzarella and tomato in slices, with basil leaves.
  • A cone of gelato Gelato is Italian-style ice cream, usually served with a flat spade and not a scoop.
  • A dish of tiramisu with one spoonful gone A cold dessert of ladyfingers, coffee, egg yolks and mascarpone, with cocoa powder on top.
  • A handful of dry spaghetti, fanned out Spaghetti means little strings: long, thin, solid cylinders of pasta.
  • A handful of tortellini Stuffed pasta typical of Bologna and Modena, by tradition served in broth.
  • A jar of biscotti Almond cookies from the city of Prato: baked twice, oblong, dry and crunchy.
  • A moka pot beside a small cup A stove-top coffee maker, a staple of Italian culture since the 1930s. Steam drives hot water up through the coffee.
  • A pizza Margherita with one slice lifted Tomato, mozzarella and basil: the red, white and green of the Italian flag.
  • A slab of focaccia An oven-baked Italian flatbread, widely associated with the cooking of Liguria.
  • A wheel of Parmesan with a wedge cut Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard, granular cow's milk cheese aged at least 12 months.
  • A whole lasagna in its dish, one square lifted Flat sheets of pasta stacked in layers with fillings between. Show the layers where the square came out.
  • A whole panettone, tall with its domed top A sweet bread of Milan, made for Christmas and New Year. A tall cylinder under a dome.
  • Arancini, one cut open Sicilian rice balls, stuffed, coated in breadcrumbs and fried. The name means little oranges.
  • Three cannoli on a tray A Sicilian pastry: a tube of fried dough with a sweet ricotta filling.
  • Three pasta shapes side by side Farfalle are butterflies or bow ties, fusilli are corkscrews and conchiglie are shells.

Art and crafts 15

  • A clock tower's face in Roman numerals Roman numerals began in ancient Rome and are still used on clock faces.
  • A laurel wreath, seen face on In Rome a laurel wreath was a sign of victory, worn by a commander at his triumph.
  • A maiolica plate Italian tin-glazed pottery of the Renaissance. Paint a picture in the center and a border around the rim.
  • A millefiori glass bead Millefiori joins the Italian words for thousand and flowers. Pack the bead with tiny flower shapes.
  • A mosaic border of small squares Ravenna is known for the mosaics of its early Christian buildings. Build the border one small square at a time.
  • A Neapolitan mandolin, bowl back showing Eight strings in four pairs. The bowl back is built from strips of wood glued together.
  • A Roman arch with its keystone The keystone is the top block of an arch. Wedge-shaped blocks, the voussoirs, lean in from both sides.
  • A Sicilian cart A horse-drawn cart covered in carvings and painted scenes, with Sicily's yellow and red throughout.
  • A tiled floor in one-point perspective Brunelleschi of Florence is famous for the technique of linear perspective. Every floor line runs to one point.
  • A Tuscan column One of the two orders the Romans developed: a simple column with no flutes.
  • A Venetian carnival mask The colombina is a half-mask that covers the eyes, nose and upper cheeks, often highly decorated.
  • A violin, front view The most famous violins were made in Brescia and Cremona from the 16th to the 18th century. Two f-holes.
  • An egg shaded in chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark. One lit side, one shadow side.
  • The guard dog mosaic of Pompeii A floor mosaic of a chained dog over the words CAVE CANEM, beware of the dog.
  • The iron prow of a gondola Under the main blade of the prow iron sits a comb of six teeth that point forward.

Countryside and animals 15

  • A Maremma sheepdog among sheep A white livestock guardian dog used for centuries by Italian shepherds to guard sheep from wolves.
  • A Marsican brown bear Also called the Apennine brown bear: a critically endangered population in the mountains of Abruzzo.
  • A Mediterranean buffalo An Italian breed of water buffalo, kept where mozzarella di bufala is made.
  • A road lined with cypresses in Tuscany The Mediterranean cypress is also called the Italian or Tuscan cypress. Dark, narrow, far taller than wide.
  • A strawberry tree branch Italy's national tree: green leaves, white flowers and red berries, the colors of the flag.
  • An Alpine ibex in Gran Paradiso The species once shrank to fewer than 100 animals, all in Gran Paradiso National Park. Males carry long horns.
  • An Apennine wolf The Italian wolf is unofficially the national animal, for the she-wolf in the legend of Rome's founding.
  • An Italian sparrow Unofficially the national bird of Italy. The male has a chestnut crown and white cheeks.
  • An Italian wall lizard on a stone Usually green or brown on the back, white or green on the belly. A long tail, toes spread.
  • An olive branch with fruit In ancient Rome an olive branch stood for peace, and it appears on Roman coins. Narrow leaves, a few olives.
  • An umbrella pine The Italian stone pine: a thick trunk under a broad, flat crown like an open umbrella.
  • The hills of the Val d'Orcia A region of Tuscany that runs from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. Overlap the hills like waves.
  • Lake Como from above A glacial lake over 400 m deep, known for its Y shape.
  • Lemons on a terrace of the Amalfi Coast The Amalfi lemon, sfusato amalfitano, grows in terraced gardens along the whole coast.
  • Stromboli at night An island volcano whose glow, seen from the sea, gave it the nickname Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.

How it works

Sixty Italian things to draw, each real and named: a tower that leans just under four degrees, a pasta shaped like a butterfly, a tree whose leaves, flowers and berries match the flag.

Read the full guide

Italian drawing ideas, from Rome to the Apennines

Places has Rome, Venice, Florence and two volcanoes. Food runs from pasta shapes to arancini. Art and crafts takes in a Roman arch, a carnival mask and a mandolin. Countryside and animals goes from a cypress road in Tuscany to the wolf of the Apennines.

Start with the arch

Much of Italy is built from one shape. A Roman arch is wedge blocks leaning on a keystone. Stack arches in tiers for the Colosseum, stretch one across the water for the Rialto Bridge, turn one in a circle for the dome of the Pantheon.

  • A leaning tower keeps its floors square to its walls. Tilt every line by the same angle.
  • Pasta shapes read best in pairs: draw each one beside the thing it is named for.

Questions and answers

What are some easy Italian things to draw?

Three pasta shapes side by side, a cone of gelato, a cannolo, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a Roman arch with its keystone and an umbrella pine. The Easy level, under More filters, lists the rest.

Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?

The bell tower began to lean while it was being built in the 12th century, because the ground was too soft to carry it. The tilt was 5.5 degrees by 1990; work finished in 2001 brought it back to 3.97.

What is the national animal of Italy?

Unofficially, the Italian wolf, for the she-wolf in the legend of Rome's founding. The Italian sparrow is unofficially the national bird, and the strawberry tree is the national tree. All three are in the Countryside and animals group.

What do Italian pasta names mean?

Many name a shape. Farfalle is butterfly-shaped pasta, also called bow ties; conchiglie are shells; fusilli are corkscrews; and spaghetti means little strings.

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